The Fixed Line

Trend report: More brands getting into the used-gear game Outdoor brands are building new retail channels through the sale of used gear. Here's how they're doing it.

When I started The Fixed Line LLC, it grew from a desire to help folks out, keep good gear out of the landfill, and to build something of my own to balance seasonal work in the mountains.

And then the pandemic hit, things got a bit uncertain, but the outdoors, it was there for us. By all accounts, outdoor recreation has exploded during the pandemic, and despite reducing hours while I home schooled my kid, picked up more patrol work and tried to figure out the new normal; demand never slowed down. The more you all got out to play, work and recreate in the outdoors, the more rips, tears and blown zippers I was hearing about. You all should be proud of the wear and tear you’ve inflicted on your gear the last couple years, it’s resiliency in action!

Over the last five years, I have been so fortunate to learn so much about gear repair, sewing, business ownership and operation, customer service. I have already grown so much through all of your support and the challenging repairs you’ve sometimes brought me. The trust you’ve put in me to keep your gear and more importantly your adventures going has been an honor.

Ultimately, I came to realize that I had to choose between my personal growth and the business growing. I have decided to sell The Fixed Line LLC and embrace the change as I choose personal growth.

Fortunately for the outdoor community of Alaska, while the ownership of the business is changing, it should also be well set up for choosing growth and continuing to support your outdoor adventures.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone who has trusted me with their gear over the last five years. Thanks for helping me take new risks, help where I was able, and maybe even, just a bit, share in your adventures in our great state and beyond.

In Adventure,

Ryan Hutchins-Cabibi
Founder
The Fixed Line LLC

❤️

Good gear doesn’t have to break the bank.

After (I think) 7 years of hard use I finally decided to replace a couple pairs of 1st generation TRUCK Gloves. These old gloves have 7 seasons of full time ski patrolling, tower climbing and rope work. Untold hours of shoveling and snow blowing, splitting wood and tending fires. More winter rain events than I care to remember. A bunch of hunting trips. Some, but not enough snow machining. Miles and miles of fat tire biking. Lots of wiping snow off the windows and some use as a dry erase marker’s eraser. That’s a pretty good run for gloves, and they aren’t quite dead yet.

After over 30 years working in the outdoors, these have been the best gloves I’ve used.

Time to break out the Obenauf's Leather Care and get these new pairs into the rotation. Here’s to another 7 years of happy hands.

Washing your outdoor gear helps it perform better and last longer. We should all (Me too!) wash our outdoor gear more regularly!

I don’t recall where we picked up these vintage mags, Summit, Mariah, Mountain, and Off Belay. Super fun to read old climbing articles and see haw far gear has come. Some brands have faded out, been absorbed or bought up, but others are still producing awesome gear.

Sometimes you have to fit things in to recharge your creative battery. Simple hip belt pouch for my cabinet pack.

This article will get you started on cleaning your backpack. One big piece left out though is that you should remove the frame before putting it in a washer. Almost all internal pack frames can be removed from the pack. While it sometimes takes a bit of exploring to figure out how, your washing machine (and pack) will be much happier without the frame while being washed.

We find a bathtub and a stiff brush to be very effective in pack cleanings. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a pack with care labels like garments have, and building a pack out of materials that can’t be submerged in water seems ridiculous, since you may find yourself in rain with your pack, but I’ll concede I haven’t seen all packs out there! Otherwise a decent guide to cleaning your pack.

Follow These Tips For How To Wash A Backpack | GearJunkie Whether you're a backpacker, a day hiker, or simply a parent with kids who get their gear dirty, you'll want to know how to wash a backpack.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Finally getting some good sunsets as summer tapers off in Alaska.

Small House has been such a boon to the bike scene in Girdwood! Let's keep it going!

Support GMBA! Mountain Bike Alliance

https://fundly.com/small-house-extension-1?form=popup #

Click here to support Small House Extension by Daniel Starr We are extending the popular "Small House" trail this summer. Unfortunately we can not hold our annual fundraiser at Girdwood Brewing Co. so we are laun...

To all of our supporters,

We are so grateful for your business and patience as we navigate the challenges presented by the COVID 19 pandemic. Our highest priority is the safety of our clients, community and front line workers.

As you all know, schools in Alaska are closed for the remainder of the school year and childcare options are few and far between. We trust our health care officials and are appreciative of the difficult decisions they’ve made to protect our children, teachers and the most vulnerable in our communities. That said, until childcare is widely available, we will not be able to return to the level of service we provided before the pandemic.

We are taking this opportunity to look closer at The Fixed Line’s next step which has been in planning for some time now. Expect greater capacity and service when we return. In the meantime, we will continue to respond to calls & emails. Our partners at Hoarding Marmot have retail repair items to hold things together until we are open again. Please support these great local businesses. We’ll be updating our Blog and Social Media with how to’s and resurrecting oldies but goodies from the archives.

Thanks for supporting our small business. We look forward to serving you in the future. Until then get outside, be safe and have a great summer Alaska!

With gratitude,
Ryan

Can’t wait to continue expanding the outdoor reconomy.

”In an industry that designs and builds gear to perform and last decades, the most sustainable thing we can do is use the gear for the entirety of its natural life through care and repair.”

The Outdoor Reconomy Is Here By Mile Geraci