When something breaks, your first instinct isn’t to throw it away. It’s to ask, “Can this be fixed?” You care about repair, not replace, and so do we. You buy gear suited for hard use. You’d rather see patches than landfill. 

That’s why the idea of an outdoor gear repair service matters so much to the Red Oxx herd. It’s also why we stand behind our own gear with a world‑famous “No Bull” Lifetime Warranty and why we draw a clear line when it comes to repairing other brands.

This article explains:

• How our early “fix anything for a buck” days shaped the way we design Red Oxx gear.
• What the “No Bull” Lifetime Warranty really means.
• Why we only repair Red Oxx gear.
• Who I would trust with your jackets, tents, packs, and other non–Red Oxx pieces 

Built to Be Repaired, Not Tossed

Let’s start with something we agree on: Throwaway gear is bad gear.

Cheap bags, jackets, and packs are bad for your wallet and bad for the planet. They fail right where you lean on them hardest, then head for the trash. That’s the opposite of how I think about equipment.

At Red Oxx, we build lifetime warranty gear because we expect you to use it for a long, hard life. I want your bag to earn its scars. I want it to be worth repairing.

That’s also why we care about having a clear, honest path for outdoor gear repair service, and why that path looks different for Red Oxx gear versus everyone else’s.

From Fixing Everything to Designing Bags That Don’t Quit

In the early days, we fixed anything. ( Even competitors bags) 

If it had a zipper and a story, it wound up on the bench. We’d see hunting packs that had blown out mid‑season, duffels that had lost their handles in the first airport, and “premium” bags that folded the first time someone actually loaded them.

That’s what small shops do to keep the lights on, anything for a buck. But those years were a master class in how gear fails.

We saw the same problems over and over:

• Shoulder straps pulling straight out of weak seams.
• Zippers blown because the coil was too light for real use.
• Webbing sewn into thin fabric that had no chance under any kind of load.
• Stitching patterns that saved time for the factory and cost the customer in the end.

It wasn’t bad luck. It was bad design, shortcuts in the build process, and weak materials. The litany of sins was long, and we saw them all.

So when we built out the Red Oxx line, we kept every one of those failures in mind:

• Stress points reinforced, not guessed at.
•  Heavy‑duty webbing and hardware sized for abuse, not showroom floors.
• Stitching patterns borrowed from parachute rigging, not fast fashion.
• Oversized zippers chosen because we’ve already seen what happens when you don’t.

The goal was simple: build bags that rarely fail in the usual ways, and when they do need to be repaired, it’s worth doing because the rest of the bag still has years left in it.

That design history is the backbone of our warranty and the reason I can sign my name under “No Bull” with a straight face.

Inside the Red Oxx “No Bull” Lifetime Warranty

I said it this way years ago, and I still stand by it:

The Red Oxx “No Bull” Lifetime Warranty is our way of putting that promise in writing. Here’s what that really means in practice:

• We stand behind our work, for life. If a Red Oxx product fails because of materials or workmanship, we fix it. Period.
• You cover the ride in, we cover the repair. When you send us your gear for warranty work, you only pay for the shipping. The actual repair is on us.
• Clean gear only. If a bag comes in caked in oil, mud, or who‑knows‑what, we send it back unrepaired. We’re a repair shop, not a hazmat operation. A quick cleanup before you ship it is part of the deal.
•  Repairs take time. Once we receive your bag, it can take up to 90 days to repair and send it back. That’s how long it takes to do the work right with a small, skilled crew, not a conveyor belt.
• Your bag might not come back “pretty.” We aim for full functionality, not “fresh off the shelf.”
• We’ll use similar fabrics and hardware, but exact color matches aren’t always possible.
•  Some colors and components simply don’t exist anymore.
•   The end result may show patches or visible darning.

I’m fine with that. Scars can be a rite of passage. On a Red Oxx bag, they’re proof of a life well used.

When you see Red Oxx No Bull Lifetime Warranty, that’s what sits behind it: Not fluffy copy, but a very real, very hands‑on promise.

Why We Only Repair Red Oxx Gear

Here’s the blunt part.

We draw the line at our own gear. We do not offer a general outdoor gear repair service for other brands.

Why?

Because the same experience that made us good at repairing bags also taught us this:

• To know exactly how Red Oxx gear is designed, stitched, and reinforced.
• To know which materials and patterns we chose, and why.
• To know how a Red Oxx bag should behave under load, and what “normal wear” looks like.

When we repair Red Oxx gear, we’re working inside a system we built. We can bring it back to function and feel good signing our name to it again.

When we touch another brand’s product, we’re inheriting someone else’s design decisions:

• Thin fabric at a stress point we’d never choose.
• Hardware that's flimsy or undersized from day one.
• Seams routed in ways that make repair a short‑term band‑aid instead of a long‑term solution.

We’re not interested in putting a Red Oxx‑level promise on that kind of foundation. So we don’t.

To be clear:

We will repair Red Oxx bags covered by our “No Bull” Lifetime Warranty.

We will not repair:

1. Other brands’ bags.
2. Jackets.
3. Tents.
4. Sleeping bags.
5. Or any other non–Red Oxx gear.
6. But that doesn’t mean I want your other gear to end up in a landfill.

