Long story short, my wife had a lovely RAB waterproof jacket that cost us a LOT of money a number of years ago. One of the things that really drew us to it was the lifetime guarantee – I had never spent that much money on a jacket before and that guarantee was hopefully a sign of good quality AND a backup if anything did go wrong as an insurance.
We’ve looked after the jacket perfectly as per instructions. It hasn’t been worn all the time but semi regularly and is in excellent condition BUT one of the zips has come away from the fabric.
RAB are saying it’s too old to be covered under their guarantee and they won’t even offer to fix it at all. We have the original receipts and everything!
So I’m off to Twitter as I’m really disappointed they have dismissed it out of hand so quickly – less than half a day to throw it back at us. Not even any offer to buy a new jacket at any sort of discount or anything.
Why do companies offer these guarantees if they won’t honour them?

That’s poor that is. I’ve had zips go on couple of my rapha items over the years. Been replaced no quibbles

The devil is in the detail with these things:

RAB say:

item fails due to a manufacturing defect during its usable lifetime

So question is whether it’s a “manufacturing defect” and what they classify as the “usable lifetime” of the Jacket.

I don’t like this “product lifetime” thing…. as it seems to meaningless, and deliberately misleading people into thinking that the product is guaranteed for their lifetime. However, I also don’t think it’s reasonable to expect that a piece of clothing is going to be guaranteed for a human lifetime.

But also from their website:

Repair – Once you’ve invested a season or ten creating landmark moments with your Rab clothing and equipment, you won’t want it to end – and with the Rab Service Centre, it doesn’t have to. Staffed by specialist technicians, many of whom worked alongside our founder Rab Carrington, at our original Sheffield premises, there’s virtually no repair we can’t handle. Great kit. Long-term performance. Zero wastage. More adventure. That’s what the Service Centre is all about. If the Repair you require is not listed, then please contact us to see what we can do for you.

I would be going back to them and asking them if they can fix it

Edit: Ahhhhhhhh…. on their website there is a separate “warranty” form, and a “repair” form.

I bought a Rab jacket years ago, one of those eVent things, a Neutrino maybe? Thing wasnt cheap at all at just short of £200 iirc, and is the second worst jacket I have ever owned, didnt even pretend to be waterproof, leaked since the very first time I wore it. Would never ever buy another. Binned it within a year.
The absolute worst jacket I ever bought was a Helly Hansen Odin Mountain Jacket, from Helly Hansen. £400 odd , but got it in a sale. Again, never even pretended to be waterproof, absolute shite, and within 10 months the hood fell off.
Got in touch with their UK warranty department, wouldnt touch it. Wouldnt stand behind their £400 jacket. Nagged and nagged until, “as a sign of good will” they offered to pay half the repair cost with their approved repairer , but I had to pay the postage and packing. At this point I just wanted it sorted, expecting the repair bill to be astronomical. But nope. The repair cost £19 i think, postage and packing something like £11, so out of an overall bill of £30, they contributed about £9.50 or something
Up yours, HH, for ever. You suck balls.

This was their response, which I got pretty quickly:

“ Thanks for your email and I’m sorry to hear about your zip issue.

Unfortunately, we are unable to repair / replace zips on waterproof jackets as we are only a small repair team that focuses predominately on down items and given the age of the item, this would not be deemed a manufacturing fault.

There are a couple of larger dedicated repair centers in the UK who should be able to assist you further. We would recommend contacting…….. [snip]”

I am so sick of crap service and broken promises from manufacturers and retailers. Not a month goes by when I’m not complaining about something going wrong.
I get to the point now where I take screenshots of everything I buy, including returns pages etc. just to protect myself as I know there a good chance I might have to fight my corner at some point.

Yeah, cheers for all that cash, not our problem any more mate.
Like I said, I would never buy another.
Contrast it with Paramo, my jackets been watertight and warm for over 20 years, still looks like new, and when I sent it away for a strip and reproof ( before I knew how to do it), they replaced the main zip for free, they didnt even mention it to me, I noticed it one day.
I will never buy Goretex or any of these tech fabrics again, as the only good goretex i ever had was my issue DPM rain suit back in ’96, the one with the zips that went uo to the knee, i seem to remember. Heavy but solid and dry.

weeeeeeell…… to be honest, that’s not a terrible response from the manufacturer – I wouldn’t call that a brush-off. I think I’d probably challenge them on the marketing BS on their website, it seems like “no repair we can’t handle” is just a bare-faced lie.

As Johnny says above – it might be a relatively cheap/simple fix for the people they sent you a link to.

How old was the jacket, out of interest?

I am so sick of crap service and broken promises from manufacturers and retailers. Not a month goes by when I’m not complaining about something going wrong.

Hmmmm, we all have a bad experience from time to time, but it sounds like it might be an expectations issue to be honest.

Agree on HH…. I’ve never really “got” their brand – seem to be insanely expensive for Millets quality. Feels like they are still cashing-in on the reputation of their thermals from 50 years ago, with sailing-types.

