Ripstop Repairs

I was put on to these folks by North Face as a shop that could complete warrantied repairs for their brand. I’ve called for three days now… nobody picks up and the voicemail box is full. Time to find something more reliable. I mean if North Face is going to send you real business, shouldn’t you have voicemail or ensure your google phone number is correct?

I am writing this review semi premature but I have brought other items to Jim and he rocks so today in the dumping snow I knocked my favorite down jacket on a doorframe and knew he was the right man it fix the .5″ tear on the sleeve before too much down escaped.
Jim is thorough, efficient and usually takes a week for repairs but he is attempting to turn mine before the weekend. That is a 2.5 day turn. Thrilled this could happen and my expensive jacket will be good as new for $ 10.00

Went to see if Jim (the proprietor) could make some custom bags for my bike: a couple of small, rectangular zippered pouches for toting about small items on long rides. All I brought with me were a few photos of similar items I found online. Jim worked with me to clarify and quantify the specs, created a sort of rough demo model so I could see how it would look, and then implemented some minor improvements and changes to produce two final products. Yes, the work took a bit of time, mostly because Jim is very busy doing jobs for larger manufacturers and doesn’t have as much help as he could use. Nevertheless, he agreed to take on this small project, which was admittedly a good bit of work up front for what in the end will almost certainly be a small, one-​off job. All I can say is that the finished product was exactly what I wanted. EXACTLY. No… better. Just really, really nice. Solid. Jim’s thoughtfulness, both with construction and functionality considerations, is clearly evident in what he produced. And for that level of expertise and experience, the price I paid was very inexpensive and well worth it.
Depending on the nature of your job (and Jim’s schedule) you may have to wait a bit, and Jim’s «style» is one that might take a bit of adjustment for folks on the rigid/​stodgy side, but my guess is that if you bring work to Jim it is going to be done exceptionally well. While I didn’t experience this directly because I had no issues with my bike bags, Jim seems like the type of craftsman who will stand behind his work and make every effort to complete a job to your satisfaction. People with these skills are tough to find… I would go back without hesitation. Great work. Thanks, Jim

I brought in an expensive Ergon bike pack with a broken zipper. Ripstop repairs looked at it closely and fixed it on the spot in a matter of a few minutes even though it is not a brand of zipper or pack that they typically deal with. Great customer service!

I recently took a high end backpack to Ripstop Repairs to have a zipper replaced. I know there are other businesses in town which repair gear, but I’ve gotten mixed reviews about them from friends and acquaintances, and I really wanted something that didn’t scream «patched» and which would hold up. The zipper in question was not in a convenient location, either; both ends were tucked under small side pockets.
I was pretty amazed with the results. The zipper matches the backpack perfectly. They put in a zipper of slightly higher gauge (I was told because this is the zipper to the main pocket, a slightly bigger zipper would hold up better), but it was the same color and type as the other zippers, so the result is perfect. The work was excellent… they used the same color of thread to match the contrasting topstitching elsewhere on the backpack. I was even able to put the old zipper pulls on the zipper… you can’t tell this wasn’t the original zipper. And it was done within a week.
I’ve been told that Ripstop does the warranty repairs for REI, and I believe it.
The proprietor is very, very gruff, but I was warned about this before going in. Don’t expect tons of customer service or smiles. You won’t get a call when your gear is fixed, but it will be done by the date you’re told. This is not a big deal, considering the quality of the work.