HelloKitty

Whoaa there Jessbee, you are sounding a bit reactionary. I do believe that my advise was sound. We could all shit on REI and whatever insurance company you have until we are blue in the face but that wouldnt help you at all, would it? Im not trying to shit on you. And Im not the guy sitting at home who has never had this happen, last Feb I had my car broken into and well over $9k worth of climbing, ski and camera gear stolen. It sucked and was a pain in the ass but it was my fault, I had the gear in my car. Period. If you are really trying to get the word out to prevent something like this from happening to other people than own up to your end of it. You learned that your insurance is shitty, thats a good take home for others. You learned that cars get broken into in the portland REI parking garage, thats a good take home for others. Now while it sucks to hear, those arent your insurance companies problem or REIs. Thats your problem, thats your part in all of this and its a good lesson for other people. Good luck with getting your stuff back. Be a hard ass with your insurance agent, if you had renters or home owners it should definitely be covered. If they say its not, ask where specifically in your policy it says that.

Not be the bad guy but here are a few things. Im not familiar with the Portland REI but if they post signs saying your stuff may be stolen, they have done what needs to be done, beyond that is up to you. You are in a city, people steal things in cities, I have had my car broken into several times and I know the feeling. While I am not a huge fan of REI, I dont think it is their responsibility. Another note, Im not sure what kind of insurance you have but my home owners policy payed me full replacement value for all of my ski gear that got stolen this last winter out of my truck which was unlocked with 2 pairs of skis in the bed. Home owners and renters insurance, if its worth its salt should pay for your stolen belongings regardless of where they were stolen. I feel for you, getting shit stolen sucks, but instead of blaming the location it got stolen from and your shitty insurance, think about what can be done differently... And get better insurance. USAA.

Just felt I should add something here. I have worked for a few climbing shoe resoling shops over the years and here are a few observations. firstly, Dave himself hasn't touched a rock shoe in many years, maybe 15... If you had a good experience there, it was an "underling" that did it, if you had a bad experience, it was also an "underling" that did it. Quality: Quality is a matter of perspective and climbers tend to be all over the map. Some climbers will squeal with joy over their shoes being resoled with old car tires and gorilla glue while others will smash out your windshield because they can see the seam. If you walk into a shop with a 12 year old pair of Mythos, dont expect the shoes to come back looking like a Moccasym. Just because your buddys asymmetrically shoe came back assymetrical dont expect your Mythos to. Timing: Climbers in general aren't very good at long term planning. While a 6 week turn around is definitely too long, when you ask for next day service, for the most part you are asking for a compromise on quality. Each glue step should have 8 hours curing time. If you need rands and half soles (if you get rands done, yes, you need half soles as well. Look at how the shoe is made and you will understand) That is two eight hour curing periods, these are consecutive not concurrent curing periods. Many times when you ask for your shoes to be rushed, these curing times will get rushed as well resulting in an inferior bond. Also, if a customer is asking for a rush service much of the time this implies that they will be climbing on the shoes shortly after they get their shoes back. Once a pair of shoes is resoled, allowing as much time as possible to elapse between when they are put together and when they are climbed on allows for a better bond. Lastly, have patience with anybody you work with. Shit happens and things dont always go perfectly. While I understand not wanting to work with somebody who screwed up your shoes again, understand that it may be fluke. You may have been the unlucky customer that things went wrong with. Give the resoler a chance to make it better. Dont jump on the internet and start telling the world that they suck.

The west/east Chewuch loop is a great cycle. As for climbing, there are a lot of fun routes at Funrock and the surrounding areas. You can also link a cool road ride up the west chewuch with some cool climbing. Email me at methowrepairs@yahoo.com and I can give you more specifics.