by Alicia MacLeay
Mountain Soles in Portland, Ore., has been resoling and repairing hiking boots and other outdoor footwear since 1979. The shop now offer resoles and repairs on Patagonia Footwear’s Vibram Idrogrip sticky rubber outsoles, Vibram EcoStep multi-sport outsoles, EcoStep hiking outsoles, and Skywalk natural latex honeycomb outsoles.
“There is no need to go out and purchase a new pair of shoes if you’ve spent the time outdoors, molding them for the perfect fit,” said Whitney Conner, brand manager at Patagonia Footwear. “There are alternatives to material purchases and we’re working to increase the lifespan of our products by partnering with solid organizations that share a similar philosophy to Patagonia.”
Patagonia resole prices range from $50-$80 depending on style of sole and construction. Since the cost can approach the cost of a new pair of shoes, resoling may not seem like an obvious choice. However, if your shoes are already broken in and in otherwise good condition, the natural resources saved and landfill space avoided are worth considering.
In addition to its newest partnership with Patagonia, Mountain Soles offers a wide selection of factory and Vibram replacement soles for mountaineering, hiking, backpacking, climbing, nordic, and fishing footwear. They can also repair broken hardware and stitch up loose seams on your favorite boots, and they offer fabric repair on tents, bags, packs, and clothing, and gear cleaning.
For more information and prices visit www.mtnsoles.com.
