Registered: 10/30/03
Posts: 4963
Loc: Marina del Rey,CA
As already pointed out, buying from REI will solve some warranty problems. Warranties are based on what is written in the warranty itself, not what someone tells you on the phone.
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Don't get me started, you know how I get.
TNF and Marmot are more popular now with the younger crowd. The companies make more for the demand, they get overstock, and sell it at a closeout price at stores like TJ Maxx for a fraction of the price.
Ive seen TNF snow pants at TJ Maxx marked down as low as $60.00. I have a good pair of Marmot winter gloves I bought at the same store for $6.00! The quality has to be there because they keep my hands warm. Very few gloves I have ever owned have been able to do that.
I check for price and customer ratings. When customers comment positively on a NF product that state that they actually backpacked with it and the comments are positive and simular it helps with the choice.
With the cost of gas and everything else rising because of it, I look for bargins and quality. BP gears not cheap. If a brand gets trendy and creates eventual overstock, that just means a bargin for me down the road.
I see trendy people wearing alot of Arc'Teryx gear lately. Does that mean they will eventually mark down a $300.00 fleece??? LMAO.
Tom
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"Let's not miss the beauty of the forest by the ugliness of some of its trees." Bill W.
Then again, if it a life time warranty then it should not exclude "normal wear and tear". Cause if they are only willing to cover manufacturing defects, then its not covering the lifetime of use of the product and in my opinion they are mis-representing their warranty, and therefor I'd be upset as well if I was dealing with them for warranty problems.
These are life time warranty's:
Quote:
With TAG’s no questions asked lifetime warranty you will only need to purchase our equipment once. If for any reason our equipment fails we will repair it. If we can not repair it we will replace it free of charge for life.
Quote:
Our commitment to our product is unbeatable -- we have a lifetime warranty that you will NEVER need. If you manage to damage any piece of Original S.O.E. Gear, we will replace or repair our product free of charge, forever.
That has pretty much been my experience with TNF. The quality really isn't up to par. I have used several different products of theirs with really no success at all with it. I just tend to stay away from TNF...Hope that helps...Happy Trekking...sabre11004...
The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there !!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
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The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there 1!!!!!
I can promise you that if you use TNF gear you "will" have the experience. Just MHO...sabre11004... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
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The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there 1!!!!!
Seems to me that TNF only warrants stuff that will never happen, besides who judges what is normal wear and tear?... sabre11004... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
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The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there 1!!!!!
I have one of those Tioga packs from Kelty that has to be twenty-five or thirty years old and if I was to decide that I was going to use it today I still could....sabre11004 <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
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The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there 1!!!!!
Hi Tom et All My wife still wears my 20 <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> year old original TNF goretex mountain light jacket as her winter goretex shell [we live in Bend] <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />and it still functions perfectly, shows little wear, the snaps still work and the zipper is like new. The don't make em like they used to... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
My TNF mtn 24 tent is as bomber and well made as any tent. OTOH I have had two different Marmot coats delaminate. My old Marmot 40 below down hybrid expedition coat simpley cannot be replaced so I live with a bit of measles in it. Most of my gear is Marmot and most of it is very fine.
I bought my Kelty White Cloud for $500 in 1988. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> I returned my backpack to Kelty in 2005 Because the waterproofing was coming off like dandruff on my gear, after several hundred nights use, and kelty replaced it for free with a new $850 backpack, <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />also spectra. My old pack is a Kelty Tioga external frame - yep just as good as new. You pay for quality, but with it you get service. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
Kelty is great with service so far to me. Did you ever deal with Marmot service? Qurious.
I never said TNF doesn't make good stuff. In the old days from what I heard, not being around back then, they were top of the line stuff... I personally have an old TNF sleeping bag that's still doing quite alright, though most of my other cheap TNF stuff (not always an oxymoron if you shop in outlets) has not really gone the mile. I'm sure a lot of what they make these days is good too, based on what I read in backpacker mag... I would worry about buying a new TNF thing that you think you might want to get service on though... unless I buy from REI. They're service is impeccable. Besides, the 20% sale on any one thing is also very nice...
My wife called their service department for the third time now about that buckle... and they promised to ship it out again, for the third time... We'll see.
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