 

Boots, Jackets, and Keeping the Good Stuff in the Fight

Here’s something I’ve noticed after a few decades in this business:

If someone cares enough to buy a well‑built bag, they usually care about everything else they carry, too.

The folks who buy Red Oxx are the same ones who:

• Have a favorite pair of boots that they’ve resoled more than once.
• Own a jacket that’s been on more trips than most people’s cars.
• Know their cobbler by first name.

I’m no different.

I’ve got boots that have seen more miles than some airline crews. The leather is scarred, the soles have been swapped, the stitching has been touched up. They’re not pretty. They’re mine. Tossing them just because something wore out would feel wrong.

Same story with jackets. A good shell or work coat isn’t just fabric. It’s seasons of use, places you’ve been, jobs you’ve done, people you’ve met along the way. When a zipper goes or a seam opens up, I don’t think “time to replace.” I think, “who’s going to get this back in service?”

That’s how I look at bags, boots, and jackets:

• If it’s worth buying right, it’s worth keeping in the fight.
• Repair is how you respect the value in the things you rely on.

We build Red Oxx gear so it earns that kind of loyalty. And when something in your kit isn’t ours, but it still matters to you, I still want you to have a way to keep it working. That’s where the right outdoor gear repair service comes in.

Meet Rugged Thread: The Outdoor Gear Repair Service I Trust for the Rest out of Bend Oregon.

If it’s a jacket, a sleeping bag, a tent, or another brand’s pack, you need a reputable shop that can handle outdoor gear.

I’ve spent enough time around sewing machines and broken gear to know that not all repairs are created equal. You want it in the hands of people who think the same way we do about durability, craft, and the planet.

That’s why I point folks to Rugged Thread. They’re an independent outdoor gear repair service, but their values line up with what I care about:

They believe in repair over replace

Rugged Thread doesn’t treat broken gear as trash. They treat it as unfinished business.

They know the numbers on textile waste and landfills. They’ll tell you that simply extending the life of a jacket or pack by nine months can cut its environmental impact by a big chunk. Instead of preaching “sustainability” while cranking out disposable gear, they quietly fix the stuff people already own.

That matches how I live. If a good piece of gear can be saved, you save it.

They respect the craft and the people doing the work

At Rugged Thread, sewing isn’t a background chore. It’s the main event.

They:

• Pay a living wage.
• Treat repair technicians like the skilled tradespeople they are.
• Build a place where people can grow and pass their skills down.

You can feel that when you watch a proper repair: the way a tech sets up a zipper, how they reinforce a stress point, the patience it takes to rebuild a seam in thick fabric. That mindset is rare. I pay attention when I see it.

They’re helping build a real repair economy

The outdoor industry is huge. Repair is still a small slice, but it’s growing. Rugged Thread is leaning into that growth the way we leaned into overbuilt gear.

They’re working on:

• Standardizing tools and processes for repairs.
• Building systems to handle inventory, product flow, and quality control.
• Pushing brands to think “design for reparability” from the start.

That’s a different lane than Red Oxx, but it runs right alongside ours:

• We build gear to endure.
• They keep as much gear as possible, ours and everyone else’s, out of the dump and out in the world where it belongs.

So when you need outdoor jacket repair, tent work, or a non‑Red Oxx pack brought back to life, Rugged Thread is who I send people to.

How to Know Where to Go: 
Red Oxx Warranty
vs. Rugged Thread Repair Services

Start with one question: “Who made it?”

If it’s Red Oxx gear:

•  It’s covered by the Red Oxx “No Bull” Lifetime Warranty for materials and workmanship.
• Your next step is to head to our warranty page and follow the repair instructions:
• Download the warranty repair form Here.
• Expect the bag to come back fully functional, possibly with a few visible scars. That’s part of the story.

If it’s not Red Oxx gear:

We won’t repair it in our shop.

We recommend finding a trusted local repair shop in your area or if none exists, contact Rugged Thread, They have a team of professionals in outdoor gear repair that shares the repair not replace gear mindset.

 They handle:

1.         Jackets and technical shells.
2.         Sleeping bags.
3.         Tents.
4.         Packs from other brands.
5.         Zippers, snaps, and more.

That’s the clean dividing line:

• Red Oxx gear → Red Oxx warranty and repair.
• Everyone else’s gear → Rugged Thread and other dedicated repair pros.
• You still get a path to keep your kit going. It just happens through the right shop for the job.

Repair, Warranty, and Leading the Herd

If you’ve read this far, you’re our kind of person.

You care about:

• Gear that’s worth fixing.
• Companies that take responsibility for what they build.
• Keeping good equipment in the field instead of in the trash.

Here’s how I see it:

•  Our job at Red Oxx is to build rugged, reliable, tough bags that earn a “No Bull” Lifetime Warranty.
• When our gear needs help, we stand behind it with our own hands, one repair at a time.
• When your other gear needs help, I want you pointed toward a serious outdoor gear repair service like Rugged Thread that shares your values around durability, craft, and the planet.

You work hard. Your gear should, too. And when it stumbles, it should have a clear path back to the job.