UKC

Just a cautionary note here. I got an Arcteryx SV hoodie for Christmas and was very pleased. It was brilliant for skiing and all round good jacket. I then made the mistake of not taking it off when bouldering on a cold, gusty day in April.
It's not abrasion proof. And abrasions aren't covered by the guarantee. And so it went to the Arcteryx repair people in Switzerland in early April and I paid the £41 they demanded but now, mid-June, it still isn't here.
The last I heard was as follows: "I have found out we sent your parcel with tracking number RC719781651CH on 02.06.2014 and it left Switzerland one day later. However I am not able to track it further than to the border."
Before I got the jacket I checked out the glowing testimonies to Arcteryx customer service and was reassured. I was wrong.
Now a jacket that retails at £200, cost £41 in repairs, is stuck somewhere between Yorkshire and Switzerland and hasn't been available for more than two months. That's got to be poor.

In reply to Brimham55:

Hmm a worry, but amazed any guarantee would cover abrasion!

In reply to Brimham55:

To me it sounds like you should be mad at the courier company not Arcteryx. I'm impressed that they would repair a damaged jacket so cheaply (I would bet it cost them much more)

In reply to Brimham55:


When was that? Have you pressed them for an update since then?


Plugging that consignment number in to the Swiss Post tracker says
"Tue 03.06.2014 15:54 Arrival at border point of destination country", and says it was processed by "GBLALA". A brief Google indicates that GBLALA is the International Mail Processing Centre code for Royal Mail's Heathrow World Distribution Centre.

royalmail.com says: "The system is currently unable to confirm the status of your item with reference RC719781651CH. Please try again later." Not very useful.

http://www.trackitonline.ru/ says it's at Heathrow, which matches the other info.

I reckon it's probably stuck in customs - maybe just stuck in a processing backlog rather than actually needing any tax or duty paid. Royal Mail should really be able to tell you that, though.

Looks to me like Arc'Teryx have done all they could using the tools readily available to them. You could ask them to put pressure on Swiss Post directly to find out what's going on.

I'd agree with those who've suggested that damage caused to a fabric garment by abrasion against rock is not likely to fixed under warranty.

In reply to Martin W:

I agree that you wouldn't expect abrasion damage to be covered by the guarantee - though I was surprised at how vulnerable it was. It's just the amount of time and hassle involved that has hacked me off and makes me think I'll go for a more local brand in future. And that's a pity, because it is a very good jacket in every other respect.
By contrast, a friend of mine's virtually lived in his Haglofs Barrier II hoody for and had the zip replaced free of charge within a cople of weeks. I also noted Ben Bransby's review of a Rab Xenon where he said he'd been bouldering and scuffed the jacket a couple of times without ill-effect. Mind you, that probably is more a function of Bransby being an elite athlete rather than a lumpy old man like myself.

In reply to Brimham55:


I'll second this - I went through a 4 month old Atom LT recently - although only fixed it with tape.

In reply to Brimham55:
Actually Royal Mail do recognise that Ref no on their Track and Trace system as coming from Switzerland. It looks like you may need to give them a call to try to resolve this.
I do think its a pretty poor effort from Arcteryx as they (or their courier who is acting for them) should be able to chase this up for you as they have the proof of posting and have failed to return your goods to you.
Perhaps you could try contacting Arcteryx in Canada to see if they can press their European HQ to do more or try....

Contact one of our Customer Service Representatives and we will help answer your questions.
› Ask Our Team
› Warranty Request
If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact one of our Customer Service agents:
0207 078 3546
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Item: RC719781651CH
from Switzerland
Status: Please come back later
The system is currently unable to confirm the status of your item with reference RC719781651CH. Please try again later.
Information on your Royal Mail Signed For™ item is not yet available.
Last update: 17 June 2014, 01:59pm

In reply jimsim55:

i have the atom sv and lt and am not surprised it doesn't stand up to grit,
it is an excellent lightweight coat/jacket, if you want a coat to hold its own on grit get a donkey jacket
as excellent as the atoms are they understandably have their limits,
ps i have had both of mine for nearly two years still looking good, although i do choose not to thrash them on grit.

i hope you get your coat soon.

In reply to Brimham55:

I'd say its very poor form, I mean who wears a 200 quid jacket bouldering?

In reply to Brimham55:
I agree that their (Amersports) customer service suc's and I would not buy their stuff again, after using it since 1999. How much of their reputation was built on Goretex backing them both up? In my case, being asked to send a rucksack to Switzerland and then having them refuse to stand behind their "guarantee" was the first straw. Luckily the distributor and the shop I bought it from stepped in and agreed with me and I was then refunded. The last straw was a replacement rucksack that was just put together wrong, which I sent back straight away.

Over the years they have adopted a more and more bourgeois-euro look as well. Next year they start selling glued-together shoes, which together with the Veilance (?) and North American military lines just makes them look silly, in my humble fuc'ing opinion.

Jon

(I also have to agree with others though, that those jackets are not made for anything other than standing around or walking.)

In reply to Brimham55:

Warmth whilst climbing for me is gained for me in a softshell, fleece or belay jacket when not climbing.

Have you spoken to Arcteryx about the transport issue? Once it's left their end I doubt they keep their nose to the screen tracking it. I'd only start complaining if they fobbed me off or ignored me once I'd raised an issue

In reply to Brimham55:

What you probably don't realise, and why would you because Arcteryx don't tell you this, is that the Arcteryx repairs are carried out by quite a small outdoor clothing tailoring company in Switzerland.

I recently returned a jacket for a warranty issue and the turnaround time for that was 8 weeks so a repair job is going to take longer. Granted not that good but thats how it is unfortunately.

As far as the tracking goes, I waited a week once they sent me the tracking number and you can't track it but it is unlikely to get lost once in the UK.

In reply to Denni:

Finally the jacket arrived back today. My £41 got me two 300mm diameter patches over the wee holes. I put this information out there for you to decide. Personally I think that forgetting to take your jacket off for 10 minutes of bouldering shouldn't result in that sort of damage, especially if it's supposed to work as a belay jacket. I also reckon that, for the money, the repair should be a sight more impressive, so I'm avoiding the brand in future.

In reply to Brimham55:

This is like me saying "I drove my lotus down a forest track at 70mph, and I broke the suspension. I think sports cars should behave like rally cars."
Or as, I have actually done, forgetting that I'd hooked my £250 sunglasses onto the top of my T-shirt and jumping onto a climb to show a beginner how you should stay close to the rock, and in the process putting a big grit scratch across them. What do you think Rayban would say if I sent them off to them asking for warrenty?
Basically what I am saying is; you were wearing the wrong gear and were unlucky enough to damage it. I think it has nothing to do with the gear, just one of those forgetful moments that you regret. I'd it down to experience and move on.

In reply to Brimham55:

300mm diameter patches... is there any jacket left?

In reply to Brimham55:

You were bouldering, and you weren't stripped to the waist and wearing a beannie?

What were you thinking...?

For future reference:

http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/hill-skills/how-to-repair-torn-waterproofs/650...

In reply to DaveR:
Oops. Metrically challenged. 30mm.

In reply to Brimham55:

Not really Arcteryx's fault. Sounds like they have done what is reasonable considering you trashed your jacket. I have an SV and have been very impressed with it. No snags or scuffs and it's superbly designed, cut and warm. Worth every penny (although you obviously didn't shop around if you pad£200).

It's a jacket for outdoor use and you can't expect it to stay pristine. If you want it to stay in perfect condition and be a fashion item then don't wear it for climbing. Try getting it fixed under guarantee if you get a hole burned in it by a cigarette after wearing on a night out.