No longer a MacPac fanboy...hello Cactus

So I have lots of macpac gear, most of it is old stuff that I have had and used for years, none of it is modern macpac nut I will not be getting any more.

I have two big packs, two down sleeping bags, a sleeping bag liner, a bivvy bag, three day pads, gaiters, a light rain jacket, several pairs of thermals and two tents, and old wilderness brand fleece jacket that is also a macpac one and finally a high tech goretex alpine raincoat and this is the straw that broke the camels back.

It was raining hard the other day so I tossed the rain coat on and it felt a little weird, one it got somewhere dry I discovered that a bit of tape and the back of the neck had come unstuck, it worked fine but as just a little uncomfortable, not concerned I walked into a macpac store and sought to take advantage of their lifetime warranty, sent it down to Christchurch, got a call two days later saying that it's too old, they could no longer repair it as they don't use goretex any more and I should buy a new one at full price.
I argued and said they should do better.
They called me back and said they could not do better, lifetime means lifetime of the materials not lifetime of the purchaser.
So I said, find send it back, I will fix it myself but they have lost a customer and tell head office that my next and future purchasers will be Cactus, as I reckon they stand behind their products.
Rant over.
Shelley

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shelley

So I have lots of macpac gear, most of it is old stuff that I have had and used for years, none of it is modern macpac nut I will not be getting any more.

I have two big packs, two down sleeping bags, a sleeping bag liner, a bivvy bag, three day pads, gaiters, a light rain jacket, several pairs of thermals and two tents, and old wilderness brand fleece jacket that is also a macpac one and finally a high tech goretex alpine raincoat and this is the straw that broke the camels back.

It was raining hard the other day so I tossed the rain coat on and it felt a little weird, one it got somewhere dry I discovered that a bit of tape and the back of the neck had come unstuck, it worked fine but as just a little uncomfortable, not concerned I walked into a macpac store and sought to take advantage of their lifetime warranty, sent it down to Christchurch, got a call two days later saying that it's too old, they could no longer repair it as they don't use goretex any more and I should buy a new one at full price.
I argued and said they should do better.
They called me back and said they could not do better, lifetime means lifetime of the materials not lifetime of the purchaser.
So I said, find send it back, I will fix it myself but they have lost a customer and tell head office that my next and future purchasers will be Cactus, as I reckon they stand behind their products.
Rant over.
Shelley

---

Send it to Twinneedle in CHC, 402 Tuam St, Christchurch 8011.
They do seam seal Goretex repairs.

B

Customer service is a key factor in my purchases....

Put that on face book and see where it gets you!
Even if your not on Facebook you would be surprised where this might end up!
Imagine today is everything!:wtfsmilie: but true

Just how old was the gore-tex jacket?

[QUOTE=StrikerNZ;580023]Just how old was the gore-tex jacket?[/QUO
Would be just under 20 years, it's the newest bit of macpac gear I have besides a couple of newer day packs, but it's still waterproof and breaths fine, so the material is not f@cked just the seam seal tape.

Macpac are still OK to me but nothing like Twin Needle or Cactus for service. Shame.
The wife bought a secondhand Macapc childs puffer jacket on Trademe the other day. Zip was broken when we received it. This was explained to Macpac but was repaired, for free without any hassles. Maybe a location thing? This was Macpac Napier.

20 years out of a jacket? Id be happy with that.

Sent from my GT-I9295 using Tapatalk

all products dont last forever. even modern jackets do what has happened to yours. they havent used goretex for years so id say its had a good lifetime.. or you are just being pedantic

20 years for gortex lol

The seam sealing came off a 2 year old stoney creek jacket of mine, unrepairable, even twin needle wouldn't touch it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not sure what the jacket would have cost you 20 years ago, $200 - $300 maybe??? Personally I would be pretty happy with it's lifespan. Nothing,especially clothing, lasts forever but I think Macpac made a mistake not seeing you right. They should have given you a new jacket at their cost and kept a happy customer even if you haven't bought much off them for 20 years.

I washed my Express 600 sleeping bag and lost some down from two rear baffles & Macpac Tauranga fixed it immediately. I'd expect anything within the 5 to maybe 10 year mark to be sorted but after that I'd call it fair enough to replace it myself.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by scoped

all products dont last forever. even modern jackets do what has happened to yours. they havent used goretex for years so id say its had a good lifetime.. or you are just being pedantic

---

Hmm, my leather jacket is 30 years old this year and still going strong...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shearer

Not sure what the jacket would have cost you 20 years ago, $200 - $300 maybe??? Personally I would be pretty happy with it's lifespan. Nothing,especially clothing, lasts forever but I think Macpac made a mistake not seeing you right. They should have given you a new jacket at their cost and kept a happy customer even if you haven't bought much off them for 20 years.

---

It was their top of the line alpine jacket, $599...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shelley

It was their top of the line alpine jacket, $599...

---

$600 20 years ago? Hell. It must have been top of the line. What model is it? I worked in sports retail about then and the dearest Fairydown (Macpacs closest competitor) Goretex jackets were no where near that.
Even so, 20 years is a long time in technical clothing terms and $30 per year ain't bad.
As I said, Macpac should have cut you a deal on a new one but didn't. They have lost a customer because of it but seriously, having a Goretex jacket fail after 20 years isn't going to put me off a brand. In fact, if they could guarantee 20 years I'd be rapt.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shelley

Hmm, my leather jacket is 30 years old this year and still going strong...

