People’s experiences with warranties?

Great! An opportunity to complain about Garmin

The cover broke on my 60CSx. Probably past warranty period. They wanted to sell me a new one for $30 or something. I thought it was a poor design with a point likely to break and they should have just sent me a new one.

I fixed it with a nail, a piece of aluminum, and some epoxy. This actually works much better than the original thin plastic piece that's prone to breaking.

Ooh, Garmin was a fun one. I had an eTrex Venture HC get completely bricked by a firmware upgrade. After haggling with support for a while and convincing them that I knew enough about technology and programming best practices that they couldn't get away with blaming me, they finally sent me a new device. It was a serious fight though, I was on the phone for a few hours at one point.

Black Diamond: Very good! Broke a "lifetime warrantee" carbon trekking pole in a fall at Kings Canyon, got home, called them. They wanted the pole sent in to them, but I was leaving 5 days later for Carson-Iceberg. I sent them some photos, and the new pole arrived before I left.

Thermarest: Very good!

REI: Excellent over the years. (I have no problem with the new one year thing. I'm not someone who uses the heck out of something, then brings it back after ten years expecting the worn-out thing to be replaced. Yes, I've seen it happen…cut into my dividend, I'm sure! :) )

Sawyer: The worst!

Jetboil: Every bit as good as Sawyer. (See above.)

Another vote for Black Diamond's top shelf customer service.

They sent me a new PAIR or Ultra Distance trekking poles after I fell and broke one of mine. The customer service rep told me it was refreshing to hear the truth about what happened. He also told me to keep my remaining good one as a spare.

Black Diamond earned a lifetime customer and a product ambassador that day!

My experience with warranties, is that they are highly dependent on the financial well-being of the company. Aside from that, its just a scrap of paper.

I have an Osprey Exos 58 that I returned last week for warranty. I received an email today that they were unable to repair the pack and would ship me a new one. I haven't received the new pack yet, but so far, the customer service process has been outstanding.