Submitted by ajpathecreature t3_110mboh in BuyItForLife
Hey yall, same guy as before but now with Patagonia. Has anyone had experience(s) dealing with them? Are they actually as good and well-made as people tend to say? How about their warranty/warranty claim process? I’m in Canada and at least on the Canadian website (I’m certain it’s a corporate thing) they rely heavily on sustainability, reusability, and everyone seems in heaven talking about their “almighty lifetime warranty”
Patagonia stuff has been very reliable for me. One of my top 3 most reliable outdoor clothing brands.
What are the other two?
Fjallraven and Rab.
My Fjallraven collection is out of hand BUT ITS SOOOOO GOOD
Please tell us what the other two are!
I'd say fjallraven is well proven and good too.
There is no brand with 100% success rate in garments. But in general I have found Patagonia to be lasting high quality. Same with Cotopaxi and Arc’Teryx. Many other brands are hit and miss because they make cheaper items for mass market or even sell their brand for labeling other merchandise.
Patagonia also does truly focus on sustainability, so there’s a lot of emphasis on repair along with well made. You are likely to be able to get small issues repaired locally.
Kind of what the north face used to be, then they hoped on that fast fashion / mass selling horse and their quality went down the drain.
My oldest North Face fleece/hoodie just will not give up. Every one since has fallen apart - pockets on the front seem a weak spot, they'll get holes at the stress points.
That first one though probably has decades left!
I think the north face summit series is still legit compared to the other mass marketed stuff.
I loved North Face trail running shoes in the early 2000s. The worked really well for running and I’d continue using them as work shoes when I replaced them every few years.
Now all my running shoes fall apart at the toes.
Their repair services are pretty solid. I had a 3/4 length puffer coat and the zipper failed after 10 years and they replace the zipper. I paid for the shipping to them but otherwise no additional costs.
Arc'Teryx has experienced a serious quality hit after their sale to China, which is fairly unacceptable given the colossal price they command.
I second this. Nothing worse than paying $600 for a rain jacket that falls apart at the seams after a few years of light use.
Their old stuff before China shift was fantastic.
I have an embarrassing amount of their stuff and love it. They stand by their products thick and thin. I grew up near their repair center in Stead, NV. Solid operation. I will say esp at full price you’re buying into that warranty/gurantee they provide but if you’re serious about using their products then it’s fair and if you shop the sales (this is the way) it’s a slam dunk imo. But they’re not the only solid company in the category. I’ve had as much luck with Outdoor Research as well. Neither company is fussy and offers solid customer service
Patagonia is one of the best, also they donate 100% of all profits to protecting the earth which is pretty rad
It’s marketing. They are donating $100m to fight climate change. Since much of their brand targets eco conscious yuppies, that is equivalent to $100m in targeted marketing. I’m glad they’re doing it but they are not a nonprofit. They still very much aim to make lots of money for their investors and board members.
https://www.patagonia.com/ownership/
"100% of the company’s voting stock transfers to the Patagonia Purpose
Trust, created to protect the company’s values; and 100% of the
nonvoting stock had been given to the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit
dedicated to fighting the environmental crisis and defending nature. The
funding will come from Patagonia: Each year, the money we make after
reinvesting in the business will be distributed as a dividend to help
fight the crisis."
“After reinvesting in the business” — reinvestment in business is another definition for profit.
I'm not sure if you understand what you're talking about. That's just how you grow business.
Patagonia has no external investors that are looking to make easy money. It used to be owned by the founder and the trust and nonprofit mentioned in an earlier comment were specifically set up that any profit the company makes can be put towards helping the planet and environment and not get the company into the hands of some crappy investors in the future.
That's just capitalism. If the buyers start supporting it more and more, then other brands will go into this direction too. It's just sad that lasting products are almost never the most profitable, at some point the market gets saturated and the company needs to invest a lot into developing other products to still have sales.
Capitalism is not going to save the earth from climate change. It's the whole reason climate change is happening in the first place.
The only way capitalism "goes away" is if our society collapses on a global scale. That's not going to happen, so the only way forward is adapting. Either capitalism "saves it", or it does not. North Korea isn't going to do it lol
Oh it's for sure going to happen. That's what climate change is.