---

Bet your leather jacket isn't waterproof though.

I'd happily pay $600 for an alpine coat that would last 20 years.Are you Scottish?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by marky123

I'd happily pay $600 for an alpine coat that would last 20 years.Are you Scottish?

---

Born and bred in Christchurch, does that count?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shearer

Bet your leather jacket isn't waterproof though.

---

Actually it ain't bad, keeps rain off when I'm on the motorbike, I do rub an oil/ wax stuff into it fairly regularly but.

As much as I love Cactus gear I don't think they have the range or experience in rainwear. The only weatherproof coat they have is over 1kg in weight.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shearer

$600 20 years ago? Hell. It must have been top of the line. What model is it? I worked in sports retail about then and the dearest Fairydown (Macpacs closest competitor) Goretex jackets were no where near that.

---

My first alpine shell was a Fairydown goretex one about 15 years ago, from memory I paid about that much but full sticker price was $800! I still have it but its not as waterproof as it once was so I updated and relegated it to casual use.

20 years is a very impressive lifespan for a goretex jacket anyway, I wouldn't complain about that. Technology has moved on though, many new alpine shells will be about half the weight.

20 years ago I could have bought a Holden HT hunting ute for $600 and I'd be surprised if it was still going strong today.

I've happy wih 20years out of any gear depending on how much it's been used.

Surprised they didn't have a go at fixing it, or at least offer you a decent discount on a replacement, can't see them doing it for free but why couldn't they just cut 40% off a new one??

Got a macpac sleeping bag that is only 4years old and needs the main zip replacing... Will see how that goes this winter when I take it in

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 223nut

...can't see them doing it for free but why couldn't they just cut 40% off a new one??

---

They do that with a sale every couple of months anyway!

20 yr gortex??
I had 3 gortex jackets thru the last half of the eighties, all leaked like a sieve.
I know they went thru several generations of them, I had two. Helly Hansen and a couple of canadian/US ones. Total waste of money and this was walking round town, didn't dare take them into the woods with me.
Boots the same experience so have stuck with proven leather and grease/dubbin.
Best experience was coming back to nz and trying a 'Wilderness' brand (nz) Reflex jacket in 1990 and now its starting to weep at the seams.

You should frame that thing!

I'll never touch goretex again without some real assurances no matter who makes it.

I'd just get out the silicon sealer and do a DIY job on the seams just like a tent fly. Will make bugger all difference to overall breathabilty o f the jacket.

I wouldn't complain about 20 years service from it.

well, after airing my grump in public, I wondered if the Reflex is renamed Goretex. Can't find anything about Reflex fabric online however.
Sooo, how is peoples take on modern Goretex nearly 30yrs ??? later than my tragic experiences with the stuff......

Old goretex and new goretex are different beasts. Something to do with the not being allowed to use the same materials as in the past for environmental reasons. Or something like that. Durability has difference as a result.

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk

20 years is about 5x as long as I'd expect a technical jacket to last

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Awaian

well, after airing my grump in public, I wondered if the Reflex is renamed Goretex. Can't find anything about Reflex fabric online however.
Sooo, how is peoples take on modern Goretex nearly 30yrs ??? later than my tragic experiences with the stuff......

---

There are a lot of different waterproof/breathable fabrics around now, Goretex still has the best known name but not the monopoly or clear performance advantage it once had.

My current shell is an Outdoor Research one with Pertex Shield+ fabric and so far it has been just as good as my old Fairydown Goretex one, at around half the weight (440g).

Posted 1/4/17, got to be an April Fools Joke doesn't it!?
FFS I shot my barrel out in a year, doesn't matter that it took 5000 rounds, it should have lasted 20 years!!!!!!!!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fireflite

Posted 1/4/17, got to be an April Fools Joke doesn't it!?
FFS I shot my barrel out in a year, doesn't matter that it took 5000 rounds, it should have lasted 20 years!!!!!!!!!!!

---

The only joke was the service I got...still have not sent it back, once they do I'm going to have a go at patching it myself.

Reflex was a different stuff, similar but aimed at repelling water more than breathable, still worked, Wilderness was what macpac used to call threir clothing line, then they decided that two seperate brand names doubled their advertising cost so amalgamated under one name.

Looking at Arc'teryx stuff, looks good but pricey, anyone use dry as a bone?
As an aside I dug out an old German army poncho yesterday, some sort of rubber, rather heavy but packs down to a respectable size, has domes and grommets for turning into a tarp, well that thing was the bees knees, bloody long too, kept me very dry in that downpour we had here, not at all breathable but with the sides being domed heat could escape, although prob not as well as pit zips in a new goretex.

Ahh, thanks for that Shelly.
I remembered there was some kind of connection with Macpac but not what, it was when all these brands were getting going.
Has been a very good jacket and worked at repelling and breathing.
Early Goretex had a lot of failures but not usually the fabric, eventually Goretex insisted on approving the designs (seam taping & placement etc) before allowing their use by brands.
Mine is now aged (like me) and needing replacement. It never got alot of hard bush use but I stiil feel I've had my money's worth after buying it in 1990.