I've got a pair of comfy trad shoes that need new soles. I sent a pair to Yosemite Bum last year, and they came back too wide to wear (I have skinny feet and it didn't take much expansion to ruin them for me). I thought I'd try someone else. R&S recommended Cobbler and Cordwainer, but the site says they're not taking in any more work through the end of the year due to heavy workload. They're very expensive, too. Has anyone used these guys? Plattsburgh Shoe Hospital

Kathy

I sent them my Acopas earlier this autumn and was very pleased with what I got back. The fit was essentially unchanged, the resole has been holding up well and they reglued a couple of spots where the rand was starting to pull away from the upper. Turn-around time wasn't especially fast, (no doubt influenced by seasonal work load) but I had the shoes back in three weeks or so. Worth the few extra days.

www.prodealresoles.com
most excellent resoles at most excellent prices with most excellent turnaround times

You could also try www.rockandresole.com

GO

Can't speak for cost and time, but I've had pretty good experiences with Rubber Room Resoles. The resole is worthless if the shoes don't fit afterwards, and I've found with these folks that the shoes have generally come back very close to fitting how I left them.

Feels like I have written this so many time but I don’t see the threads:

mho:

#1 Rubber Room unfortunately also the most expensive, but they’ve done at least 6 resoles for me with excellent work and reasonable turn around time.every time

#2 Rock and Resoles Good to excellent work and lower prices.

I’ve use three other resolers over the last dozen years. Maybe some of the resolers that have destroyed my shoes have gotten better.

Haven’t yet tried Komitos Boots.

That said, the rands of my resoled shoes never seem to last as long as new shoes (from gym use). So if you can find new shoes at good prices you have to consider new too. For me RR resoles and rands are app $60. New Katanas are often $100 and that seems to be about even in terms of life per dollar.

Kathy - I've never head of Plattsburgh Shoe Hospital, please let us know how you make out if you do go with them.

Continuing on the theme of not answering your question though:
My favorite place is:

Barry's Resoles
41585 Auberry Road
Auberry CA 93602
559 855-4511
barrysresoles@netptc.net

It's probably the most expensive place around unfortunately. (I have tried Pro Deal Resoles without much joy. Rubber Room - decent though often slow)


Given the discounting going on these days you may want to consider a new pair, especially if your shoes have already been resoled once or twice.

I have two pair at the Shoe Hospital currently, will inform of the service/repairs.........buy local?

Barry's Resoles: one pair only
Less expensive than Rubber Room.
Visibly excellent workmanship.
Unfortunately the shoes came back a bit small.

Oh, I like the candy – reminds me of Jules (RIP) who consistently did the best resole I’ve ever had.

Barry is really sweet on the phone and I’d love give him my business, but I have to find a way to justify sending him another pair first.

I've had good luck with rock and resole, and I think Komito's has a good rep too. He also seems like a great guy, the couple of times I've gone in there with friends. Both rock and resole and Komito will do "creative" resolings too, like if you have a shoe that doesn't quite fit and you'd like them to make some adjustments while resoling. I had moderate luck with this on a pair of miuras some years ago, though I've finally realized that the barracudas fit me lots better than the miuras... As a side note, my partner has very very old shoes (no longer made) to which she is very loyal, and in addition to resoling, she once had a regular old cobbler (not a climbing one) do some creative patches to the leather parts...I was impressed! So don't forget to check out your local cobbler if you have non-rubber parts that need fixing.

Yeah, that was my line of thought, as long as they do good work. Let me know how yours turn out. I'm not in a huge hurry - I've got a beater pair of shoes for the gym, and I hope to be spending more time on ice very soon. Meanwhile I'll consider the other suggestions as well.

Kathy

so I got my two pair back today.........three weeks? well it did include the T-Giving week, but they advertise 7-10 day turn around time. The toe rand repairs always seem very thin, like they are going to wear through in 5 minutes of climbing, and really I don't drag my toes that much do I? The size seems ok just trying them on, but I'm not real impressed. (Plattsburgh Shoe Hospital)

Hmmmm. Not an enthusiastic endorsement. Thanks for the feedback. I'll weigh some of the other options.

Kathy

I've used Dave Page in Seattle a bunch of times, and always been satisfied with the results.

On the other hand, I know in advance that I won't get fast turn around, since I'm shipping from Tokyo (no good resolers here, so far as I can determine); so I don't even think about that issue. Presumably they'd be faster for a domestic order, but I have no idea exactly how fast...

Possibly worth a look, if nothing else appeals to you.

Edited to add: Here's a link: web page

I'm shipping from Tokyo (no good resolers here, so far as I can determine)

That's amazing. Do the Japanese buy new climbing shoes once the soles wear down?

Actually, I wrote too hastily. There is one resoler that I know of over here, and his work has a good reputation. However, he doesn't do rands, just the bottom sole segment (whatever that's called), and I almost always need rand work as well, due to a tendency to grind the front end of my toes against the rock when I place my feet.

As a result, I've never used him. (And besides the price is JPY 6,000 per pair, which is around USD 65 these days - not that far off what I pay to ship and repair in the States, with rand work included.)

The Japanese prefer having new instead of repairing old. I don't know specifically about climbing shoes, but it goes for just about everything else so I don't think it would be any different for climbing shoes.

There's a huge number of outdoor stores in Tokyo, I was really surprised compared to the couple we have in NYC. One street had a dozen big ski/snowboard shops. They couldn't survive, if people didn't frequently replace their old gear, old being anything older than a year or two.

Anyway, I don't know many people here who resole. I usually find shoes on clearance so it doesn't save me much money to resole.

Rubber Room - used twice, good work, very fast turnaround, but my comparator is C&C

My latest resole from Cobbler and Cordwainer was recieved today, 9 DAYS after I sent them out. Look perfect.

For 20+ years I happily used the Rubber Room guys, back when they were the resoler for Wilson's Eastside Sports and then when they went independent and moved across the street. 2 years ago I took advice from a friend and tried Mark Meschinelli at the Plattsburgh Shoe Hospital and he's now done 5 pair of shoes for me (4 climbing and one approach). I can't endorse his work enough, and I've had 7-10 day turn around now every time, late fall, early spring or full summer. They come back fitting the same, and the performance has been superb. Mark is a high level climber and guide and a 3rd generation shoe repairman/cobbler, so I'll stay with him now. NY State is closer than California, and I like to shop as locally as I can. I know many other satisfied customers in northern New England as well. Jeff Lea

I think Mark does nice work, too. He's done several pairs of shoes for me.

I met Mark at Poko and had him repair 6 pairs of shoes at once. He did a good job and had quick turn around, but only uses 5.10 rubber. He does not do full rand repair, so I used the Rubber Room for that repair and had them do a resole too. The Rubber Room took much longer, but their work was far superior.

I just miss Jules. Never met her but still miss her. I haven't been able to have the same resoler work on more than 2 pairs of shoes in a row since, and I can't even tell you who's better than whom because I don't keep track. I just randomly send out shoes and wish I was going to get a Jolly Rogers candy back.

Ditto, ditto, ditto I couldn't agree more. I have written that a rediculous number of times and only recently stopped cause I thought I was the only one who felt that way.

Rubber Room is expensive but very good - but I may have just stopped resoling altogether.

I've had three pairs of perfectly good shoes ruined by resolers too. Never tied Komito.

Nah, Mark. There are many. Jules was the best.

I went to use a port-o-potty in Glacier NP a few years ago and there was a Joshua Tree Resoles sticker on the interior wall.
Hard not to shed tears upon seeing that.

T