Well you see now I don’t get something, how do they grow as a brand if they donate 100% revenue? Don’t get me wrong that is pretty amazing, they must be one in a handful, but how does that work
100% of profit is different than 100% revenue. The owner donated the company to a trust and so all that profit that the company makes goes to the trust, and the trust is set up so that it’ll automatically pay out climate charities and stuff like that.
Edit: here’s the explanation in their words https://www.patagonia.com/ownership/
hmm.. i did not know this. I was all in on Arcteryx before. I'll keep this in mind for my next purchase.
Hasn’t Arcteryx been sold off to Chinese investors? They’re not usually paragons of sustainability.
True, but all the stuff that I do have was from before. And they're still maintaining their repair obligations.
I am talking about any new stuff that I have to buy.
Thanks! This helps me even more to make up my mind! Thanks again for your time replying my post.
I hate to be the downer about the whole trust thing, but… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cu6EbELZ6I
He will avoid taxes, but he also could’ve IPO’d Patagonia or sold the company to the highest bidder if he cared about money and nothing else. What other for-profit companies are set up like this? Still pretty cool that it’s guaranteed left over money not used to run the company and R&D goes towards helping the environment. Adam Ruins Everything is a great show, but I don’t get the critique this time. The reality is 99% of companies would be much worse to give your money to compared to Patagonia.
Yeah, I heard he evaded a ton of taxes by doing this, that’s why I specifically mention the company being good and little about him other than the donation itself. Kind of sucks that he did the good thing for the wrong reasons but it was still probably a good thing, and will probably end up doing quite a bit of good, definitely still better than all those other companies that evade taxes and then continue to pillage the environment.
He did avoid taxes by restructuring the company like that, but there's many ways he could have avoided taxes, including putting it all in a profit-making trust to his kids. There were also ways to make so much money that even after taxes, he'd still be way wealthier than he is now, like by bringing it public on the stock exchange.
Even if he was doing it only to avoid taxes (which I think he wasn't), this was the absolute best way to make sure Patagonia continues to be used for good. Tax-free status is given to most non-profit organizations and to most money that's donated to non-profits, and for a good reason. It encourages people to do good things for society, rather than to hoard profits.
Pretending that this is some evil tax avoidance scheme is just propaganda from corporations that don't want to be called out on their continued greed, and their own tax avoidance. They're afraid that if enough people realize what a good thing Chouinard did, then society will draw attention to the bad things they do.
And, since OP asked, their warranty really is that great, too. They'll replace or repair anything, no matter how long you've had it, and for virtually any reason, if you think there's something wrong with it. That said, their stuff is really high quality, so I know of almost no one that's ever had to legitimately use the warranty.
I bought a pair of Patagonia Capilene long underwear in 1985. Just had to retire them last year. That’s 37 years of use. I guarantee Patagonia would have replaced them for free, if I had asked, as they guarantee for life.
I’ve purchased 8 Patagonia jackets (they call some of them down sweaters) for me and my family in the last 3 years. Have had issues with 4 of them. IMO, you are paying $250-$700 for a $50-$100 jacket so a replacement or two is built into the cost.
> they guarantee for life
I think they do not guarantee for when fabrics wear out. They might replace it, but it's not their official policy and more their goodwill...
I have some of their stuff and I think the quality is worth it, regardless of the warranty. To me, a good warranty does not make a good product :)
Safe bet. I have undies more than ten years old from them that still look as good as my newer pairs and are the most comfortable thing I have ever put on my ass. The only reason I can tell them apart is that I slowly stocked my wardrobe over time buying up clearance "last season's colour". The new ones have a super annoying tag, but I was able to carefully remove it with a seam ripper. Their other stuff is just as good. I am a keen fan of the workwear line now. The hemp blend is ace and holding up really well on the farm so far. Even some of the not-strictly workwear has been great - like the short-alls. I pretty much live in them in the hottest part of summer when I don't need the protection of long pants. The camping gear has been good too, some of it is a bit heavy as an ultralighter, but most ultralight stuff ain't BIFL. (And even there, some stack up pretty well if you pay attention to grams)
Patagonia is the shit
I have a bunch of patagonia items and they hold up great. I bought one lightweight jacket at Costco, and I don't think it was really made as well as other pieces I have -- the zippers on the pockets broke over one winter. Well, early in the spring i sent the jacket off to their repair shop and it came back at the end of summer with new pocket zippers and it's held up great this year. I had to pay for shipping there and back, but otherwise the repair was totally free!
They are a great company
I'm Canadian also.
