G-Summit Boots, Awful La Sportiva Customer Service Experience

After 7 short days on a pair of the new G-Summit boots, the BOA attachment came loose and started to tear.  I've been trying to reach any human at La Sportiva for the last 4 business days but have had zero luck.  I've finally received instructions on how to send my boots back to them, with the caveat that I need to pay for both shipping and insurance on the package, and they will process my boots after 2-3 weeks.  No info on if it's for a return or a repair or what the timeline might be.  The contact info on the email just redirects to the same line that's been saying no one is available for the last week.  Making this post because I'm super frustrated with the company here.  It's egregious to manufacture $900 ice climbing boots with such a glaring design flaw (fragile and weak thread and strap on the binding system) that break after less than a week of use, then provide such a convoluted customer service system where I'm probably not getting my boots back until the ice season ends.  I feel they need to be put on blast for this, and people should be aware of the shitty design of the G-Summits (I did buy them last year and have only just started taking them out, so this issue may have been fixed in later batches, not sure about that).

The G-Summits were released briefly, potentially when you bought them, then taken off the shelves after some models had the boa issue you described. The newer versions shouldn't have the issue, I've been told. I asked about a warranty replacement beforehand since I don't want the boa shearing off while I'm in the middle of a lead. Seems like a reasonable request, right? I was told I would have to wait if the issue occurred to follow the same path you are on. 

Doug Simpson wrote:

The G-Summits were released briefly, potentially when you bought them, then taken off the shelves after some models had the boa issue you described. The newer versions shouldn't have the issue, I've been told. I asked about a warranty replacement beforehand since I don't want the boa shearing off while I'm in the middle of a lead. Seems like a reasonable request, right? I was told I would have to wait if the issue occurred to follow the same path you are on. 

That's interesting, I actually just got off the phone a customer service rep.  He told me "if I knew about the recall then why didn't I try to get them warrantied earlier".  Good to know that I I had tried it wouldn't have made a difference!  To my knowledge there is no official statement about any recall on the internet (not that I can find).  It's only mentioned in forum posts like this one, or in hearsay from members of the community like the way I found out.  So I would have had to preemptively submit a warranty request on new boots and I'm sure I would have gotten the same response as you.  Bizarre customer service experience for sure.   

If you got them last year (Jan-March?), you definitely got a pair from the batch with the defective strap (that has now been fixed in current production). I am confident that their CS team will 100% give you a new pair with the restitched strap that works well. As far as I know the problem has been solved with the current batch. Hope that info makes you feel somewhat better about getting them warrantied at least. I have a pair from the old batch and the strap never broke on me after 14 or so days of climbing/approaching in them.

Also to anyone reading this, G-Summits and G-Techs are marketed as ultralight climbing boots. Sometimes ultralight also means durable (i.e. dyneema backpacks), but in the case of shoes (even running shoes, hiking boots, et cetera), the ultralight label usually indicates that durability is sacrificed as materials are shaved off. Obviously a heavier pair of boots made of more material (or heavier materials) will be less likely to crap out (a la the Nepals and G2s). This is what I tell people at the store I work at when I am selling boots. It would be amazing to have a pair of boots that weigh nothing, feel super warm, and also last forever, but I'm not sure that's realistic. There are tradeoffs. 

Nevertheless, I genuinely believe the warranty team at Sportiva is pretty gracious when it comes to replacing these boots for durability/wear issues, so enjoy your new boots when you get them in a few weeks. 

And I will add that after probably 75-100 pitches in them, haven't had an issue with my Boa. I'm not sure what batch I got; I bought them in the La Sportiva retail store before they were available online because I'm bougie.  I'd assume any safety organization doesn't obligate La Sportiva to recall a shoe for any reason. Usually, recalls are an extremely expensive and elective program from the company. A comparatively small business like Sportiva could take a massive hit from recalling their 2nd most expensive boot, so they won't. It is fine if they handle it well on a case-by-case basis, but this is my theory as to why they haven't issued a full recall. 

Once you get a new or repaired boot back, you'll love them. I think they're rad. 

Yeah I don't have any complaints with how the boots climb, very impressed with their performance.  

Update: Sent them to sportiva for warranty, just recieved an email saying they won't have a replacement for me until March, so looks like I won't have any boots for this ice season.