I have always been somewhat skeptical when it comes to lifetime guarantees. My trusted Cutco Fisherman's Solution fillet knife, a knife that my now wife bought me over 30 years ago when we were dating and has been in my pack on every canoe/fishing trip since, recently was mutilated. A mouse (or a legion of mice) chewed about 1/4 of the handle off. After a few days of mourning I got online, mailed it to Cutco, and they returned it with a brand new handle and a fresh sharpening.

This inspired me to send in an old Duluth Pack #3 that had a few rivets pulled through the cloth/leather. Same result, sent it back good as new.

Nothing but praise for Cutco and Duluth packs for standing by their guarantees!

We have a big set of Cutco knives and they have never failed me yet. I think they still offer free knife sharping services. I have five Duluth packs and I’ve brought two of them to the factory in Duluth for free repairs. Both American companies. Kind of nice to find that something is NOT made in China.

Another warranty story: My Exped Synmat 7 let me down, so to speak, on an October trip this year. The self-inflating valve gave out. I remembered I bought it at REI and gave them a call just in case. No joy on service but I got contact info for Exped and the date I bought it. Turns out it was in April 2012. Time flies when you're having fun.

Called Exped for any possibility of repair and they called me back. After describing the problem, I was told was a fatal condition and the warranty was five years, BUT they were willing to help out and sent me a brand new pad. It arrived a few days ago. I will likely see if there's any other Exped equipment that I can't live without.

Amazing.

I have had several good warrantee experiences with outdoor products. In my experience it is almost always worth the few minutes to take a look at their website and contact them.

Crazy creek canoe seat. stitching had failed where the strap attaches to the seat. emailed asking if it could be repaired. They asked for pictures said it could not be repaired but instead sent out a new one.

Recently a 7 year old thermarest neoair had one of the internal baffles starting to separate in the middle. Mailed it in about a week later had a new one sent back to me.

Similar experience with an Exped. it was an REI garage sale item so technically no warrantee. My son had caught the pad with a zipper of a sleeping bag somehow an put a 15" L shaped tear in the top. sent it to them to see if there was any hope of repair as it was well beyond any patch kit I would have. No luck to the repair, but they still offered a replacement at 50% off.

The clean bag for my Platypus filter failed while on a 10 day trip last month. I contacted Cascade Designs and other than taking a month to reply, there is a brand new dirty/clean bag set headed to me.

Similar experiences with Exped, Nemo, and Big Agnes. Any of the big brands will stand behind their stuff within a reasonable request.

I've got a good story from LL Bean. Many years ago I purchased an ax via their mail order catalog. One winter the head came loose and I foolishly grabbed the head and tried to use it for a splitting wedge. Of course, it cracked in two. I grabbed the two pieces and set them aside with the handle and the leather sheath. None of it even said LL Bean on it anymore and I did not have a receipt.

A year or so later we made a trip to the northeast and I took these ax parts to the LL Bean store in Maine, walked to the customer service desk and set all the pieces on the counter. Before I could even start to explain, the clerk told me where to find the axes and suggested I go find a replacement. I came back a few minutes later with a new ax and he slapped a paid sticker on it and told me to have a nice day. Wow.

Traveler, that’s a “wow” story! And I’m an LL Bean customer!

A baffle on my 5 year old Exped Synmat UL 7 blew out on my Mississippi River Source to Sea kayak trip in Little Falls, MN. I called Exped and they sent my a new updated version free of charge. Exped acknowledged that they had a baffle quality issue on their older model and felt I was due a new model free of charge.

A happy Exped customer.

The seam on one of my Sea To Summit X-Pots gave way. It is a collapsible silicone pot with an aluminum base for the burner. They replaced it without hesitation well after their warranty period had expired. I had it within a week. Great customer service.

Similar experience with my old Fenwick rod that was years out of warranty. I had broken off the rod tip on a trip. Normally you have to send in the old rod for inspection/warranty, but this was at the height of covid lockdowns. It took a couple of months as they were short staffed, but they sent me a brand new HMG in time for my spring trip. Excellent company, and excellent rods!

I'm seeing a good amount of consistency in the brands being mentioned here. Good to see all the positive stories!

Nemo and Big Agnes have been really good to work with for me.

Add Leatherman to the list of brands with GREAT warranty service.
TZ

Scheels used to have a great, no questions asked warranty on their store brand fishing rods. Seems like those days are long gone now though.

I agree on the Fenwick support. Good to work with.

I've had fantastic customer service from Big Agnes and Jetboil. Both excellent companies. Big Agnes has replaced leaky pads and Jetboil has replaced parts for me and has instructed me on a repair rather than suckering me into spending $100+ on a new burner.

This thread 'tickled' me into pursuing warranty work for an older Exped Downmat 7 UL S that had lost separation between two sections. Long story short... less than 24 hours following initial contact, I was notified that a new mat was being sent my way even though the one damaged was out of date and style. Exped, following my request for a wider version, complied very willingly. Thanks DougD for starting this thread and super thanks to Exped for standing by their sleeping mats. Now where is that old Leatherman of mine?

Patagonia and Darn Tough, both are amazing. Patagonia will replace or repair for free any of their stuff, and will buy most of it back (via store credit) if you don’t want it anymore. Darn Tough will forever replace their socks if they get holes, free of charge. Can’t ask for much more.