Idiot YouTuber Tries to Return 20 Year Old The North Face Hiking Backpack (1 Viewer)

[jakemccurdy]

 

[r2m]

Okay Jake, you had to open that door...
Grab a beer and a comfortable seat, this post may be a long read.
First off, I SWEAR by The North Face (and yes "The" is actually part their name). One of the top companies I've ever dealt with!
Time for personal experience one:
I too have a TNF backpack, a Flight series that I've had for going on 25 years. About 9 years ago I tossed the pack onto the passenger front seat of my rig for a hike. Slammed the door shut and... CRUNCH. I open the door to find that one of the straps with a large plastic buckle on it was hanging out in door jam. When I shut the car door, it crushed the buckle. I call TNF and told them I have had this pack over 15 years and that the buckle was shut in a car door and broke. She asked me the size and type of buckle and I did my best to describe it. Within a week, I received a package from TNF with 3 buckles of varying types! This was just to ensure I had the right one for my pack.
So far: A+ plus, 5***** star, whatever top rating.

Personal experience two:
In 2000 I was asked to be part of a team of 5 to climb Mount Kilimanjaro (yes the volcanic mountain in Africa at 19,341 feet). This was the most extreme adventure to date I've done and didn't really have the best equipment other than my ski gear clothing, which in itself wasn't that bad. Again, I turned to TNF for gear, along with Mountain Hardware and Patagonia equipment. I purchased TNF Triple Middle outer shell coat (just a word of advice, always use "layers" when in extreme conditions, even skiing). it was one of their best Gore-Tex coats made at the time. It worked GREAT for that climb, and yes I did summit. So I'm back from that trip and continue using that shell for winter, rain, snow, skiing, hiking, etc. for years (19 to exact).

Finally last year, if you're not keeping track of dates, this after having the coat for over 19 years, the inner Gore-Tex was beginning to peel. Again I called TNF and was connected with a very nice customer service lady. I told her all about my coat and what I've done with it and she offered me to send my coat in to see if it could be repaired, if not they would do an exchange, which I opted for the repair first because I love that coat and it's features. They told me because of the season they were quite busy, it would probably take about 6 weeks to repair which I was okay with. It was end of season and we were through with skiing and we don't really get much rain here in So. Cal.

About a month later I was told it was un-repaireable. I was crushed! My beloved coat of so many years! GONE!! Okay, now it's time to start perusing their online coat selection. I made my selection and called their customer service again. My coat originally cost $300.00 back in 2000, and the coat I wanted was $500.00. They said they would give me $200.00 credit for my coat. I explained to them it was the best at the time, so on and so forth telling them what it meant to me. Finally they said that they'd give $300.00 credit for the coat. But I came back with the coat I want now which is in the same category of quality and features as my old coat, the credit wouldn't come close to covering it! So a little more haggling and we agreed upon the $300.00 credit for my old coat AND they reduced the price of the coat I want down to $400.00 ($100.00 less).
So I spent the $100.00 to make up the difference and now have their top of the line coat!
AGAIN: A+ plus, 5***** star, whatever top rating.
End of story...

In short The North Face will ALWAYS be my go-to company for adventure gear!

 

[300blk]

Dakine used to be like that before they started to sell Chicom garbage. Now their warranty claims take weeks and they usually tell you to GFY and give you a coupon for their overpriced web store.

 

[jakemccurdy]

Okay Jake, you had to open that door...
Grab a beer and a comfortable seat, this post may be a long read.
First off, I SWEAR by The North Face (and yes "The" is actually part their name). One of the top companies I've ever dealt with!
Time for personal experience one:
I too have a TNF backpack, a Flight series that I've had for going on 25 years. About 9 years ago I tossed the pack onto the passenger front seat of my rig for a hike. Slammed the door shut and... CRUNCH. I open the door to find that one of the straps with a large plastic buckle on it was hanging out in door jam. When I shut the car door, it crushed the buckle. I call TNF and told them I have had this pack over 15 years and that the buckle was shut in a car door and broke. She asked me the size and type of buckle and I did my best to describe it. Within a week, I received a package from TNF with 3 buckles of varying types! This was just to ensure I had the right one for my pack.
So far: A+ plus, 5***** star, whatever top rating.

Personal experience two:
In 2000 I was asked to be part of a team of 5 to climb Mount Kilimanjaro (yes the volcanic mountain in Africa at 19,341 feet). This was the most extreme adventure to date I've done and didn't really have the best equipment other than my ski gear clothing, which in itself wasn't that bad. Again, I turned to TNF for gear, along with Mountain Hardware and Patagonia equipment. I purchased TNF Triple Middle outer shell coat (just a word of advice, always use "layers" when in extreme conditions, even skiing). it was one of their best Gore-Tex coats made at the time. It worked GREAT for that climb, and yes I did summit. So I'm back from that trip and continue using that shell for winter, rain, snow, skiing, hiking, etc. for years (19 to exact).

