I have had a Columbia Vertex ski parka for 10+ years. It wasn't cheap, but the design is perfect for the intended use. It is comfortable and toasty warm. It has features such as zips under the armpits for extra ventilation, double-ended main zip for unzipping the lower part when riding chairlifts, pockets for goggles and iPod, clip for keys, clip for attaching gloves and so on. A feature I particularly appreciate is an elasticized skirt that keeps loose snow from getting underneath the parka and around the chest area. As I said, for skiing, the design is perfect.

The parka has seen heaps of days of downhill skiing and general wear. It has been to NZ, Egypt, Jordan, Greece, Turkey, Italy ++. It's an "old friend".

Recently, the main zip became a bit erratic. The sides would separate, and it was a bit fiddly to get them back together. With the associated memories, I didn't want to chuck the thing away and buy a replacement. I took it to a ski shop (here in Canberra) and requested that the zip be replaced at my expense.

I was informed today that Columbia will replace the zip UNDER WARRANTY, no questions asked, no receipts required. For a more than 10 year old product, and in this day and age, I find this attitude to customer service amazing and refreshing.

My mother would say "If you can't afford a good one, son, save until you can". I suggest there's a lesson there for us all.

"Save a dollar, pay twice"

www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/

Columbia Jacket covered under warranty you say... cause the goretex lining of my Columbia jacket has delaminated and now dumps dandruff like flakes everywhere...

Tell me more... cause the OZ Columbia website Warranty link doesn't link to a warranty page...

I've got a Columbia jacket I bought for skiing in 1992 and I still use it in cold weather and for skiing. I have Niwaxed it though...

Zipper pull tab broke so I fixed it with a Dyneema splice and stopper ball. 10 years ago :D

Wearing Canterbury shorts I bought in the late 90s, have an all-season bike jacket that will be able to vote soon, but the winner is a pair of socks and a scarf from fifth form.

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kiterboy said..
www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/

That is really cool

I think we should support companies that do this sort of stuff, that Columbia story is amazing.

Flip side, for the bad ones we need lemon laws. We need to outlaw 'designing lifespan in' as has been revealed in the past few years. Apple got in trouble for their dodginess, but soooo many electrical manufacturers are designing in failure.

Patagonia do the same, dog ate the zip on missus jacket, fixed at no charge.

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Mark _australia said..

kiterboy said..
www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/

That is really cool

I think we should support companies that do this sort of stuff, that Columbia story is amazing.

Flip side, for the bad ones we need lemon laws. We need to outlaw 'designing lifespan in' as has been revealed in the past few years. Apple got in trouble for their dodginess, but soooo many electrical manufacturers are designing in failure.

Don't get me started on crApple...

Too late!
I had to check a friends MacBook for insurance, declare as write off. It was.
So many parts that were specifically engineered to be non replaceable/repairable.
Pentalobe screws on outside, normal Philips on the inside. Why?
Water sensors on the motherboards, RAM soldered in.
The screen? Glued in place so it breaks the electronic contact strip on the glass if you try to remove it.
The keyboard? Held in place with 48! screws! AND riveted to the top frame! 1 key breaks and the whole top has to be replaced!


Honestly it reminds me of the Germans in WW2, incredible engineering used for evil instead of for good - it should be so much better.

Price and quality not an argument.
History proves yes and no.
I have bought several very low cost boards that are way more purpose built and durable .
Friend has one of the lowest cost SUPS on the market after many years of many and it's his favorite.
However many of the expensive brands also are good at times.
One just needs to be street wise.

The sole started to fall apart on a pair of 10 year old shoes my father had. He took them back to Rivers to ask if they still sold something similar because they were his favourite pair of shoes and he wanted to buy another pair. They replaced them for free, he was gobsmacked.

^^^^ Currently I can't even get an answer to emails to Quiksilver customer "service" about their faulty ugg boots so we shall see....

How much does one pay for a pair of ugg boots from quicksilver ??? Would the shop you purchased them from not replace them or give a refund ?? If that's the case you are best to ring fair trading and they will sort it for you.

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rod_bunny said..

Mark _australia said..

kiterboy said..
www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/

That is really cool

I think we should support companies that do this sort of stuff, that Columbia story is amazing.

Flip side, for the bad ones we need lemon laws. We need to outlaw 'designing lifespan in' as has been revealed in the past few years. Apple got in trouble for their dodginess, but soooo many electrical manufacturers are designing in failure.

Don't get me started on crApple...

Too late!
I had to check a friends MacBook for insurance, declare as write off. It was.
So many parts that were specifically engineered to be non replaceable/repairable.
Pentalobe screws on outside, normal Philips on the inside. Why?
Water sensors on the motherboards, RAM soldered in.
The screen? Glued in place so it breaks the electronic contact strip on the glass if you try to remove it.
The keyboard? Held in place with 48! screws! AND riveted to the top frame! 1 key breaks and the whole top has to be replaced!


Honestly it reminds me of the Germans in WW2, incredible engineering used for evil instead of for good - it should be so much better.

New one or an old one?

This is a 2010 MacBook Pro and I've replaced the RAM (there's a certain sort that means you can double the factory maximum to 16Gb), HDD with an SSD, speakers and sub, battery... There's a half-dozen Phillips screws on the bottom of the case (Unibody) and battery, HDD, and RAM are right there under the cover. I think there are some wonky ones to remove the MB but that's a **** of a job anyway.

Also have a PowerBook that has a dead drive, and I looked at the online instructions for swapping it out ... yeah nah, NAH. Maybe you got one of them :D

The pisser with this one is that the OS no longer updates because it's "obsolete". That really annoys me ...

Still, not bad for $100 :D

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airsail said..
Patagonia do the same, dog ate the zip on missus jacket, fixed at no charge.

With today's vet fees that's a win