Ode to Kelty

I've carried my 5 year old Kelty Redwing 3100 well over 1,000 miles. While on the Camino Frances last September, I found a large crack in the waistband buckle one morning. It was large enough that I'm sure I would have noticed it had it been there the night before, so I believe some pilgrim (could have been me!) stepped on it.

I found a gear shop where the owner did not have a replacement, but insisted on painstakingly taping the cracked buckle, which worked well enough to get me most of the way to Santiago. (He refused to take a penny for this, not even to pay for the tape. Just handed it back and wished me, "buen Camino!")

When I got home I tried an REI replacement, but it only adjusted from one side (the original adjusted from both sides) and it slipped a bit. I had to tighten it every few minutes, which I think would drive me mad on the Meseta.

The Kelty site didn't list a replacement part, so I emailed them, asking if I could buy a replacement. The email I got back opened with "Karl-Thanks for the email. Let’s get those buckles replaced free of charge for you. Please provide me with the following information and I will send you the parts you need. Cheers!

They asked for a photo of the broken part, as well as some other information. I couldn't provide a photo since my old buckle was in a trash can somewhere, but I sent the rest of the information.

A brand new buckle arrived this week, free of charge. Same as the original. Works perfectly.

What great customer support! The pack is 5 years old, the old buckle did not fail, it was broken by being stepped on or something, and I would have been perfectly happy to pay.

So, Kelty has earned my gratitude and loyalty.

Karl

t2andreo said:

Or, put colloquially, "you get what you pay for."

Click to expand...

That may be true, but this was not an expensive pack - lower end, really. My impression is that with Kelty (and, it seems Osprey) you get great service regardless of what you pay.

Karl