Finally last year, if you're not keeping track of dates, this after having the coat for over 19 years, the inner Gore-Tex was beginning to peel. Again I called TNF and was connected with a very nice customer service lady. I told her all about my coat and what I've done with it and she offered me to send my coat in to see if it could be repaired, if not they would do an exchange, which I opted for the repair first because I love that coat and it's features. They told me because of the season they were quite busy, it would probably take about 6 weeks to repair which I was okay with. It was end of season and we were through with skiing and we don't really get much rain here in So. Cal.

About a month later I was told it was un-repaireable. I was crushed! My beloved coat of so many years! GONE!! Okay, now it's time to start perusing their online coat selection. I made my selection and called their customer service again. My coat originally cost $300.00 back in 2000, and the coat I wanted was $500.00. They said they would give me $200.00 credit for my coat. I explained to them it was the best at the time, so on and so forth telling them what it meant to me. Finally they said that they'd give $300.00 credit for the coat. But I came back with the coat I want now which is in the same category of quality and features as my old coat, the credit wouldn't come close to covering it! So a little more haggling and we agreed upon the $300.00 credit for my old coat AND they reduced the price of the coat I want down to $400.00 ($100.00 less).
So I spent the $100.00 to make up the difference and now have their top of the line coat!
AGAIN: A+ plus, 5***** star, whatever top rating.
End of story...

In short The North Face will ALWAYS be my go-to company for adventure gear!

Love it. Let's hope they treat me the same. Sounds like you've had as much luck with The North Face warranty as I've had with Jetboil. I'm thinking that I'll likely get a coupon for my backpack too, but we'll see. Thanks for sharing!

 

[r2m]

BTW, LOVE JetBoil also!!

 

[r2m]

Dakine used to be like that before they started to sell Chicom garbage. Now their warranty claims take weeks and they usually tell you to GFY and give you a coupon for their overpriced web store.

I know we're kind of off topic. OKAY we're WAY off topic here, but as most young teenagers at home reply with, "Whatever..."
Julbo Eyeware is also great! I've been using their glacier glasses for decades and they've always replaced worn parts, no questions.
Oakley used to be that way in the '90's when I used to race bikes (peddle kind). All their original glasses were life-time warranty. But they had to go and get themselves "acquired" and now they're like most other warranties.

 

[CBdeJ]

I have a North Face mountain coat that I bought in 88. Last year I sent it in to have the velcro at the cuffs fixed. In the process of fixing it they found a small tear on the back (which I knew about but can usually only find it half the time I look for it). Turns out the North Face started making the mountain coat again and offered me a new one to replace the old. I kept the old. They also fixed my mountain pants from 89, replacing all the velcro and the flex panels that had worn out. Free except they had to clean the coat -- I could never get the whale blubber/seal blood smell out of it (**). Even now it smells like a goat every time it gets wet and my wife has forbidden it from coming indoors.

** No I didn't kill a whole or club a seal. A close friend who works for the Independent newspaper (in the UK) borrowed my kit when he covered stories on whaling by the Inuit in Alaska and traditional seal hunting on the St. Lawrence river in Quebec.

 

[jakemccurdy]

I have a North Face mountain coat that I bought in 88. Last year I sent it in to have the velcro at the cuffs fixed. In the process of fixing it they found a small tear on the back (which I knew about but can usually only find it half the time I look for it). Turns out the North Face started making the mountain coat again and offered me a new one to replace the old. I kept the old. They also fixed my mountain pants from 89, replacing all the velcro and the flex panels that had worn out. Free except they had to clean the coat -- I could never get the whale blubber/seal blood smell out of it (**). Even now it smells like a goat every time it gets wet and my wife has forbidden it from coming indoors.

** No I didn't kill a whole or club a seal. A close friend who works for the Independent newspaper (in the UK) borrowed my kit when he covered stories on whaling by the Inuit in Alaska and traditional seal hunting on the St. Lawrence river in Quebec.

I just got a reply from them. As expected, they've taken care of me very well : ) Will get to the follow-up video in a week or two.

 

[KLF]

There's a chain in New England called Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS). They sell many brands, The North Face is popular there. I have no doubt if I took my North Face backpack there, plopped it on the counter, and said "I don't like this anymore", they would hand me a refund. They wouldn't even care if I bought it there.

They did this exact thing from me with a pocket knife many years ago. It was a brand they didn't even sell. They gave me approximate credit on a new one.

