I got a harsh education in what a lifetime warranty means for a kokatat drysuit today. I bought a kokatat meridian dry-suit in fall 2013 mostly on the basis of that term "life-time" warranty, and kokatat's stature as the big dog dry suit company in the business.
Having already had a dry suit go down hill quickly i lubricated the zippers with 303 every couple weeks while in use and kept the suit clean. The suit stayed dry for about 5 or 6 trips and then became more and more porous until the neck gasket ripped after about 8 months and I sent it in for repairs. It cost a little over 100 dollars to repair including shipping costs to and fro. Similarly the suit was water tight for a few trips and then deteriorated.
About 6 months later the zipper stopped working and I sent it in again. This time two pressure tests were needed ($20 each), the suit had to be cleaned ($25), and the neck and wrist gasket were replaced ($67.50 and $35.50), and with labor, materials, etc., and shipping each way it was around 250 dollars. Same story; a few good trips and then I'd be soaked to the skin each time out.
I sent the suit in again a couple weeks ago, and first thing got a peremptory request for authorization to clean the suit ($25). I felt the suit was clean so I expressed my displeasure succinctly and politely and got this reply:
My supervisor took a look at your suit and deemed your suit un-repairable. It has been worn out. There is no need to wash it now. It will be sent back at no charge.
I naively thought lifetime warranty applied to the owner of the suit. Here is kokatat's clarification:
Lifetime refers to the suit not the owner. You destroyed your suit and the life of it is over. It is un-repairable. Our warranty is through Gore-tex and gore-tex holds us to rigorous stipulations. Gore-tex will not take your suit back and so we cannot. If you have a problem with our warranty send your suit to gore-tex and see what they say.
The tone of the communication isn't "sorry about the bad news about your dry suit," it's more like "fuck off you presumptuous piece of shit," but my only interest in all this is to have a good dry suit to go kayaking in when it starts raining here again so that doesn't matter to me.
To summarize: Your kokatat dry suit is warrantied for as long as kokatat wants to warranty it. The lifetime of the suit can be expediently deemed over when convenient. Was my drysuit actually "destroyed"? I'm not an expert but I don't think so. A hole in the skin of the suit in one of the booties, some abrading of the goretex around the torso, but very much salvgeable. I surmise that they were unhappy about my complaint about the cleaning charge and chose to throw this in my face.
I guess it's my fault for not understanding what lifetime warranty meant in this context. In my defense lifetime warranty can in fact mean lifetime of the owner and does for many products. Consumer products says lifetime warranty has no universal standard or definition so you have to read the fine print.
I feel a bit hard done by because the other outfits that make kayaking stuff are so generous, helpful, and accommodating with gear issues. Anyone who has warrantied a jackson or dagger boat can understand what I'm talking about probably. The warranty is spelled out at purchase and honored quickly and without having to pay for and arrange shipping for the boat. That kind of treatment really makes me want to do business with those companies.
Having already had a dry suit go down hill quickly i lubricated the zippers with 303 every couple weeks while in use and kept the suit clean. The suit stayed dry for about 5 or 6 trips and then became more and more porous until the neck gasket ripped after about 8 months and I sent it in for repairs. It cost a little over 100 dollars to repair including shipping costs to and fro. Similarly the suit was water tight for a few trips and then deteriorated.
About 6 months later the zipper stopped working and I sent it in again. This time two pressure tests were needed ($20 each), the suit had to be cleaned ($25), and the neck and wrist gasket were replaced ($67.50 and $35.50), and with labor, materials, etc., and shipping each way it was around 250 dollars. Same story; a few good trips and then I'd be soaked to the skin each time out.
I sent the suit in again a couple weeks ago, and first thing got a peremptory request for authorization to clean the suit ($25). I felt the suit was clean so I expressed my displeasure succinctly and politely and got this reply:
My supervisor took a look at your suit and deemed your suit un-repairable. It has been worn out. There is no need to wash it now. It will be sent back at no charge.
I naively thought lifetime warranty applied to the owner of the suit. Here is kokatat's clarification:
Lifetime refers to the suit not the owner. You destroyed your suit and the life of it is over. It is un-repairable. Our warranty is through Gore-tex and gore-tex holds us to rigorous stipulations. Gore-tex will not take your suit back and so we cannot. If you have a problem with our warranty send your suit to gore-tex and see what they say.
The tone of the communication isn't "sorry about the bad news about your dry suit," it's more like "fuck off you presumptuous piece of shit," but my only interest in all this is to have a good dry suit to go kayaking in when it starts raining here again so that doesn't matter to me.
To summarize: Your kokatat dry suit is warrantied for as long as kokatat wants to warranty it. The lifetime of the suit can be expediently deemed over when convenient. Was my drysuit actually "destroyed"? I'm not an expert but I don't think so. A hole in the skin of the suit in one of the booties, some abrading of the goretex around the torso, but very much salvgeable. I surmise that they were unhappy about my complaint about the cleaning charge and chose to throw this in my face.
I guess it's my fault for not understanding what lifetime warranty meant in this context. In my defense lifetime warranty can in fact mean lifetime of the owner and does for many products. Consumer products says lifetime warranty has no universal standard or definition so you have to read the fine print.
I feel a bit hard done by because the other outfits that make kayaking stuff are so generous, helpful, and accommodating with gear issues. Anyone who has warrantied a jackson or dagger boat can understand what I'm talking about probably. The warranty is spelled out at purchase and honored quickly and without having to pay for and arrange shipping for the boat. That kind of treatment really makes me want to do business with those companies.