Troll over

Jeez. Locker is kind of a dick.

REI had a no questions return policy for years and finally changed it because this exact thing was happening. I understand that you misunderstood the marketing for the pack, but if you did more research you would know that this bag would not stand up.

REI is doing extensive work to make sure there return policy is reasonable and fair and is one of the only stores left in the country that will accept climbing gear returns if you find a manufacturing default or are sold the the wrong item.

Hard not to stand by them on this one.

Max Forbes wrote:REI had a no questions return policy for years and finally changed it because this exact thing was happening. I understand that you misunderstood the marketing for the pack, but if you did more research you would know that this bag would not stand up. REI is doing extensive work to make sure there return policy is reasonable and fair and is one of the only stores left in the country that will accept climbing gear returns if you find a manufacturing default or are sold the the wrong item. Hard not to stand by them on this one.

Wrong. REI changed their policy as part of a long slow move from being and acting like a Co-Op to maintaing the benefits of a Co-Op and acting like a privately held company.

For a big-box specialty retailer, REI is OK. Their return policy is what it is. I just wish people would quit making it sound like REI was losing a significant amount of money with the old return policy. They were not. The management just decided that they would rather capture that money rather than give it back to the members in the form of a liberal return policy.

The question isn't whether you "misused" your pack or not -- obviously it's not defective -- stuff just gets beat up when you use it heavily.

I think the real issue here is REI's return policy -- my understanding was that you can return anything, within a year of purchase, no questions asked. As to whether that's "fair" or not, I think it's pretty much always "fair" as long as you aren't intentionally gaming the system (e.g. "renting" stuff for a day trip).

The only reason I ever buy anything at REI is because of that policy. Almost everything there I could get cheaper online, but I like knowing I can return it if it doesn't work out. Do I sometimes return stuff for non-defect related reasons (e.g. I just didn't like it or turns out the pack really doesn't fit as well as I thought , etc.)? Yes, I have. I've also bought hundreds of dollars worth of stuff that I thought "well I don't really know but I can always return it I guess" and ended up keeping it. I actually went in there looking for a BD bullet and they were out, so I picked up a flash and it's been pretty bomber for my purposes (mostly alpine routes or long multi). I kinda figure that's their business plan.

TL;DR - When I buy something at REI, I'm paying extra because I get both the product and the REI "warranty". If they discontinued the return policy, I would just buy everything online for way cheaper. Returning something to REI isn't cheating its part of what you paid for.

Ryan Watts wrote:Returning something to REI isn't cheating its part of what you paid for.

"It depends."

My REI Flash pack survived Epinephrine just fine, I've had it for 3+ years and it's still in great shape.

Ryan Nevius wrote: "It depends."

Especially when you only spent $30 for a pack and trashed it. "I didn't like the taste of this power bar"...

Dirtbaggers, like they do with everything, ruined REI.

Take it back and make the district manager explain why it isn't covered by their policy.

Pack cost them $5 to make. They took over the independent shops with their u limited policy, now they are tightening it screwing the consumer. Fvck rei.

I own a flash 18 and have used for mutli-pitch for years, love it. My guess is that it won't hold up to being hauled up a multi-day aid route just in case someone thought they would try that. Dude..... its 35$!!!!

REI owes you something. You're entitled.

What you really should be returning is that high-school diploma. If you managed to pass physics while still imagining that something as obviously light-duty as an REI flash pack is meant to survive being dragged through 600' of sandstone chimneys, then your understanding of the universe is fundamentally flawed.

Guys, tranquilo - it's obviously a troll.

Even online - nobody is that dumb

no redundant pack?

Maurice Chaunders wrote:You destroyed your pack climbing in tough conditions. This is never covered by any kind of warranty anywhere. The fact that REI once covered these kind of claims was insane...+1 And I think you were a bit out of line to expect a return, regardless of what the pack was marketed to do or be

There's absolutely nothing "Out of Line" about the OP asking for a return. Don't be so over dramatic like everyone else on this website. "Out of Line" would be denied a return and then telling the store clerk/return manager to go "F" themselves because the "Customer is Always Right." Regardless of the outcome this website isn't going to generate enough buzz to change/reinforce REI's Return Policy one way, or the other.

jarthur wrote: There's absolutely nothing "Out of Line" about the OP asking for a return. Don't be so over dramatic like everyone else on this website. "Out of Line" would be denied a return and then telling the store clerk/return manager to go "F" themselves because the "Customer is Always Right." Regardless of the outcome this website isn't going to generate enough buzz to change/reinforce REI's Return Policy one way, or the other.

If thats not overly dramatic Im not sure what is. REI is the WalMart of the outdoor world these days. It started out as a great idea then they just got bigger and bigger and bigger. The guy tried to return a pack he destroyed by dragging it up sandstone chimneys. Would I have tried to return it? Probably. Would I have expected it to work? Absolutely not.

Take responsibility for your own actions. Any person with common sense and good judgement can tell what a pack can and can not take. In my opinion, people like yourself that use bad judgement and then want a refund are exactly what is wrong with this country.

JeffL - If you are the guy I think you are, and based on your comments on the Epi route page you must be, then my son and I were the party first on the route that day that let you pass in the chimneys. You guys were hauling that damn flash pack with a haul line. Now even it it were marketed a a summit pack, it for sure is not marketed as a haul bag as you were using it. Seemed crazy to me how you guys were doing it anyway. If the summit pack description is your argument, then you probably should have had it on your back as opposed to dragging it up through the chimneys on a haul line. Glad to hear you guys made it, even though the parties that ended up between us said you would not let them pass as we had done for you. Not good karma. By the way, the Patagonia Ascensionist pack my son was carrying got a hole in it too. The Patagucci crap is made for fashion not climbing. Took it bag to REI in Summerlin and got a refund no problem. Maybe it helped that it was brand new and the first time we had used it.

Chris Massey wrote:JeffL - If you are the guy I think you are, and based on your comments on the Epi route page you must be, then my son and I were the party first on the route that day that let you pass in the chimneys. You guys were hauling that damn flash pack with a haul line. Now even it it were marketed a a summit pack, it for sure is not marketed as a haul bag as you were using it. Seemed crazy to me how you guys were doing it anyway. If the summit pack description is your argument, then you probably should have had it on your back as opposed to dragging it up through the chimneys on a haul line. Glad to hear you guys made it, even though the parties that ended up between us said you would not let them pass as we had done for you. Not good karma. By the way, the Patagonia Ascensionist pack my son was carrying got a hole in it too. The Patagucci crap is made for fashion not climbing. Took it bag to REI in Summerlin and got a refund no problem. Maybe it helped that it was brand new and the first time we had used it.

LOL.

Appreciate this insight.

For the record Chris Massey, you bragged about planning on taking your pack back to rei due to a hole from chimneying, that's where I got the idea that they might take it. Secondly, hell yea I destroyed it hauling. Seemed like it kept our 2nd moving pretty fast through the chimneys. Third, get your facts straight. We let both faster parties pass. The first one, I pitched out and told my second to wait on the good ledge because it would be easiest if they just climbed over our rope.
And asked if they wanted to pass. They climbed over the top our rope and thanked us. The 2nd party, their friends, weren't much faster than us. They didn't catch us til the last bolted anchor, and were allowed to pass as soon as they asked. Which was at the ramp. So I'm not really sure what you're talking about.