Not sure if:
Backpacking gear doesn't last forever, whether or not you think it should.
addresses neijiy's frustrations with this written warranty:
The North Face products are fully warranted to the original owner against defects in materials and workmanship for the lifetime of the product. If a product ever fails due to a manufacturing defect, even after extended use, we will repair the product, without charge, or replace it, at our discretion. This warranty does not cover damage caused by accident, improper care, negligence, normal wear and tear, or the natural breakdown of colors and materials over extended time and use. Damage not covered under warranty will be repaired for a reasonable rate and a fee will be charged for return shipping
Seems like if one is going to make that warranty statement (and charge the customer for it with a steep price), well, one maybe ought to honor it.
But my disdain from
THE
NORTH
FACEcomes from my inability to trek into the wilderness while being a walking billboard for a gear manufacturer, and quirky as it is, it's why I've NEVER owned a single piece of
The North Face gear.
In the old days, I'd sew a 'park patch' over other less obvious brands stitched on hiking gear -- and I never saw a park patch big enough to cover
TNF gear logo.
Spend anytime here on this forum and at the online retailers and it's easy to spot gear brands on the trail. 'That's an
Arc'terix pack,' 'there's a
Six Moons Designs Lunar Solo tent,' without having to have the brand posted billboard fashion on the gear.
My time on the trail is an escape from urban life. We've got billboards everywhere in Miami -- they're ugly, unaesthetic, and at times gross. We've got "mobile billboards" -- trucks with huge signs on their beds driving around (with gas near $4/gal. and that sign their sole load) -- another reason I don't want to see those mobile billboards in nature, on the trail.
Some kids live by their labels.
Abercrombie & Fitch, replaced by
Hollister, soon to be replaced by
??? It's the passage of youth, but then it's
really not, since many kids by age 10 have already snubbed their noses at being a billboard lemming, no matter how much the slick advertising (conceived by conniving adults) builds up that peer pressure to purchase, put on and fit in.
To each their own. But if I
am going to be a walking billboard, then my advertiser better darn well honor that written warranty of theirs in exchange for plastering their logo on my clothing or my gear.
(Enjoyed the post, neijiy, but with no profile info and this being you're first post, I'm just hoping that in our troubled economic times, that you're not a desperate TNF competitor.)
Previous Topic
Index
