Arc'Teryx warranty is meaningless

Arc'Teryx's warranty is useless. I own a lot of Arc'Teryx products that I've accumulated over many years. I also own gear from other makers such as Patagonia and Outdoor Research. I've submitted claims to Patagonia with no problem. Send it in, get it back repaired, simple, no hassle. I recently had an issue with Arc'Teryx shorts. While they're about 10 years old, I only wore them occasionally, casually and on a few day hikes; nothing harsh. They were washed in cold water and hang-dried. A couple weeks ago, I pulled them out of my closet to discover the welded pockets were failing. I contacted Arc'Teryx and they demanded a proof-of-purchase before repairing. seriously? Who keeps receipts beyond a year or two? Patagonia and OR make no such requirement and such is not stated on Arc'Teryx tags.

I will NEVER again buy anything Arc'Teryx. Their warranty is meaningless.

I’ve heard that sometimes it can really depend on the Customer Service Rep you get.  For a counter-example, I broke the zipper divider on one of my Arc jackets last year.  Sent them a picture, and they sent me a new one right away.  Point is, it’s not meaningless...

I have noticed a general theme as well. Patagonia and OR seem to stand behind their stuff in ways that I find remarkable and loyalty-inspiring. Arc’teryx seems to try to weasel out of their version of doing the same 1/2 the time, and repair well and easily, if not graciously, the other 1/2. So, my perspective is that it’s not meaningless warranty, but that I do not depend on it. I still buy their stuff when I like it best, but unless it’s a clear favorite I skew towards other brands.

They recently repaired a zipper for me, no questions asked. I dropped it off at an Arcteryx store which may have worked in my favor. Glad they didn’t ask for proof of purchase since I bought it used on MP.

I've had Outdoor Research and Mountain Hardwear step up in big ways in the last year or so.  Both times I returned items saying I was happy to pay for a repair as they were 5ish years old and had seen considerable use.  In the spirit of not tossing otherwise functional gear I wanted it repaired as professionally as possible and was more than ok with paying for it.  Both companies replaced expensive items even when I offered to pay a pro deal price at a minimum as I didn't consider it warrantied gear failure. 

Demanding a repair on 10 year old SHORTS?? Come on man - don't be like this. Arcteryx makes some quality stuff. 

I’ve never had a problem with their warranty. I had some stitching pull on a glove I bought at 50% off. They determined it to be a manufacturing defect and gave me a full priced credit, which I promptly put back into a killer pair of Arc gloves. The whole process was seamless for me.

Here's their warranty for clothing. Ten years is a pretty good run for a pair of shorts:

"Practical Product Lifespan means the usual and customary wearable life of the product. The Practical Product Lifespan does not mean for your lifetime or mean a time period that is indefinite. The manner in which the product is used directly impacts the usual and customary wearable life of the product, as materials will deteriorate and fade over time and moving parts will also wear.
Arc’teryx Products are designed for long life and durability, if care instructions are followed carefully. If your Product appears worn out, then it may be time to replace your product and we hope that Arc’teryx will be a part of your next buying decision. Practical Product Lifespan will be determined in the reasonable discretion of an authorized Arc’teryx Customer Service representative who shall take into account at least the following factors: the type and nature of the Product, the nature of the use of the Product, nature of the Product issue involved, and age of the Product. The Arc’teryx Customer Service representative may require consumer information in order to make the foregoing determination and may not be able to make a determination without such accurate information from the consumer."

Edit: This is a very vague warranty. Almost "meaningless," to quote the OP. Still, 10 years of use seems good enough to me. Sounds like the repair or replacement is subjective and totally at their discretion.  Not necessarily wrong, but vague.

Interesting. Have had the same failure but was never asked for proof of purchase to get it fixed. I agree, that’s lame.

