People’s experiences with warranties?

Thermarest just replaced my broken NeoAir (failed seam) with a brand new XLite, no questions asked, no proof of purchase needed.

Insert Eric Chan in 3…2….1….

:)

Ryan

Osprey repaired and reinforced a burst zipper on a travel pack I sent them. Patagonia likewise has either replaced zippers or, if too much of a hassle, sent a replacement item. Jansport has a legendary program, sending me a "hospital" card on my daypack when stitching came loose and they needed time to fix it.

Another of the major pack makers wouldn't honor the warranty on my "old" late 99 trad pack (I'm guessing from pre-buyout) about 5 years later, so eBayed the pack a few years back. Not really looking to buy anything new from them.

Just to add, traditional fabrics and construction should last at least several years and there's plenty of 20+ year old "bomb-proof" packs out there; would not expect the same from sil or cuben however. Osprey probably has fun servicing their lighter packs … but they could also repair by reinforcing, adding weight. Food for thought.

ed: add

Backcountry edge- one year return. Returned a tent near one year later. Disclosed I had put a hole in the screening. They didn't care. They also have a great points program and match prices.

EMS- still has unlimited return policy. Returned two un-insulated pads for 2 insulated ones after 2 or 3 years. No questions asked. Also returned 2 bags after trying them and found them insufficient. They run sales continuously and price match. Its easier to get better pricing at EMS than REI but I don't buy much from either anymore.

Deuter- satisfaction guaranteed no questions asked. Had a stitching problem on a pack and they sent me a new one immediately trusting me to return the other with a call tag they sent. Nice.

BA- did me a few favors for free. I suspect if I have a problem they will also be helpful.

Marmot- didn't even want to talk to me about 2 precip jackets failing. Biggest pieces of crap I have ever owned. That's ok, I don't buy their gear anymore.

jimmby

A friend gave me his MSR Hubba – and the fly had delaminated. It was a known issue some years ago with a batch of material.

I emailed them and told them I didn't buy it, it was given to me by a friend, and they still replaced the fly no cost other than postage to mail it to them. Pretty spectacular.

Not directly an outdoor company but I have a Surefire E1E outdoorsman flashlight and the tailswitch was not working properly. They sent a new switch pretty much with no questions asked.

+1 for MSR.. got some Evo Tour snowshoes from REI garage sale and was missing a buckle. Emailed them about getting a buckle and they sent me one plus a few straps, no questions.

Great experiences in recent past with OR and HMG.

Historically MEC has been great. REI remains to be seen. Patagonia treated me fairly in years before the ebay return scam picked up. I don't blame the for wanting a documented proof of purchase. Black Diamond has repaired gear for free.

Sawyer: Worst piece of coprolite around warranty wise.

Never had an issue with any warranty yet. I guess I'm just lucky or maybe it's because I just ask and don't make demands and assumptions.

I've had good luck with Exped, Osprey, and Big Agnes. Even when I was not the original owner.

I've had years of experience with EMS. They have gone out of their way to help with damaged items. Returns have never been an issue, but their quality and service advise usually does not result in a need to make returns in the first place.

I've had a very generous warranty exchange from Arcteryx. Trading a fleece, that did pile immediately, for an Atom SV.

Free buckle/clip send to me by Osprey.

And the local shop that still focusses on more core hikers and climbers gave me back my money after the Black Diamond Distance FL poles I bought there were partly unusable, and already showed rust and excessive wear. This was after I had used them for roughly 20 hours.

Truth be told, I can't think of a single bad experience with gear-related warranties… be they stores like REI, Campmor, Backcountry.com… or brands like MontBell, Mountainsmith, MSR, etc., etc.

I had a great experience with Leki. I broke the first section of one of my trekking poles via misuse (which I disclosed, and they still honored the warrany and sent me a replacement.