Hey OP, I feel your pain, wasn’t blown away by Rab customer service either so feel your pain.

I’ve had great results repairing old jackets with Scottish Mountain Gear in Musselburgh. Have saved a couple of very old Gore jackets and twice repaired my Shakedry when the cat sharpened her claws on it!

Give them a shout, only drawback is a 3-4 week wait last I checked.

I had some stitching fail at a zip on a 15 month old rab jacket last year. Returned it to them for warranty, just got a whole new jacket back. Good for me, bad for the planet and did look to be repairable.

Your jacket should be repairable if you send to Lancashire sport repairs or Scottish Mountain gear. Not the end of the world, although if the glued seam has come away it does seem bit shitty for Rab to reject the warranty.

SMG put a new main zip in a jacket for me last year – it’s like brand new again (10 year Old gore tex jacket)

I know the answer to this (I have a mate who is a TSO) – on the basis of a saucepan I had whose handle fell off and wasn’t replaced.

A lifetime warranty / guarantee is a marketing term with no real basis in law. It doesn’t mean ‘for ever’ and we shouldn’t expect it to, it means for the lifetime of the pan/jacket/item. Which then comes down to what an averagely normal person would expect a pan/jacket, etc to last for.

Which I and he agrees is a bit catch 22, so they’ll repair or replace for as long as they say it can be, but if they say it can’t then they deem it to have exceeded its lifetime, and it’s up to you to argue that you reasonably expect it to last longer.

Depends too what kind of a life it’s had.

I agree it’s a bit rubbish, but to the OP, what is ‘a number’ of years and what does wearing it ‘semi-regularly’ entail. And reasonably would you (and me, and most others) have expected it to last longer?

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/apr/24/lifetime-guarantee-kohler-daryl

(the bottom bit, not the clearly misleading actual complaint)

Get in touch with Alpkit and their repair service.

Not sure about zips specifically but Patagonia do free repairs of any brand’s outdoor stuff – they had a stall doing it at Kendal Mountain Festival and they do it at other locations apparently.

How old is this jacket? It does sound like they are happy to offer a replacement on newer stuff.

Manufacturing defects tend to show up early and the warranty isn’t expected to cover wear and tear.

I agree Rabs attitude sucks but if its just a zip replacement either do it yourself (not exactly hard) or take it to any high street tailor or alterations service.

While it’s crap, life is too short so just take it to a local shop, get a new zip put in and vote with your wallet.

Move on.

Out of interest, exactly how old is the jacket?

I am pretty good repairing things but I can’t see how I would repair this fault – see picture

RAB jacket fault

am pretty good repairing things but I can’t see how I would repair this fault – see picture

You don’t, you take it to someone who can, if Rab won’t do it.

As we know from bikes, lifetime warranties never actually are. All things wear and break eventually. A genuine lifetime warranty must be unsustainable for a business.

Rabs attitude sucks

Not really – we don’t know how old/knackered the jacket is – and that seems to be why the guarantee hasn’t been honored.

They don’t have the ability to repair waterproof jackets in-house , despite what it says on their website (I agree THAT sucks, but that’s not really an “attitude”) – but they did refer the OP to a company who could do the repair for them.

I’ve never owned anything by Rab – but it doesn’t seem like they have done anything particularly wrong here, other than exaggerating their claim that “there’s virtually no repair we can’t handle”

I think it’s 8 years old and in perfect condition.

RAB jacket fault

other than exaggerating their claim that “there’s virtually no repair we can’t handle”

So apart from making highly misleading marketing statements that turn out to be complete BS, they haven’t done anything wrong?

Repairing zips must be one of the most common repair services and they say they can’t do it – it’s poor. I bet they love to tout their eco credentials too.

I think it’s 8 years old

I’d certainly consider that less than a lifetime for a jacket. If they want to offer a 5 year warranty then they should call it that. Claiming a lifetime warranty is marketing BS in this instance. Up there with unlimited broadband that has a limit

I’d certainly consider that less than a lifetime for a jacket.

It’s clearly within it’s ‘lifetime’ because it looks perfect apart from the zip which definitely looks like a fault.

It’s a Lifetime Warranty covering manufacturing defects. A zip that took “around” 8 years to develop a fault is more likely to be due to wear or mishandling.

“ It’s clearly within it’s ‘lifetime’ because it looks perfect apart from the zip which definitely looks like a fault.”

And that’s my point. It’s in great condition as we always look after our clothes really really well. Even if you argue the rubbish argument of the “lifetime of the product” then it’s still got many years left and the other zips work perfectly.

In all honesty if the jacket was otherwise pretty worn I probably wouldn’t have chased it as an issue as I do believe in “fair use” and if it has been worn day in day out I would have accepted it and probably bought another jacket without looking at what guarantee it had. It was only cos it had this fault I went to the RAB website and had a look if they had a repair facility and found it had a lifetime guarantee!

