So I wanted to share a recent positive experience I had with Arc’Teryx customer service. I bought a Beta SL jacket several years ago. A couple of weeks ago the bungee cord that allows you to pull the hood back away from your face pulled out of the coat. I decided to try a warranty claim to see if my bungee could be replaced. It was a small issue but I hate hoods as it is and having the hood droop over my eyes drives me nuts. I sent the Jacket in and a few weeks later received notification that my claim was covered under the warranty but that my coat couldn’t be fixed. The next e-mail I got told me I was getting an all new coat and for me to tell them what color and size to send. I followed the link in the email which brought me to the products page. Now I was traveling and doing all of this on my phone so I didn’t notice that to find my actual coat model you had to scroll to the bottom of the page. All I saw was the Beta SL Hybrid and the Beta LT which are both significantly nicer jackets that what I originally had before I started seeing gloves and such. I pointed out my size and the color I would like in the Beta SL Hybrid but asked if I was missing something because I didn’t see my original coat model. I also tried calling the rep to ask if I missed something but never got him. Instead of rightfully pointing out my mistake, Arc’Teryx just sent the new nicer coat. I have easily gotten my value out of my purchase. The original coat was, minus the bungee coming out, in almost perfect condition.
Arc’Teryx is a quality product and the company stands behind it. I could have gotten two coats for what I paid for the Arc’Teryx but I would have needed it because I’ve never had one last as long as mine did and I fully expect the replacement coat to last another decade. Buy once, Cry once indeed.
One of the few brands that is 100% worth the money. Every item of theirs I have just doesn’t wear out after years of regular use. Not even the seams, zippers or velcro. You get bored with them before they wear out. I’m going to get a new shell and fleece just to have a different color.
I’m lucky enough to live close to the REI flagship store in Seattle. When they have a garage sale or major sale, I head straight to Arc’teryx. I have yet to regret any of the purchases. Sometimes a product ais pricey for a reason and worth it.
Arc Teryx - doesn’t get any better - unless it’s LEAF. I was lucky enough to have an outlet store within a 45 minute travel. I spent some serious coin there until they moved. I was NEVER disappointed in the gear I purchased. From base to hard shell, mattock drysock to balaclava and their wraith light weight wind proof series; the clothing line is rugged, top shelf, and fully functional. I almost shed a tear when they closed the store and moved to another State.
Had the same thing happen years ago with Helly Hanson: but in terms of overall quality and function, Arc Teryx is “top of the world ma…”!
I would love to own some Arc Teryx gear. I’m just not hard enough on my gear to justify the big price tag. I have a bunch of gear from Outdoor Research which also has a lifetime guarantee. They have a new line of military clothing that looks like its supposed to compete with the Arc Teryx LEAF stuff. Curious how it compares.
Similar situation, I got an Arc’teryx Jacket in early 2001 and wore it as my go to range cover jacket for concealment work and a lot of overseas work. It was a basic black Shoeller stretch fabric lightweight soft-shell. I was in the process of washing it to respray a DWR on the outside and some of the seams for zippers came unsealed. I emailed Arc’teryx and they asked to see the jacket.
Once I sent it in I got an email to replace the jacket. They did not have anything quite like what my original jacket was, but I was asked to choose from some existing jackets that could suit my needs. So I got a new soft-shell hoodie for an old one that I had owned for 16 years at the time I sent it in.
Great customer service.
I’m a “buy once, cry once” guy but it is worth EVERY penny and can be had for much cheaper if you wait for sales… I have owned a lot of jackets over the last 15 years (Patagonia, Marmot, OR, etc.) but none have held up to wear and tear the way my Arcteryx gear does. The LEAF gear is even nicer than the standard line of Arcteryx stuff.
I never owned any of their stuff until last year where my wife picked me up a Theta AR shell ($625 new) cheap at an REI garage sale because she knew I’d been looking at shell jackets and an Arc T. was something I wanted but couldn’t justify. Anyway, it had a couple seams ripped in the interior and I figured I’d contact them and send it in. They called me and said that the jacket had already been replaced for free through REI to previous owner so they couldn’t do the same for me again (which I completely understood). The rep told me the jacket I sent in was nine years old and essentially worn out. She then said I could choose to have them do the repairs on it for free, or they would send me a new one at 50% off retail. I thought that was incredible and took them up on the new one.
Needless to say I’ve since bought many of their products and they are the first brand I look at when shopping for outdoor clothing.
I recently wore it during a local long range PRS style match where it rained most of the day and some stages had us literally lying in mud - exactly the type of usage I wanted this for. Worked perfect - then threw it in the wash and is like new again.
To those who question the ability to purchase such expensive clothes I will say that I have never paid full price for any of it. I can’t afford to walk into an REI and just buy one of these coats. I need to wait for sales. I own three coats from Arc’Teryx. I never paid more than $180 for any of them. My wool coat is older than the subject coat and it is still going strong. Because I didn’t pay crazy money, I don’t mind wearing these coats to do just about anything. Of course the point of these coats is that you can wear them doing anything and the coat can take it. If you want to drink the Kool-Aid, start watching REI and MooseJaw sales. You should try them on at a store so you know your size and then watch the sales and strike while the iron is hot.
Go up north on I-5 about 40 minutes from the REI flagship to the outlet mall next to the Tulalip Casino, they have an Arc’teryx outlet store there, easily beats the pricing at an REI sale. I got a Zeta LT for $220 from there. At the downtown Seattle retail Arc’teryx store the same jacket there is $425.
