Maxpedition Warranty

S

stjohn45

Joined
Aug 23, 2003
Messages
76
Anyone here had to deal with Maxpedition on a warranty or return issue. I just sent an M-2 Waistpack back due to zipper failure and they refused to repair it. They said that's considered normal wear and tear.

I've got several Maxpediton products as they have been pretty durable. But this kinda makes me leary of any further purchases after this as they all pretty much use zippers.

Never had any problems with warranty issues from Eagle, Blackhawk or Kifaru. Just curious if anyone here has had to deal with Maxpediton.

Steve
 
NEver had an Maxpedition before. Heard their Quality is quite good. Maybe you can go to a luagguge repair shop to repair the zip.
 
How did the zipper fail exactly? Did it come unstitched from the pack material, did the teeth stop meshing, or something else?

Most quality manufacturers would fix or replace a zipper failure under most situations, but wear and tear could ruin a zipper also.
 
I had a bag unstitch they replaced it with out a problem, that is the only dealing I have had with them
How long have you owned it? I hope it works out because I was pretty miffed that it unstitched it was new lucky its was taken care off
 
Maxpudition hasn't been around long enough to have a zipper wear and tear. I have stuff from as far back as the early 80's with fully functional zippers that are still going today.
 
Well, Maxpedition gear is made overseas, Eagle and Kifaru are made in America so it's probably easier for them to service and repair their gear. Maxpedition most likely doesn't do repairs, only replacements. That's my guess.

Maximus Custom Kydex Sheaths
www.maximuscustomsheaths.com
 
The zipper came unstitched from the waistpack. I should be getting it back in a few days.They said they could sell me a new one at 40% off. At the factory retail, thats what I paid for the original new!

From now on, I'll stick with Eagle, Kifaru, Spec-Ops or other real manufacturer or at least someone who will back their products.

Gonna try to stitch it back myself. So much for "Hard-Use Gear".

Steve
 
The pouch was around 2 years old. No abuse or mistreatment. I've got an Eagle 3-day pack that's been with me through Desert Shield/Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom and still functioning. It has three zippers and they have really been used and all are still working. Guess thats why Eagle has a lifetime warranty with their products. You never have to use it.

Steve
 
I agree, a zipper coming unstitched is not acceptable. Most manufacturers that care about their name will take care of things even if they don't think it falls under warranty. It makes for good customer service and doesn't really cost them that much money. If a bag is $80 MSRP, then wholesale would usually be around $40, which means they have less than $20 in the product. That's the reason a lot of manufacturers replace stuff instead of repair it, because it's cheaper. Roughly $20 to keep a customer buying more product, and avoiding bad mouth "advertising". Not that Maxpedition hasn't had tons of bad mouthing on the forums.

I'd really like a Fatboy or the Jumbo, but apparently "lifetime warranty" doesn't hold a lot of weight for some companies. I had a pair of Vasque lightweight hikers in the 80s that I wore all the time for two or three years. The tread was very worn, and one day they developed a hole in the split leather. I went to the local backpacking gear store to shop for something new, when the clerk looked at them and told me they were under warranty as long as there was ANY tread on the bottom. He went into the back and came back with the same type in my size, and told me to switch them out. I walked out with new boots and a full wallet, knowing I wouldn't hesitate to buy Vasque again. Years later I worked in an outdoor recreation type store, and we did stuff like that all the time, as long as we didn't think there was anything suspicious.
 
stjohn45 said:
Anyone here had to deal with Maxpedition on a warranty or return issue. I just sent an M-2 Waistpack back due to zipper failure and they refused to repair it. They said that's considered normal wear and tear.

I've got several Maxpediton products as they have been pretty durable. But this kinda makes me leary of any further purchases after this as they all pretty much use zippers.

Never had any problems with warranty issues from Eagle, Blackhawk or Kifaru. Just curious if anyone here has had to deal with Maxpediton.

Steve
Click to expand...

Did you send it to Maxpedition or a sales outlet? Sorry to hear about this problem. I was looking at several items in their product lineup and if they won't warrant a simple zipper failure, I might have to look elsewhere.
 
stjohn45 said:
The zipper came unstitched from the waistpack.
Click to expand...

That would only be normal wear and tear on an item passed down at least one generation. How often do you replace jeans because the zipper tears out of them. Stitching can be abraded, however if done properly by cross hatching and layering, this takes a *very* long time as you essentially have to wear it all off. If you just have a single layer which can unravel as soon as a break is made then that is really poor design.

-Cliff
 
That stinks. I expect more out of Maxpedition. I was just about to pull the trigger on a proteus too. Now rethinking.
 
Hm.

That's very bad news if it's true.

Zippers coming unstitched so quickly is hardly "wear and tear", even if you overload packs. I've had crappy Jansport bags loaded up with nearly 40 lbs bottom out before their zippers failed.

OTOH, I've found that many companies tend to have very... mmmm... "strict" warranty departments, probably following in the footsteps of the evil insurance adjusters, trying to cut the bottom line.

<long semi-related story>
I had a pair of Marmot ski gloves that picked up a 1" tear through the "reinforced" lining after 1 hour of shoveling snow. By what? The smooth, new wood on my fence when I was opening the gate. No splinters... just somehow wore through due to the friction (!?)

They refused to repair it under warranty but offered to replace the fabric swatch there for $40 over the MSRP cost of the gloves (!). I said screw it, send the gloves back to me. I'll just stitch it up myself.

I wrote a nasty letter into their CEO. About 6 months later, I received a letter from him saying that they'd send me a new pair.

Too bad though; damage's done... I'll never buy Marmot again.

I don't know why companies aren't more proactive when it comes to this kind of thing. When you advertise your product as to being super hard core and durable, and people have failures like this and you refuse to repair it, you lose 100% of any credibility you ever had AND you engender a metric assload of bad word-of-mouth.

-j
 
A full replacement would have been cheaper than the lost sales from bad press of this post alone.
 
dizos said:
A full replacement would have been cheaper than the lost sales from bad press of this post alone.
Click to expand...

At least I would hope so.

I would LOVE it if companies started realizing that the ultra-wide distribution, archival nature, and speed of communication on the 'Net not only helps them sell more, but also slams them down when their poor practices get out there.

In the case that word of mouth actually gets around, companies would no longer be able to benefit from their traditional arbitrage of customer service... excellent service to media professionals and crap service to Joe Schmoe.

On the other hand, it forces them to staff someone monitoring their "net reputation".

-j
 
dizos said:
A full replacement would have been cheaper than the lost sales from bad press of this post alone.
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t buy their gear for personal reasons, and I had a few folks ask me about the product. So really all I could say is, the owner is a tool, it’s made overseas, buy American, but if you have to have their stuff, I really haven’t heard anything bad about their product. Now I can say their zippers aren’t worth a crap and they don’t honor their warranty, yehaaaaa:D
 
When you read about the company on their site, it appears that the gear is made here in the states, but I'm getting the impression from other's posts that it is made out of country, so their employees are white collar and warehouse? So...............does that mean that they are intentionally misleading potential buyers? Or, does their site actually say that they are made overseas and I just missed it?
 
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