I’m currently warrantying a 6 month old Rab of Shield+ fabric for failing spectacularly.

I’ve had similar issues to OP with Patagonia a few years back – zip failed in about the same way within three years of purchase. I was told garment lifetime was less than than, and I could post to Portugal at my cost for repair. The lady on our high street bunged a new zip in for £20.

If anyone wants ‘proper’ outdoor kit repair, Scottish Mountain Gear is great. https://www.scottishmountaingear.com/

How the hell do you “mishandle” a zip? Open/close errr that’s it!

It doesn’t look perfect to me, plenty of delamination starting to show. I would say it looks well used.

8 years of good use seems a reasonable enough lifetime to me for what is essentially a fancy plastic sheet.

I’d have it out with them in a polite but concise email. State their own statements as per their website. Can argue it’s somewhat misleading. If that doesn’t succeed, take it to Twitter. No company likes public limelight. Failing that, plenty of tailors and small shops that for zip repairs. They will take the whole zipper unit off and fit a new one. Although you have to go out of your way. I’ve never been attracted to Rab, will be staying away based on this story.

It might not be a manufacturing fault, but if it hasn’t been abused as per the OP’s claim, then that must be a design fault. At which point, they should apply good will and fix it.

I am pretty good repairing things but I can’t see how I would repair this fault – see picture

Measure length of zip and get a new one from ebay.

Unpick stitching and remove old zip.

Sew new zip in place.

It’s easier than building a wheel with much less chance of cock up.

It might not be a manufacturing fault, but if it hasn’t been abused as per the OP’s claim, then that must be a design fault. At which point, they should apply good will and fix it.

Er, not really, did Rab design the zip?. Zips fail because of wear and tear, contaminants, and folk howking at them blindly forcing them up or down.

Personally, I don’t think 8 years is bad, we demand lightweight breathable modern materials, they won’t last as long. Another consideration is amount of use, if it’s only been used 5 times a year, than that’s not great. It’s not black and white.

So apart from making highly misleading marketing statements that turn out to be complete BS, they haven’t done anything wrong?

Repairing zips must be one of the most common repair services and they say they can’t do it – it’s poor. I bet they love to tout their eco credentials too.

but even if they could do it – they would still charge – I assume about the same as the people they provided a link to. Their capability to repair (or not) isn’t really the issue – the issue is whether the Jacket is within it’s “lifetime”.

8 years of semi-regular use is debatable IMO.

Life time warranty against manacturing faults. That’s literally meaningless. Unless say the stitching is in the wrong place. They shouldn’t be allowed to say it but surely we all know it means nothing

If i thought i’d get 8 years out of a Rab jacket i might have bought one. Back to Paramo for me

PS the obsession with light weight clothing for all uses seems wrong to me. It’s never as durable which isn’t great for the environmental

I had a problem with a pair of Haglof goretex trainers where the laces only lasted a year maybe 18 months but replacement laces unable to buy. They tell you to go to eBay or wherever and buy something similar to the blue with the white through them but couldn’t find anything like them. The shoes lasted maybe another 6 months then one developed a large split between the leather and fabric
That’s Haglof owned now by ASICS well off my list burning my fingers for £130

PS the obsession with light weight clothing for all uses seems wrong to me

Aye, I tend to agree in a lot of cases, I’ve a mate who’s into his hillwalking and photography, moans about his jacket weighing 600g, but is 5’8″, 17 stone and his camera kit weighs a metric ton. Needless to say he moans about clothing not being breathable! 🙂

I had a problem with a pair of Haglof goretex trainers where the laces only lasted a year maybe 18 months but replacement laces unable to buy. They tell you to go to eBay or wherever and buy something similar to the blue with the white through them but couldn’t find anything like them. The shoes lasted maybe another 6 months then one developed a large split between the leather and fabric
That’s Haglof owned now by ASICS well off my list burning my fingers for £130

Shoe life should be measured in miles, not time, I use strava to track my running shoes, 300 miles means about 3-4 months, trail shoes generally a bit longer.

Your story reinforces my use of Asics tbh, 2 years is brilliant.

I’ve had similar issues to OP with Patagonia a few years back – zip failed in about the same way within three years of purchase. I was told garment lifetime was less than than, and I could post to Portugal at my cost for repair. The lady on our high street bunged a new zip in for £20.

Just post at your cost or post and pay for repair?

They replaced a zip on a five or six-year-old jacket for me and I just had to get to to them somewhere in the EU (possibly Portugal) – was much less than £20 I know.

I use strava to track my running shoes

Is there a function for that in Strava?

I use ProBikeGarage for my bike stuff now and it’s changed my life.

On their repair section it says something about 10 seasons so two years ‘lifetime’ for a presumably at least £200 jacket. Hmmm

It doesn’t look perfect to me, plenty of delamination starting to show.

Another defect? It doesn’t look well used/abused to me there is no noticeable wear and tear anywhere else on the jacket that I can see.

As above though I’d probs just chalk it off to experience at this point.