This past weekend, the KORE Outdoors Rehub Tour passed through Golden, setting up its mobile repair trailer in Spirit Square last Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Community members were able to pre-book repair appointments, but walk-ins were also welcome.
The KORE Rehub Program is a mobile outdoor gear repair initiative designed to help people extend the life of their equipment rather than replace it. The program brings professional repair technicians and a fully equipped trailer to communities, offering free repairs for items such as jackets, backpacks, sleeping bags, tents and other outdoor gear. More complicated repairs can be completed by partner technicians, while the program is also exploring ways to repair harder goods such as ski equipment. The goal is to reduce waste while building a stronger culture of repair in the outdoor community.
The first Rehub Tour launched in 2025, travelling to 12 communities throughout the Kootenays. Beginning in Revelstoke, the mobile repair unit made stops in communities including Golden, Fernie, Cranbrook, Kimberley, Nelson, Castlegar, Radium Hot Springs, Rossland, Invermere and Creston, bringing the repair service to local events and festivals. In 2026, the tour has continued travelling through the region, with stops including Kamloops, Revelstoke, New Denver and Nelson, as well as an upcoming stop in Kimberley on September 19.
KORE is also working toward taking Rehub beyond its travelling repair tour, with plans for a permanent Rehub Circular Technology Centre at College of the Rockies in Cranbrook. Backed by $1 million in provincial funding, the centre is intended to provide year-round outdoor gear repair, industrial sewing and training, upcycling, prototyping and small-scale manufacturing. The facility is expected to serve as both a training hub and social enterprise, helping create local opportunities for repair and sustainable outdoor gear production across the Kootenays.
Programs like Rehub encourage more sustainable practices among outdoor enthusiasts. In previous generations, mending worn or damaged items was often a natural part of life. Today, with mass production and constantly changing trends encouraging us to buy new things, repairing something we already own can feel almost like a lost skill.
For outdoor enthusiasts, gear can be expensive, and a small tear, broken zipper or damaged strap doesn’t necessarily mean an item has reached the end of its life. Programs like Rehub offer a reminder that sometimes the most sustainable choice isn’t buying something new, but taking the time to repair something we already love and putting it back to use.
