For four straight years, Joey worked as a whitewater guide on some of the most iconic rivers in the American West: Idaho's Lower Salmon, Middle Fork Salmon, and the Selway (a permit-only wilderness river you can only run if you win a lottery.) From May through September, he logged 10 to 12 trips a season, each lasting 5 to 7 days and covering up to 100 miles. That's roughly 240 days on the water and over 3,500 rugged river miles in the same pair of Cairns.

"I needed one pair that could do everything," he told us. "Hiking to put-ins, scrambling on wet rocks during scouting, rowing through rapids, setting up camp. I rely on my footwear to do it all."

Those same Cairns also went with him on weekend climbing trips to the desert around Las Vegas, where they doubled as his approach shoes - strapped to a harness, packed in with gear, and always ready to go.

Joey first crossed paths with us in downtown Missoula at a concert in Caras Park. One of our co-founders, Nick, spotted his sandals and made a beeline. "Nice Bedrocks," he said. "But your toe post is about to go." After learning Joey's story, Nick offered to repair them at our Re-Soul facility here in Missoula and get him a deal on a backup pair.

River guides are some of our heaviest users. The constant cycle of sand, sun, and water breaks down gear faster than almost anything else, and footwear tends to fail first.

"When you're guiding all season, your footwear gets thrashed," Joey explained. "Other guides would end up strapping blown-out sandals to the sweep boat for laughs. But Bedrocks? Never on the boat."

A year later, when a former Bedrock rep mentioned an opening on our customer service team, Joey was at a crossroads between another guiding season and staying in Missoula. He made a deal with himself: "If I get the Bedrock job, I'll stay."

We're lucky he did. Today, Joey helps customers understand what makes our sandals unique, especially when it comes to longevity and our repair services. 

"When you buy a pair of Bedrocks, you're not just buying sandals, you're buying into a membership service," he says. "These are premium sandals, but once you're in, you've got repair options that keep your gear going for years."

Most of the repairs we see are resoles, where we replace the worn sole for $65 while keeping everything else in tact. "The tread is what wears down, but the rest holds up. It's a design where the parts that don't need to wear away don't, and the parts that do can be replaced."

His advice for when to reach out? "If you see delamination anywhere besides the wing area, get in touch. For resoles, just listen to your feet. When you start slipping where you used to feel secure, it's time."

These days, Joey's traded commercial trips for solo adventures - biking, backpacking, and chasing grayling in the backcountry of Montana. Those Cairns that started as work gear have become his go-to for every adventure.

Got questions about repairs, resoles, or choosing the right pair? Joey might be the one answering when you email support@bedrocksandals.com or click here to learn more.