Screw Tilley!

M

maury

Joined
Sep 24, 2000
Messages
606
Yeah, I popped the extra bucks for a Tilley hat and wore it for a bit and then one day discovered it was missing after a long day's travel on chicken buses through backwoods Guatemala.

Bit later, back home,I got around to writing them - their "guarantee' and all?.... They generously offered me a replacement. Not at half, but at lots more than I paid originally! BFD!!

So, Screw Tilley! Overpriced and Over-Hyped!

ps: only up-side is that some poor compesino down ther probably has a better hat than he'd ever have been able to afford.........
 
That's surprising. Is the guarantee supposed to cover loss and theft? If so, why let them get away with it? What was their explanation?
 
I'm surprised to hear that Maury. I know of at least one person that used their 2yr, 50% deductible loss insurance with no problem. And another that has used their lifetime replacement warranty (for worn-out hats).

Did the loss occur within 2 yrs (and did you have the purchase receipt)?

Perhaps it was a problem with US-Cdn exchange rates - since they are a Canadian company maybe they quoted you 50% off MSRP in Canadian dollars - which may sounded like more than a discounted US retail
price (since our dollar is only worth $.63US currently).
 
First off, sorry about this being a 'new topic" - ment to post it under the thread about hats somewhere else in this section - hit the wrong button and..... Anyway, lost my Tilley a couple of years ago and don't have receipts anymore - tossed them all after Tilley's reply was to send me a new catalog. Recall only being really PO'd at their response and still think it is an overpriced/over hyped product. Have since been most satisfied w/a knock-off boonie that's seen me through lotsa miles and, most recently, a goretex lined one that I picked up at my local Salvation Army Store for .99!
 
Well Maury I'm not sure exactly happenned in your circumstance, but while everyone is entitled to their opinion - I have to disagree that Tilleys are overpriced and overhyped. No they aren't inexpensive, but then again neither are many of the knives we buy. But it depends what you are looking for - many people are happy with their $5.00 flea market Spyderco knockoff and wouldn't dream of paying for a real one. Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes value - for me Tilleys
do constitute value and my dealings with the company have been very satisfactory.
 
Shucks - guess I'm just some dumb City Guy, can't tell the differance 'tween one a them $5.00 blades and yer real fancy ex-pensive ones.....
Can read pretty good, though. Like, this Defender of Tilley happens to be from Canada - Canada as in Tilley?

Nah, couldn't be any connection....... could there?
 
Geesh Maury - I wasn't trying to insult you - just trying to illustrate the point that while you may not see the value in Tilleys - others might.

And yes I am Canadian and Tilley is a Canadian company - and I suppose I do feel some pride when Canadian companies are recognized worldwide.

BUT

There are many other Canadian companies and products that I don't feel the same about - just as I'm sure there are American companies that you like and others that you don't. If I were to follow your logic, I should take all the positive opinions from Americans about American knives with a grain of salt.

But again it was not my intent to insult you - just give a countering opinion and experience.
 
I remember many years ago when Tilley made only hats, I got a green one and tried to beat it to death in Northern Ontario. I grew to love that hat. I had no idea what a Tilley was. Eventually that hat went down one summer in lake Temagemi with my boots and I almost joined them. I didn't replace it for many years, but there was always something familiar about it. I now have many hats. Outdoor Research Gore Tex hats and caps, Borsalino fancies, leather cowboy jobs, fleece caps. One is pretty much as good as the other, although the OR goretex Hat For All Seasons is the one I really rely on on Arctic trips where it gets serious. They all pretty much do the job.
But one day I just couldn't resist and I bought my old hat style. It was expensive, sure, but not terrible. It's pretty competitive with The Ultimate Hat, which is probably the closest thing to a Tilley.
And it's much cheaper than many, like Akubras etc.
The damn thing just felt great. And then I was looking at an old Bill Mason book on canoeing the Mountain River, in preparation for a trip, and it hit me: He wore exactly the same hat!
The Tilley is a very honourable Canadian tradition. And it's a damn good hat. But it only looks good wearing its travels as as badge of honour. Mine isn't worn in and scarred enough. It's embarassing, really.
The Tilleys, father and daughter, are usually at the main store over in Scarborough. They seem like really nice and honest people, although I can't claim to know them. I can't believe that if the hat were under warranty they wouldn't honour the warranty. Everybody has to run a business properly and ask for a receipt etc, but I bet if you spoke with somebody higher up than a clerk, they'd try to be more than fair. Well, I can't say I'm sure, but I'd hope so.
I like the Tilley stuff, although it's become a bit too commercial for my taste. Most of the gear is worn by older, somewhat heavier folks past their prime. I should know. I looked in the mirror :eek:
But what I remember is my old Tilley protecting me from the bugs and the cold on my 20th day in the woods, more than a little hungry and banged up, and a picture of Bill Mason swimming down a set of rapids in the NWT, shaking the water out of his Tilley and smiling at the joy of it all.
Me, I like my Tilley hat.
 
