Camp Gear Whose Makers Will Fix It

Outdoor gear is the only category on this site where the manufacturers compete on repair rather than replacement, and it produces the widest spread of published terms anywhere. The same shelf holds a pack with a 30-year guarantee, one with a lifetime guarantee, and one with two years - at similar prices, from similarly respected makers.

Packs: the clearest comparison in outdoor gear

Osprey's All Mighty Guarantee covers defects in materials and workmanship for 30 years on most products, and the remedy is repair or replacement at no charge - a torn panel, a worn buckle, a broken zipper. Some lines are shorter (Poco at 7 years, a few Pro models at 5), and proof of purchase from Osprey or an authorized retailer is required.

Gregory's Lifetime Guarantee, running since 1996, covers defects in workmanship and materials for as long as you own the pack - no 30-year cliff. JanSport publishes a limited lifetime warranty on packs that excludes normal wear and tear, negligence and accidents. Deuter publishes two years. All four make excellent packs. Only one of those sentences is about how good the pack is.

Luggage: where the strongest guarantee on this site lives

Briggs & Riley's Simple As That guarantee covers the repair of all functional aspects of the bag for life, free of charge - and that is the whole point of the wording. It is a repair program, so the wheels, handles and zips that airlines destroy get rebuilt rather than argued about. It excludes cosmetic wear, cleaning for odors or stains, and lost or stolen bags.

Travelpro's Built For A Lifetime Limited Warranty names wheels, zippers and handles specifically but covers defects in materials and workmanship rather than damage. Samsonite publishes three, five or ten years depending on model, excluding accidents and misuse - which is most airline damage. The price ladder here maps almost exactly onto the guarantee ladder, which is unusual and makes the decision cleaner than it looks.

Coolers and bottles: read the number, not the price

YETI publishes five years on hard coolers. RTIC publishes five years on Ultra-Tough hard coolers, three on Ultra-Light and one on soft-sided - so the model matters as much as the brand. Igloo publishes one year on most coolers, three on Super Tough and five on Rotomold and IMX. A rotomolded cooler is genuinely better built than a blow-molded one; it is not better warranted than a rotomolded cooler costing half as much.

Bottles invert the price order entirely. Nalgene's lifetime guarantee covers cracks, breaks and broken components from regular intended use on a $16 bottle. Hydro Flask publishes a limited lifetime warranty on manufacturing defects. Klean Kanteen publishes its Strong as Steel lifetime limited warranty. Stanley's lifetime warranty on vacuum products specifically includes degradation of thermal performance - the only failure a flask actually has. YETI, the most expensive of the group, publishes five years.

Tents, and the thing nobody mentions

Big Agnes, NEMO, Kelty and ALPS all publish lifetime or limited lifetime terms against manufacturing defects. None of them covers the two things that actually end tents: abrasion through a thin floor, and UV degradation of the fly. Both are preventable - a footprint and not storing a tent pitched in sunlight - and both are cheaper to prevent than to claim for.

The repair kit is the best value in this hub

Two items in this section are worth more than their price by an order of magnitude. Tenacious Tape makes a torn jacket, tent or sleeping bag a five-minute permanent fix that survives the wash. Seam Grip reseals factory seam tape that has lifted, which is how old tents start leaking and why they get thrown away. Together they cost under twenty dollars and routinely save gear worth hundreds. If you buy nothing else from this hub, buy those.