Current best places to get resoled

Parker Wrozek wrote:

I have never used him but what is to explain? my shoe with this rubber basically as close as possible to what it would be from the factory. Which you get from R&R, so that is who I use.

 I’ve never had a problem with my resoles from Mark at Plattsburgh Shoe Hospital so there’s nothing to explain. Everyone I know has gotten their shoes back from Mark has been happy. I’ve never seen anyone with rounded edges. If I did have a problem with a resole I would call and explain what I didn’t like and see if I could get it fixed. I wouldn’t pay for a resole I wasn’t cool with and I would let the cobbler know I was unhappy.

Amazing experience with Yosemite Bum. But those were both Evolv shoes, so I'm curious how it'll go when I need my TCs resoled.

Z Winters wrote: Don't sent your shoes to Dave Page Cobbler in Seattle. In my experience, he's a grump who does lousy resoles. So many good options out there though (I usually go with Rock and Resole).

Hmmm, I had my Nagos re-soled last summer by Dave, and yeah he does come across with a bit of a "sober persona", but the shoes were turned around quickly and are as good or better than when I bought 'em. Detail work was good as well. And, he has several people working in the shop, not just him. I also had him re-size some alpine climbing boots, and that worked out well too, Anyway, that's my experience. 

Bill Kirby wrote:

 I’m sure if you called Mark and explained what you didn’t like he would do the resole how ever you like. Mark’s super laid back and is has been a climber and cobbler his entire career.

I'm sure he is a nice fellow. I suppose if this were a one off problem it might be solvable. But every resole came back that way. And then you have to pay to ship the shoes back to them if you don't like the work. It's just easier to find a better resole shop.

Nathan.H wrote: I switched to Greater Tahoe Gripworks.  The shoes come back better than new.  Fast service, good prices. tahoegripworks.com/

Second this, Chris does a great job and it’s nice to support a fellow Tahoe climber. 

anotherclimber wrote:

I'm sure he is a nice fellow. I suppose if this were a one off problem it might be solvable. But every resole came back that way. And then you have to pay to ship the shoes back to them if you don't like the work. It's just easier to find a better resole shop.

 Fair enough, but again if you didn’t like the resole the first time why wouldn’t you have a conversation about what you didn’t like? You didn’t like the resole the first time but send them out again? Without a conversation? You can’t get what you don’t ask for. I’m just saying is have the conversation and if your problem isn’t resolved... find another cobbler. Heck you could say this about any service.

 Then again I guess it’s easier to find someone else rather than have to confront someone about a service you paid for that didn’t live up to your expectations. 

I hate to pile on, but I was not pleased with my New England Resoul experience. My shoes delaminated and the communication was poor. I wanted to give Ian from Onsight Resoles my shoes because I've heard great things, but I missed him while he was in town. I just had a lot of shoes done by Dave Berumen of Flophouse out in Joshua Tree and couldn't be more pleased with the work, turnaround, and communication.

Nathan.H wrote: I switched to Greater Tahoe Gripworks.  The shoes come back better than new.  Fast service, good prices. tahoegripworks.com/

I’ll third that. Nice guy, good work.

Jordan Angus Gay wrote:  just had a lot of shoes done by Dave Berumen of Flophouse out in Joshua Tree and couldn't be more pleased with the work, turnaround, and communication.

I also had a pair recently resoled by Flophouse Dave. Turnaround was quick and the work was well done, but communication was not great in my experience. Dave told me the shoes were ready and he would drop them at the J Tree Outfitters over the weekend for me to pick up Monday. I showed up Monday morning and they were not there. He later explained that he doesn't drop off shoes until Monday afternoon, which is decidedly not the weekend like he said. Not the end of the world, but it was a bit frustrating given that I had scheduled my day around this. And I had to follow up and ask for my $20 deposit to be refunded.

carla splitter wrote:

I sent in three pairs of shoes, 2 TCs and 1 Scarpa Techno X. The techno X's delaminated after 1 use and 1 set of the TCs were resoled in a way that altered the volume of the toe box so that I couldn't even wear the shoes anymore. I also asked for different types of rubber on the 2 TCs and they didn't mark which was which.. When I contacted them I felt they weren't that friendly dealing with me and also didn't offer any sort of shipping compensation. Just overall wasn't too happy with my experience. They did fix the two pairs of shoes for free after I paid to ship them back myself but the quality was so-so.

I had very similar delaminating just around the same time on Mythos that are very straightforward to resole. The original owner spent years striving for the best glue bonds, and perhaps fifteen or more years ago finally solved the issue, by finding and switching to some modern European cement; the glue joints became practically invisible even from the heat of sanding. Then, around the time he sold the business, three or four years ago, there appears to have been some OSHA/EPA regulation that banned that adhesive for U.S. import, and the current owners may be using the old Master's cement from basic wholesale shoe repair distributors. Barge is even worse. I'm just starting to investigate what glues other shops are using, as it is the most critical step by far. I've seen nothing but problems when those 3/4 century old glues are used with sticky rubber, and I've worked in resoling on and off for over 40 years.