Most of my clothes are Arc’teryx, but have been switching over to Patagonia. Their stuff is amazing and I have sent in a t-shirt for repair and it was done, sent back to me no questions asked.
I recently placed an order and had an issue with an item. I was offered a discount or replacement no questions asked. Their customer service in my experience is hands own amazing.
Their clothes are well made and last forever.
Great quality products and stand behind their warranty. I have had items patched and replaced by then. No hassles at all.
I won a wind-breaker jacket back in the early 2000’s at a beerfest raffle. Wore it for 15 years, until one of the panels split. Sent it in for repair, and they said it was beyond fixing. Gave me the option of getting the jacket back as-is, or getting a $90 store credit. I’ve been a huge fan since. Great company that stands by their products.
In France it's easy to change a product if any trouble (which barely happens)
A B corporation just doesn't have any incentive to do quality fade, that's a M.O. of for-profit corporations, specially those that have recently been acquired by private equity firms.
I haven’t done a warranty but I have done a repair, as have family members. It’s extremely easy and they will do their best to match. It’s also free (or maybe I had to pay for shipping). I’d recommend!
They’re totally worth it and have an incredible warranty. Highly recomendable the R2 Techface jacket
I love them. I've never had a problem with any of their gear personally that would warrant using the warranty process, but a couple of my friends have used it (US, though, not Canada) and had a good experience.
Everything I have has held up super well. Plus Patagonia holds its value pretty well; if you no longer need something or your size changes it's generally easy to resell, and if you don't want the hassle, you can still get pretty decent credit for it just doing Worn Wear.
I had a gore-tex jacket from them that didn't keep water out very well. But their warranty is the real deal: they took the jacket back with no hassle even though I'd had the jacket a year (it took me a while to figure out it didn't work that well as it doesn't rain too much where I live). I have some other products from them and they're pretty good.
Some products are good. Others are not worth it. I do not like how they have been blending in recycled polyester in certain styles where 100% cotton would perform better. Also the better sweater was a huge let down. But my son has loved his lightweight fleece jacket and baggies shorts!
Very high-quality products with a price to match. Patagonia funds world class conservation work, I'm not aware of another company that comes close: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/climate/patagonia-climate-philanthropy-chouinard.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Safe bet. Plus, they'll repair their gear if at all possible and generally do an exceptional job of it (not just a crappy patch)
I've had mostly good luck with them. One down jacket started falling apart within a couple years of occasional light wear but most keep on going, year after year
Currently wearing a 20 year old hoodie that has been worn heavily and aside from some pilling is going strong
I had a Patagonia coat that I cut by accident, and they patched it for free in the retail store.
I really enjoy it.
Safe bet. They are such a good buy my grandchildren have passed them down three times.
Safe bet and they will repair them for you
Everything I have has lasted ages. I have fleece pants that are at least 25 years old. Choose wisely - I have a zip sweater that I've never liked on me but the dang thing shows no signs of wear after 20+ years.
I was a fan for years but recently have had my concerns about fit and quality. Good news is my older Patagonia wear still has life. Not sure if I’ll add more though.
Have a few bits of gear that are great however the Baggies shorts are a bit lacking.
The pockets are single-stiched into an internal mesh section (I assume this is to allow the pocket to drain water) Both front pockets stitching wore out in a short amount of time and there is no point returning for a repair as they will just blow out again.
Before I realised it was a problem I lost my car key through the hole.
Excellent company but some of the men’s sizing is all over the place and really oddly shaped. The arms are strangely long on the better sweater and other items so it’s hard to buy online, but if you have access to an REI they have a lot to try on in person.
Worth it
Have a 9 year old jacket where the zipper failed. I brought it to. Patagonia store looking to recycle it with them and the clerk was like “oh we will fix that zipper for you. No need to buy a new coat” and before I knew it my jacket had a brand new zipper on it. They care more about the environment than maximizing their profits. They get my vote every time
I absolutely love everything about Patagonia. Their quality is the best of the best for modern clothes, materials are sourced responsibly and labour is paid fairly, they strongly encourage repair of their clothing and on top of that they have an amazing warranty.
I have the Patagonia down sweater hoodie and it's probably the best jacket I've ever owned. I have several North Face puffer jackets, but the Patagonia is just a little better.