FrankPS wrote: Here's their warranty for clothing. Ten years is a pretty good run for a pair of shorts:

"Practical Product Lifespan means the usual and customary wearable life of the product. The Practical Product Lifespan does not mean for your lifetime or mean a time period that is indefinite. The manner in which the product is used directly impacts the usual and customary wearable life of the product, as materials will deteriorate and fade over time and moving parts will also wear.
Arc’teryx Products are designed for long life and durability, if care instructions are followed carefully. If your Product appears worn out, then it may be time to replace your product and we hope that Arc’teryx will be a part of your next buying decision. Practical Product Lifespan will be determined in the reasonable discretion of an authorized Arc’teryx Customer Service representative who shall take into account at least the following factors: the type and nature of the Product, the nature of the use of the Product, nature of the Product issue involved, and age of the Product. The Arc’teryx Customer Service representative may require consumer information in order to make the foregoing determination and may not be able to make a determination without such accurate information from the consumer."

Edit: This is a very vague warranty. Almost "meaningless," to quote the OP. Still, 10 years of use seems good enough to me. Sounds like the repair or replacement is subjective and totally at their discretion.  Not necessarily wrong, but vague.

But that wasn’t the reason they denied service. Your point is valid, but irrelevant.

Bill Czajkowski wrote:

But that wasn’t the reason they denied service. Your point is valid, but irrelevant.

Yeah, not having the receipt was the ostensible reason for turning down the warranty service.

That is your complaint....they wont repair or replace 10 year old shorts?

Dude, you must have more going and demanding in your life than that.

SinRopa wrote:

I see what you did there.

#accidentalwordplay

I'm on their Pro Programme, meaning my stuff is specifically not covered under the normal lifetime warranty as it expects to get (ab)used more than normal. Never had an issue with Arc EU. All my stuff has been repaired or replaced free of charge, no questions asked. Includes the hole I made when i stuck my own crampon through my own pants. 

I submitted a request in May to replace the wrist cuffs on my Atom LT. The email I got said they’re requiring proof of purchase due to COVID to help with digital assessment of the products, but that they’ll resume normal operations beginning July 1.

Like you, I have no receipt for the jacket, but they’ve repaired several items (including this same jacket) over the years. I expect your problem is a temporary one.

I've had decent experience with Arcteryx. They declined to replace or repair a backpack that had been torn open by an animal, saying that it was not a warranty failure. Fair. A jacket where the stitching pulled out was replaced no questions asked in the Chicago store.

I'm actually starting work on a simple tool to track and review warranty experiences, so people know which companies are for real with their "unlimited guarantee" and which make it as hard as a mail-in rebate to avail oneself of. Think this would be useful? Want to share some stories to add to the database? (the early, early version is: gearbeta.com/brands Nowhere near finished, and I don't mean this to be a commercial post. Feedback is welcomed.)

I had a great experience with Arc’teryx on a warranty issue about six months ago. Elastic leg strap pulled out (on the back of the harness, connecting the waist belt to the leg loop). Arc’teryx replaced it after my initial email. No problem, no questions. However, I DID have problems when I reached out to Dana Design to replace my 30 year-old backpack. Oh, and also Colgate when I had warranty issues with my six-year-old toothbrush. Yeah, some companies just don’t stand behind their products the way they used to. 

I have had terrific experiences with Arcteryx warranty. Year or so ago the seam taping on my 10 yr old Alpha SV jacket began peeling in one place. Sent it into Arc and they retaped the ENTIRE jacket. Cannot beat that!

Years ago I had a Bora 65 that they replaced without question - they let me pick any pack in their lineup to replace it since they had just stopped making the Bora in 2012.  I hate to break it to you but a 10 year old pair of shorts... is a 10 year old pair of shorts.  When my stuff gets that old I generally don’t reach out to the manufacturer re: warranty.

I’ll pass on the fact that you were trying to warranty ten year old shorts and say that how you interact with a warranty representative goes a long way in determining how they respond. Ten year old anything is a pretty easy one to say ‘sorry’ to. They have leeway and discretion but...

I don't feel expecting such a repair on a 10-year old shorts is that unreasonable.  Patagonia recently repaired failing 'welded' seams on pockets of 15 year-old White Smoke soft shell pants without question, and fully warrantied a 16 year-old Stretch Element hard shell jacket when it started to delaminate.  Both experiences without any question about product age nor use/abuse history.  

My one experience with Arc'Teryx warranty, they fully credited for new model MSRP when a 1 year-old Alpha SV began to delaminate.  Given that the new MSRP was $75 higher than the model year I purchased, I felt that was a solid play on their part.