 

[jakemccurdy]

There's a chain in New England called Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS). They sell many brands, The North Face is popular there. I have no doubt if I took my North Face backpack there, plopped it on the counter, and said "I don't like this anymore", they would hand me a refund. They wouldn't even care if I bought it there.

They did this exact thing from me with a pocket knife many years ago. It was a brand they didn't even sell. They gave me approximate credit on a new one.

REI used to be like that. Was lifetime no questions asked until about 5 years ago when they changed it to 1 year.

 

[coleAK]

REI used to be like that. Was lifetime no questions asked until about 5 years ago when they changed it to 1 year.

Yes, REI sucks now, I have no reason to shop there since they dropped the “old warranty” practices. I used to be ok with paying more or going large business instead of small. Now i buy online to go to the local small business. Even more so now After the Peips mess with the defective switch on the DSP’s that REI are refusing to swap out even though BD has acknowledged the issue and not warranty unless it is currently broken.

 

[Kofoed]

Yes, REI sucks now, I have no reason to shop there since they dropped the “old warranty” practices. I used to be ok with paying more or going large business instead of small. Now i buy online to go to the local small business. Even more so now After the Peips mess with the defective switch on the DSP’s that REI are refusing to swap out even though BD has acknowledged the issue and not warranty unless it is currently broken.

I see people in REI shoppiing the various "life style" brands to return after using for a short period of time for a refund.

 

[MrMikeyG]

I had an awesome experience with Gerber a couple of years ago. I shipped them 2 different multi-tools, told them about how the damage happened, and received 2 brand new replacements in under a month. If I remember correctly, I paid for shipping to Gerber and that was all.

 

[changingground]

I see people in REI shoppiing the various "life style" brands to return after using for a short period of time for a refund.

Y’all may disagree with me, but my understanding of REI’s change of policy was specifically because people were treating their purchases as rentals, I.e. buying something, using it hard for a trip, and then returning it. Crappy behavior hurts everyone. I even met a guy who would do this, then damage the item so that he could claim that it failed.
On the plus side, I just bought a double camping pad through the garage sale that someone had returned because “it took too long to inflate.” My purchase price was 1/3 of the retail.

 

[r2m]

Y’all may disagree with me, but my understanding of REI’s change of policy was specifically because people were treating their purchases as rentals, I.e. buying something, using it hard for a trip, and then returning it. Crappy behavior hurts everyone. I even met a guy who would do this, then damage the item so that he could claim that it failed.
On the plus side, I just bought a double camping pad through the garage sale that someone had returned because “it took too long to inflate.” My purchase price was 1/3 of the retail.

Absolutely agree! Costco had to do the same thing with their TV's, computers and other high end electric components. People would purchase a top of the line TV from Costco and wait a year so so for the next newest one to come out and and return their old one with some lame excuse.
I have said this for many years, it is the lack of integrity of people today that we have SO many laws and litigation. If people would just do the right thing...
Problem is, the datum point of morality is so obscure and ambiguous that, per the New King James Bible, "... everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
And just to mix it up with a non-biblical quote, "It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world, and moral courage so rare."-Mark Twain.

I shall now step off my soap box...

 

[Kofoed]

Y’all may disagree with me, but my understanding of REI’s change of policy was specifically because people were treating their purchases as rentals, I.e. buying something, using it hard for a trip, and then returning it. Crappy behavior hurts everyone. I even met a guy who would do this, then damage the item so that he could claim that it failed.
On the plus side, I just bought a double camping pad through the garage sale that someone had returned because “it took too long to inflate.” My purchase price was 1/3 of the retail.

I don't see where it has changed all that much, except for electroncs. You still have a year. I do not use my purchases and the policy as a rental shop. I have purchased stuff from the garage sale rack (shoes) that obviously were not worn more than a trail run or two. I didn't want to spend full price on a new type of shoe on an experiement (bad feet). Other shoes obvious were almost worn out and returned. That is s***ty

 

[renago]

I am a good customer of Patagonia ,
after 30 years aprox , i still had a wonderful pile , but the zippers and the wrist band were shot .
brought it back to my local Patagonia store , they sent it for repair , came back with new zippers , and wrist band , as new .
2 months and zero cost .
super happy , now I must loose 15 kg , to fit in .

 

[04UZJ100]

I am a good customer of Patagonia ,
after 30 years aprox , i still had a wonderful pile , but the zippers and the wrist band were shot .
brought it back to my local Patagonia store , they sent it for repair , came back with new zippers , and wrist band , as new .
2 months and zero cost .
super happy , now I must loose 15 kg , to fit in .

They virtue signal too much.

 

[jakemccurdy]

Made a quick update: