It’s time to take a break, so we are closing the shop from Saturday, May 17th through Monday the 26th. We will reopen Tuesday May 27th at 11am. Repairs received on or before Wednesday, May 7th will be completed by Friday, May 16th (before our break). Repairs received after Wednesday, May 7th will not be competed until after we return from our break (probably completed on or after the 30th). Thanks for understanding!

Our current turn around time is running 1.5 weeks, possibly a little more. If you have an upcoming trip, please plan ahead so that we can get your work done in time.

We will be closed Dec. 22nd through Jan 1st.

Re-opening with regular hours on Wednesday Jan. 2nd. Have a good week!

Scott & Dan in the Wallowas. Photo: Matt Menely

Over the years of owning Mountain Soles we have seen and repaired many interesting things. Often times we work with customers who are trying to get a piece of gear or footwear to do something that it was not meant or designed to do. This kind of modification or custom work usually doesn’t come cheap because we frequently have to do quite a bit talking and drawing with the customer or even build a prototype (or a few) to ensure that we translate their ideas into reality. This kind of creative thinking and working can take time but it can lead to some interesting results. Read the rest of this entry »

We will be closed Thursday and Friday (Nov. 22 & 23) for a little turkey break. Do you remember your Thanksgiving history.  Hope you all have a good weekend!

Scott Rulander kayaking on the Sandy River. Photo: Matt Menely

With rain on the horizon, the onset of whitewater season is here and the replacement of many gaskets on dry tops and suits at Mountain Soles is soon to follow. Here are a few tips to help make your latex gaskets last a little longer. Read the rest of this entry »

We frequently have customers come into our shop wanting to get an item repaired and look to us to solve problems that are beyond the point of solving. As much as we’d like to, we cannot fix everything that walks in the door. All good things must come to an end eventually and sometimes we are the ones to tell people that it is the end of the road for their beloved boots or backpack or whatever.

“But can’t you just…” is a response that we occasionally hear from a customer when we tell them it is time to let go. Rather than patch something together knowing all to well that it is going to fall apart sooner than later, we’d rather shoot straight with someone and tell them that we cannot perform a decent repair and that “it is time to go shopping”. We’d much rather tell a customer the reality of their situation and have them come back to us for future repairs, than do what we refer to as a “quick and dirty” job for short term monetary gain, and then have them complaining to another potential customer about our poor quality. Being honest and doing good work for our customers pays and it’s the right thing to do. In turn our customers come back again and again. But more importantly they tell their friends and this is the best kind of complement that we can receive.

Most of the information from the old site is still here, we’ve just freshened up the look. Included as part of the new site is this blog. I’m not a big fan of the word Blog, in fact I kind of think it sounds like an illness or affliction. In any case, I am going to give it a go.

Here is what I hope to include as we add more entries:

To inform people about the broad array of services we offer, including some of the more interesting repairs/modifications that we come across.

Give gear maintenance tips and DIY repair suggestions.

Talk about sustainablility and how it relates to Mountain Soles.

What it is like owning a small business.

I might not stick directly to the above mentioned topics, so forgive me if I occasionally get distracted.

I don’t have time to update the blog daily because we are busy working on gear so our customers can enjoy life outdoors. I am hoping that I can get at least 1 post up every 2 weeks.

I’ve also been posting photos of our work and the shop at our flickr page.

Thanks for stopping by,

Matt