Outdoor gear repair, or Help unstick My Zipper

June 20, 2007 1:04 PM

I bought a REI Taku jacket at their annual Attic sale (they sell their returns at usually a huge discount), for like 10% of the original cost. Enough of a commercial here's my problem, The inner pit zip zipper is stuck. I need to find a place that specializes in outdoor gear repair to fix it. I am tempted to take it to a dry cleaners, but I am scared they will screw it up.

Bonus points if it is local (MD/DC area). Thanks

posted by ShawnString to clothing, beauty, & fashion (7 comments total)

Eastern Mountain Sports will repair things they sell, I'm not sure if they do others. You could call the one in Arlington or HQ at [phone] ext. 6062
posted by djb at 1:16 PM on June 20, 2007

This is a problem with the current Taku jacket (link).

Not local to you, but Boulder Mountain Repair is a shop here in CO that does a great job. Their owner is an asshole, though, so don't expect a warm fuzzy interaction.
posted by betterton at 1:17 PM on June 20, 2007

Not to derail, but when is/was the attic sale? If it has passed, do you know when the next one is? Thanks!
posted by jtfowl0 at 1:21 PM on June 20, 2007

(sheepish) Never mind, found it on their website. (/sheepish)
posted by jtfowl0 at 1:24 PM on June 20, 2007

yea I kinda figured it was a "known issue" as they say. When I got to the attic sale (late about an hour before they stopped it), there where 3 other Taku jackets all with exactly the same problem.
posted by ShawnString at 1:32 PM on June 20, 2007

REI seems to have a really liberal return policy. My local store (San Diego) didn't even ask me for a receipt when I returned a backpacking tent there last year. Have you tried bringing it into the store and trying to exchange it for another jacket?

Another anecdote, though this is shady in my book: My roommate traded his brand new trekking poles with a JMT through-hiker on the summit of Mt. Whitney who bent his out of shape. Returned it to the store for another new pair when we got back home. They didn't ask him for a receipt, either.
posted by Thoughtcrime at 2:26 PM on June 20, 2007

Confirming that REI has a liberal return policy. I brought in a 3-year-old "One" jacked because the zipper had gotten crusty with use and rust, and wouldn't line up correctly to zip. I was planning to ask for repair options, but they simply exchanged it for a new model, with no prompting and no questions asked. It also wasn't the original location I bought it in, nor did I have a receipt (the One jacket is their own brand, though, so it was obviously an REI product).
posted by cocoagirl at 2:38 PM on June 20, 2007