Hoo-Boy! Just to clear the air: Did not intend to insult Canada - where I have enjoyed many a fine time and beer - or any of the great folks on this forum who's willingness to share their knowledge is a constant soruce of amazment to me (even if I can't spell it properly!). Now, about American knives..............
 
Maury, I didn't think you were insulting Canada, eh?
Ken, oooooo :)
 
Tilley products overpriced and over-hyped? Say it ain't so!;) I have only met Alex Tilley once, and I can honestly say, with reverence, that he is probably the biggest egomaniac I have ever met! ("Not that there's anything wrong with that!" - Jerry Seinfeld) This country needs more entrepreneurs like him!:D
 
Bought my T3 for a trip to CA. While there I lost it in San Diego. Got antoher one at 1/2 price, no problem. I love the hat. Other than winter hats and baseball caps, it's the only hat I wear.

Did you get a really good deal on your Tilley to begin with perhaps, and that's why the replacement cost so much???
 
ok,forget it - tilley is greatest thing to put on your head since brylcream! yech! not.... and no - i didn't get any particularly great deal - bought it at their store in montreal, plain old retail, no sale or special discount for american tourists or ...... and they didn't seem to care squat when i lost it. and that chillen' is the beginng and end of me and tilley hats. so, one last time: overhyped and overpriced! amen......and no offence to canadians - will drink their beer, enjoy good times there many more times i hope- music at the lower deck, maybe even get a tattoo from sailor jerry next time i pass through pictou......ok?
 
Canada has lots of things going for it! Hockey! for example!
GO AVS!
I don't werar hats - EVER.
John
 
Maury,

Yer givin' up too fast there buddy, ya gotta make fun of their mosquito's, weird looking money, and the fact that they "wash" in the "bath" rooms...lol :p

When ya get um going good, mention Moose, Canadian Women, and Flannel shirts all in one sentence...kekeke (Oh, my wife is gonna kill me for that one...lol)...

Then, once they're really hot and bothered, tell um Hockey is for wimps..."Ouch, dang it, STOP!" (Dodging well aimed pucks here...)

On a side note....my brother-in-law invited me up to go "Ski-Dooin'" in January...claimed his modified Polaris 800's did 120...

Kilometers I asked? "Oh no Yank, that's MPH, 14 sec. quarter miles at 102 MPH eh" :eek: :eek: :eek: (My 69' Chevelle SS did 14 sec. 1/4's at 102...) "WOW!"

Anyhoo, tell um they've got funny tasting beer while you're at it...over priced too...lol ;)
 
Maury,
No offence taken. It sounds like Tilley screwed up and pissed off what could have been a good customer. There's no excuse for that.
 
Moose, Canadian Women and Flannel Shirts in One Sentence..... think we are about to test the limits of this here forum ifin we go much farther.........mucho lol!
 
Lol - give it your best shot my American friends :p

Make your jokes about moose, flannel, hockey etc. And we will try not snicker too loud about your weak beer; grits (for you southerners); your obsession with naming every place in Fla as either Florida's Largest..., America's largest...., World's largest; your lack of knowledge of our country; etc.

But all jokes aside - we have far more in common than probably any other 2 countries in the world. As long as the jokes remain good-natured, eh. :D
 
Originally posted by phone_archer
....your lack of knowledge of our country; etc....
Click to expand...

Ouch, ouch, ouch! This is SUCH a cliché!:D The "average" Canadian knows as much about the U.S. as the "average" American knows about Canada. Some of my Toronto neighbours believe you can buy a gun at a Largo supermarket; some of my Largo neighbours can't believe they shoot "American" films in downtown Toronto. It all evens out.

Anyway, it's the hypocritical attitude of the Canadian print media that nurtures these little "Canada vs. things-American" debates. If you spend a LOT of time on BOTH sides of the border, you realize what drivel it is.
 
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