Adrien

Had good luck with both companies. MSR sent me a free repair kit for my WhisperLite when the problem was stupid user error. GSI replaced a faulty coffee filter on a French press no questions asked and at no cost.

I too have had only good experiences, e.g. with SD, MSR, Thermarest, REI, Marmot, GG, etc. There are lots of posts about this in the Review section on companies.

It makes sense for a serious company to act generously here. Not many products come back, most are legitimate returns, and only a few people take advantage.

And a happy customer will tell a few others if you are lucky, but an unhappy customer will tell anyone who will listen!

So with all these warranty experiences, wouldn't it be GREAT for BPL to have a user accessible spreadsheet (or something like this) where users can add their own warranty stories?!

Some companies seem rather consistent with their warranties, where some seem to change from year to year.

I think it would be "neat" to see all this info in one place… :)

(sigh)

p.s. I had posted my personal Dead Bird warranty success story just about a year ago. I'm sure it's searchable.

I'm impressed with Exped. I asked for a repair estimate on a synmat with delaminated baffles. They replaced it for free even though I told them it was a second-hand purchase. All they needed was a picture of the damage and a lot number.

I have never exercised a warranty claim. When I buy gear I research it, buy quality, and never have problems. Of course, sometimes the best brands have defects.

Although I have been a member of REI for decades, I didn't know about the old lifetime warranty until I joined BPL. Never returned anything for warranty.

I have had one item fixed under warranty. In 2012 I sent my 41 year old Kelty D4 pack bag to Kelty for a seam repair — something I expected to pay for. They repaired it for free.

@ Matt:

Given that good customer / warranty services seem to be the norm within the outdoor gear industry… methinks a spreadsheet highlighting the losers will be more useful.

I have a tent into BA right now, we'll see how it goes.

I have to hand it to PrincetonTec, I had a light that was faulty, and called and got a person in the office, a small company, I broke the light accidentally trying to get the battery out, and they still replaced at no cost the light.

I've had great success lately with Sport Chalet, I bought a bag (Slumberjack) a long time ago, accidentally at the register swapped it with the women's version. Went to return it but receipt said I had men's version, they gave me credit for the bag at the lowest price which even after I argued was $15 MORE than I paid for the bag.

I've only had warranty issues on boots and a Greggory backpack (20 years ago). Vasque Sundowners about twenty years ago had the dreaded sole delamination. They gave me 100% credit at the gear shop along the PCT. I hiked 10 miles with duct tape holding my boots together.

Had the same issue on a set of Keens that I bought this year. From what I understand it is not an uncommon issue with them. I emailed Keen with pictures and they told me that I had to go through my retailer for the warranty. REI replaced them on the spot then about 8-weeks later another pair show up in the mail from Keen. I don't have a clue why they emailed me to go through REI then turned around and shipped another pair.

But I forgot to add some condiment packs to my Packit Gourmet order. It was only $1 worth and not worth an extra order, but I wanted them. I emailed them and they added it to my order, not sure if they charged me the $1 (I'd bet they didn't). I always put my departure date in the comments and they always make sure it ships soon enough to get to me days in advance.

I can almost say the same as Nick about never having problems or exercising warranties, but this year I finally had a few.
Had a Big Agnes pad develop a mystery leak-only reason it hasn't been replaced is that I haven't sent it in.
Also returned a couple of things to Eddie Bauer.
One was a rain jacket that was several years old with a broken zipper-offered replacement, took an in-store credit toward clothes I was buying.
The other was a First Ascent Microtherm hoody leaking down in all directions-full refund for purchase price, then got a form letter apologizing for the problem with a $10 gift certificate attached. No complaints here…

Damaged Steripen. No hassle exchange given though I probably broke it.

Petzl headlamp. Replaced, no charge

First of the NeoAirs with the bad fabric was exchanged through Cascade Designs with no questions asked.

Fly on an old SD Flashlight was replaced no charge for a bad PU coating.

Buying quality gear only stings a bit at the register. Pays off.