Fix It, Share It!

A volunteer gets ready to repair the zipper on a bike bag. Photo by Mark Pillsbury

A torn seam here, a stuck zipper there, that’s all it takes and poof!—another otherwise perfectly good piece of gear is on its way to the landfill. 

Or maybe not.

Maine GearShare in Brunswick has a whole team of technicians and volunteers who are intent on doing what it takes to keep shoes, jackets, tents, sleeping bags, you name it out of the trash and out on the trail, beach, slope, or boat, where they belong.

A mountain-biking colleague here at work, for example, had a small bike bag that she uses to carry tools and such when riding. It wasn’t fancy or anything, but it fit perfectly under her seat and was in relatively good condition, except for a broken zipper. It seemed silly to throw it out, so at her request, I took the bag with me to the Maine Outdoor Economy Summit, hosted by Maine Outdoor Brands in Sunday River a couple weeks before Thanksgiving. Maine GearShare was one of the participants at the annual conference, and its team had set up shop on the opening day in a small room at the Sunday River Resort, where they offered free repairs on just about anything.

It was a busy place, with multiple industrial sewing machines set on tables and surrounded by small hand tools and parts. Several of the workers sported headlamps to illuminate their projects. I dropped the bag off around 10 in the morning and by 2 p.m. it was good as new, with its zipper slider back on the track and working smoothly.

Emily Mackeown, GearShare’s advancement manager and one of three paid staffers, estimates she and her colleagues saved more than 100 pounds of stuff from landfills on that day alone.

But that’s not all they do. GearShare’s main mission is to, as the name says, share gear, primarily with many of the Maine non-profits who get students and adults outdoors, but also with anyone who needs good quality equipment.

At the GearShare website (mainegearshare.org), visitors will find footwear, rain gear, backpacks, tents, kitchen equipment like silverware, dishes, pots, pans—even stoves and water filters—and lots more. Mackeown says their inventory is about 1,400 pieces and growing.

All of it’s for rent and all of it is well maintained. Products come from names such as Kelty, L.L. Bean Apparel, GSI Outdoors, and Hyperlite, a Maine company that builds backpacks. Through its partners, Mackeown says GearShare is able to procure new equipment on quite favorable terms. Funding comes through grants and organizations such as the Onion Foundation and Quimby Family Foundation.

GearShare offers advice, too, on topics such as where and how to camp, what to pack, how to set up a tent, and what to cook out there in the woods.

Mackeown refers to GearShare as a gear library. In essence, it provides things to people who don’t necessarily want to own them on their own. A school or non-profit such as Rockland-based Trekkers, for instance, might want to take students on a winter field trip, and will contact GearShare to get hiking shoes and warm puffy coats so everyone is dressed for the elements—and no one feels like they have less than the others.

She estimates 80 percent of the work they do is equipping non-profit organizations all across Maine. The remainder is working with private individuals who might want to try something new or need outdoor stuff for visitors. A couple who were getting married, for instance, rented sleeping bags and tents for their guests to use after the ceremony. 

Maine GearShare launched in 2021, and according to its website, was “designed by Maine trip leading organizations, schools, outdoor retailers and makers, and outdoor funders.” It was seen as a way to ease the onerous burden of every small organization having to procure, stock and maintain equipment on their own. Then in 2023, a new executive director, Josh Bossin, came aboard and brought with him skills and knowledge for the repairs side of what GearShare offers. Mackeown said it’s a natural fit. The drop-off repair center provides an income source for GearShare, and volunteers who learn to use repair tools, in turn help maintain the loaned equipment. She says in the last year, they’ve notched 4,785 participant days in rentals, or about 13 years worth of outdoor time.

Mackeown, a licensed Maine Guide, said she’s been in the wild with good gear and bad. What you’re wearing makes a big difference.

“You just hate kayaking in jeans,” she said. 

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