UKC

Further to this thread: https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/gear/tumble_drying_goretex-767188

After washing and tumble drying my old Arcteryx Goretex jacket, the hems had come unstuck. I tried repairing it myself with seam tape but it just wouldn't stick well enough. I contacted Arcteryx, I sent it away to them and they've repaired it for free. I think the jacket was about 11 years old, so that's pretty good service I reckon.

I'm curious to know where you were required to send it?

I have heard horror stories of people sending perfectly functional gear to a repair centre in Switzerland only to have it deemed "unfixable" and be offered a pathetic 20% discount voucher and have their gear disappear. Something that has really put me off wanting to use this kind of service.

But there seems to be a repair centre in Scotland that is getting (so far) very good feedback.

Yes, it went to their repair centre in Musselburgh. The repair involved stitching and taping, and they explained this all to me beforehand. Returned to me via UPS. 

They read threads on forums as many are themselves climbers and outdoor enthusiasts. Reputational damage is a big deal, a bad thread could kill a lot of sales if durability is an issue and they don't address it. On the other hand, threads like this are excellent advertising.

If it went to Musselburgh it'll be Scottish Mountain Gear doing their repairs.

Yes, you’re right, it was repaired by Scottish Mountain Gear. 

Thanks for explaining that but I still think it was pretty good service. I doubt their sales would have suffered if things had turned out differently and I’d been posting “Arcteryx won’t fix my 11 year old jacket for free”.

Yes, but your post has probably done a lot to counter the bad publicity their repair service has got them in recent years. I think the reports of this slow, reluctant and expensive service have put a lot of people off buying their gear. It is good that they've taken note and chosen a really good Scottish firm to do their repairs.