Mountain Soles Footwear & Fabric Repair

After going to US Outdoor Store w/​the North Face Jacket I’d bought there w/​in the year for $ 250+ that had a zipper-​pull that keep coming off, USOS could only offer to send it back to NF under warranty to fix it which woulda taken weeks. Since its my Fave and only adequate Winter Jacket and it being late Fall (2011)/ approaching Winter, USOS referred me to Mountain Soles to repair/​replace the zipper
I went in thinking I’d be w/​o my Fave Fall/​Winter Jacket for a week or more. Mountain Soles Fixed my Zipper in an hour and it works great.
Friendly customer Service as well. Highly recommend

Really disappointing. I went in there with a older two-​zipper messenger-​type bag and was told it would cost around $ 85 per zipper because of their cost per hour in performing the zipper replacement. OK, but at some $ 85/​hour, who can afford to have a bag repaired? It’s cheaper to buy a new one. I’m trying to get away from the throwaway mentality. This shop seems to support this notion. They were nice and all, matter of fact and straight forward. I think they are pricing themselves out of the repair market, at least for bags.

Awesome repairs. I dont care if it is a simple zipper on a $ 30 jacket, take it in. its truly cheaper to fix. I saw an unusual item, asked what it was and was told it was a several thousand dollar canopy/​tent used to develope film onsite for natural photography. they do climbing shoes, i bet they do better stiching on a dog than a vet or a taxidermist.

so i was lucky enough to snag a pair of the new ’09 sidi dominators on craigslist for about ½ of their outrageous retail price. that being said, it’s still quite the investment for me. i need these shoes to last… forever.
i even bought some nice insoles for them. however, i didn’t think about how the insoles had some sharp edges on the bottom of the heels.
and while carelessly switching my insoles between shoes, i tore the fabric in the inside of the sidi heel cup.
of course this tear started to spread. and it wasn’t just the fabric that tore and spread, but also the foam padding inside.
though it didn’t feel much difference when i was riding, i could tell it would only get worse.
though i knew mountain soles was very leather-​focused in their shoe repairs, i decided to drop by and see what my options (as a vegan) were.
after all, everything i had heard about them on bikeportland was good. folks especially raved about their experience with sidis.
after discussing some options and strategy with Matt, i went home to think it over. i really wanted to avoid leather, but unfortunately MS didn’t have any synthetic equivalent on hand.
Matt was nice enough to keep in touch with me via email until we found a solution.
i was able to find some Lorica (the synthetic material Sidi uses) online and Matt directed me to a place that sells Clarino, in case the Lorica didn’t work out.
after dropping off my shoe and the lorica, it was only a few days before it was finished. the craftsmanship seems solid and it looks beautiful (great job Andrew!).
my foot is a tad snugger in the shoe (due to the thickness of the lorica), but it doesn’t seem to be that noticeable of a difference. time will tell after i put some more miles in these shoes.
i’ll update this review months/​years down the road and let you know how the repair holds up. but as of right now, i have high hopes.
mountain soles are a great example of why it pays off to stick with local independent businesses.
Matt’s willingness to help me find a non-​leather solution made me realize MS is honestly invested in customer satisfaction.