I just got a Patagonia pack back from repair. Webbing where the hip belt attaches was fraying through. They did an excellent job repairing it, only cost me $5 for shipping. Not this pack had tons of use and is otherwise in excellent shape. Patagonia makes good products and stands behind them. They want you to keep using the gear you buy as long as possible. And then fix it and use it more.
My oldest patagucci jacket is 8 years old and is an almost daily wear for me (I get cold in my office so it’s pretty much used year round). It has some holes from when I caught it on boulders (now sealed with small piece of duct tape), and the fabric has begun to wear on the inside, but for the amount of mileage, i am super impressed.
My other jackets are newer and get less wear, but still hold up to plenty of abuse.
Plus : I know pre-pandemic they would repair items, which is amazing. I need to see if they still do it so I can get this sucker fixed.
Patagonia is pound-for-pound the best value gear you can get IMO.
Just be aware wthe very strange fit for jackets and coats—small in the torso and long in the arms. Otherwise good stuff.
I can attest that their customer service is fantastic and they really do stand behind their stuff. I had a raincoat from them that ripped in the dryer (my mistake really, I should have air dried it). I contacted customer service about a repair. Instead, they sent me a brand new one, the same model but slightly improved design, no questions asked, and recycled my old one.
I will never buy anything but Patagonia. They encourage people to repair their items, have a full repair center, life time warranties, and even an online used clothing shop. Outstanding quality, although some offerings lag slightly behind competitors in terms of technology, they’re always somewhat close.
Buy from then directly. I bought something recently from MEC, who used to have an excellent return policy. It’s changed since they sold the company. (Better sweater, tons of pilling).
Yes. Also the owner is donating billions to habitat projects etc. great company.
Their down jackets do not last long. Don't let anyone fool you. Sure they will help patch it but a city dweller here I've had to patch and repair the zippers 3x as well as having the fabric rip apart loosing all the down.
Kindve crazy for 280
I have a Patagonia jacket I bought a few years back. It's well made and wearing really well, but that's about all the good I can say about it. It's not as warm as the very similar Columbia jacket I bought it to replace, and the DWR coating on it was not durable at all.
Also, the hood is helmet compatible, but the adjustment system isn't very good so the hood just doesn't work well if you're not wearing a helmet.
All in all, I wouldn't buy it again and I may end up replacing it long before I end up wearing it out because it just doesn't work very well. If I wasn't allergic to spending money it would be gone already.
Hello /u/ajpathecreature! Thank you for your submission! The AutoMod thought that your post might be a request type post and has changed the flair accordingly, but if this was wrong feel free to change it back!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
Duckworth is where it’s at
A lifetime warranty is not BIFL. The warranty is just for failures or wear and tear.
If you're having to replace an item, that's definitely not BIFL.
I have a merino wool patagonia jacket that I love to death. Bought when I was 16 and had it almost 10 years. Warmest jacket for the weight I’ve ever owned. It was pricey but well worth it
Recently I went to one of their brick and mortar locations with the full intension of purchasing another down sweater. My previous one was my constant goto and after more than a decade of use the fabric around the wrists and elbows wore to a point that feathers kept leaking. The zipper wore out, and the elasticity around the wrists were sagging.
At the counter I mentioned to them how I loved my original jacket so much that I was purchasing another. They asked to see the original and I showed them all the issues. On the spot they said that they would either replace the zipper and try to patch the holes or just give me a warranty replacement - no cost to me. I really loved the green color of the original jacket but after considering it all I decided to go with the replacement. The original would be recycled (including the down).
They definitely stood by their warranty, and for me it’s a true buy it for life item.
I have a nanopuff jacket which I've worn almost daily through two seasons. I've absolutely loved it. I've washed it twice. While it's still in great condition, the wear is starting to show. Some of the strings that form the pattern are popping off, occasionally a strand of insulation sneaks out of a seam, there is pilling at the cuffs, and there are a couple of micro-rips at my cuffs where you can see the insulation upon close inspection. Because of this I started considering Carhartt or LL Bean for next season or maybe season after next, but then I remember Patagonia guarantees their products. I'll get it replaced if I can!
The quality has dropped drastically in the last couple years. Since they started selling in pacsun and urban outfitters their quality is on par with all the other fast fashion you find in the mall now. I own pieces from 10+ years ago that hold up great but the newer stuff seems to be on the lesser quality side
qgmonkey t1_j89owpn wrote
Safe bet. I have dozens of their products, all holding up nicely