Atlantis Weather Gear

[Chris Burti]

In the FWIW category, the Admiral and I each have a set of high quality Atlantis foul weather gear purchased in the mid 1980's with a written lifetime warranty (which we still have). After about a decade of relatively light use, the seam tape fell off of her set and the seams on my set became 'permeable'. As a result, they leaked and so they went into storage in a sailing bag as dubious 'spares'. Recently, I ended up on the Atlantis email mailing list about the same time as I came across the old product tags, so I decided to email Customer Service on 2/22/13 and ask what their position was with regard to the warranty under these facts.

I received a quick automated response saying; "We'll get back to you ASAP". Receiving no further reply, I called them this morning, received a short, almost insincere, apology for the lack of response and an incredulous response that 'lifetime' wasn't my lifetime, it was the expected lifetime of the gear which they considered to be "about 10 years".

Now I confess that I didn't really have any great expectations of any substantial redress after all this time. Perhaps an offer of a discount on a new set of gear or at least an offer to seal the seams. We had a very polite conversation, but I certainly did not expect a very polite and euphemistic "FO" by virtue of an idiotic and illogical definition of what constitutes a 'lifetime' warranty. Seriously, if it is a ten-year warranty, say so...please don't try to implicitly tell me "we didn't really mean 'lifetime', we meant "about 10 years". The warranty only contains the usual exclusions for abuse, misuse, improper care and normal wear and tear.

What really aggravates me is that the gear is in really good shape, both sets simply leak and when that was explained, it was suggested that I ship the gear to them (at my time and expense) for them to "look at them, but we probably won't be able to help you."

There are a lot of ways that this inquiry could have been handled acceptably. There is even the possibility of a reasonable explanation as to why the warranty wouldn't apply. But, please, don't treat me like fool. Needless to say, I asked to be removed from their email list as I certainly do not intend to purchase gear from them now. I also thought that forum readers might be interested in one persons unsatisfactory customer service experience ...YMMV

 

[justsomeguy]

You could check into seam sealers, such as those used for tent seam maintanance. Seam seal tape is out there, too.
http://www.campmor.com/seam-sealant-recoat-3-10-oz-1.shtml

Good luck.

 

[RECESS]

Lifetime to me means as long as "I" own the product, it is under warranty.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

I think I still have my Atlantis FW gear.... liked it because it was White... (or was)... Sorry to hear they don't stand behind their products.... I would not buy again from them after reading your post. on principal.

 

[Chris Burti]

Reply to justsomeguy
I never had a lot of luck with seam sealer on tents. Unless they have dramatically improved the available products since I last tried them, I would be even more dubious about using them on activewear.

 

[TLW]

I also had what I thought was great Atlantis gear in the 80s, but haven't even heard of them in decades. Wonder why?

 

[Jackdaw]

Yea, they handled that badly.

Just wondering, does the warrentee say 'against manufacturers' defects in materials and workmanship'? If so they probably got an out. Everything has a service life. Nothing lasts forever.

 

[BillLynn]

Atlantis Responds

Chris,

Really sorry to hear that you're disappointed in the way you were treated by our company. Let me offer a bit of background and maybe something that will dull the sting a bit.

We're a group of sailors from Marblehead, MA and we bought the largely defunct Atlantis brand in 2006 because we'd always loved it and we wanted to build great sailing gear. I think we've done a pretty decent job of that over the past few years, and despite some ugly economic headwinds, we're still punching away. We're just a group of bootstrapping entrepreneurs, and we don't have any deep pockets behind us, so I hope you can understand that there's no way we can stand behind a "lifetime" guarantee on gear that's at least 20 years - and three ownership groups - old. There's so much of it out there that we'd put ourselves out of business overnight if we agreed to replace every single piece of old Atlantis gear that's no longer waterproof.

Our guarantee is pretty similar to most other technical gear manufacturers': guaranteed for the practical life of the garment. I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect to get several years of use out of a waterproof jacket, and that will vary depending on how hard it's used. So if something goes wrong during that time, we'll make it right. When we can't do that, our policy is to offer the customer a pretty healthy discount on something new to try to make it right. If that wasn't offered to you, that's our bad, and I'd be happy to right that wrong. We have some pretty nice stuff, and you can look it over on our site.

Happy to discuss this further with you anytime you'd like. You can email me directly at blynn@atlantisweathergear.com or call me at 877-333-SAIL.

Bill Lynn
Partner - Atlantis WeatherGear

 

[Jackdaw]

Chris,

Really sorry to hear that you're disappointed in the way you were treated by our company. Let me offer a bit of background and maybe something that will dull the sting a bit.

We're a group of sailors from Marblehead, MA and we bought the largely defunct Atlantis brand in 2006 because we'd always loved it and we wanted to build great sailing gear. I think we've done a pretty decent job of that over the past few years, and despite some ugly economic headwinds, we're still punching away. We're just a group of bootstrapping entrepreneurs, and we don't have any deep pockets behind us, so I hope you can understand that there's no way we can stand behind a "lifetime" guarantee on gear that's at least 20 years - and three ownership groups - old. There's so much of it out there that we'd put ourselves out of business overnight if we agreed to replace every single piece of old Atlantis gear that's no longer waterproof.

Our guarantee is pretty similar to most other technical gear manufacturers': guaranteed for the practical life of the garment. I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect to get several years of use out of a waterproof jacket, and that will vary depending on how hard it's used. So if something goes wrong during that time, we'll make it right. When we can't do that, our policy is to offer the customer a pretty healthy discount on something new to try to make it right. If that wasn't offered to you, that's our bad, and I'd be happy to right that wrong. We have some pretty nice stuff, and you can look it over on our site.

Happy to discuss this further with you anytime you'd like. You can email me directly at blynn@atlantisweathergear.com or call me at 877-333-SAIL.

Bill Lynn
Partner - Atlantis WeatherGear

Pure class.

 

[Phil Herring]

I think this was nicely handled by both parties. Well done.

 

[sailormanbigd]

I thought that when you purchase a company you are buying there reputation? There name goes with that reputation. You bought them for that reason, long standing history of good products, service, etc. Now you don't want to honor their warranty, shame, shame, on you. You want all the good from the previous company and none of the responsibility. Pride, integrity, honesty, are quick to go out the window in this economy. I am certain that your stance on honoring you companies past warranties have not helped anyone to change their minds on future purchasing from your company.

 

[ifmdalvey]

I think you will find that every time a company changes hands that all previous bets are off. Sometimes companies will go into deliberate receivership just to avoid their obligations, Hunter springs to mind, keeps the same name but changed hands several times with no responsibility for what was made under the previous ownership.
I have Musto gear that is now over 15 years old and still giving good service, have a look at what they have to offer.

 

[BillLynn]

No question, Musto does make great stuff. I own quite a bit of it myself, and they do a very nice job. I would go get some (if you can afford it), but I guarantee you it won't be waterproof in 20 years, so let me know how it goes when you try to get them to replace it in 2035.

 

[ggrizzard]

While I can see Bill Lynn's point, it hinges on the concept of "The other guy made it", so it's not our responsibility. Not sure about "three ownership groups", and if that means they were owned and worn by others, I agree... All bets are off. But I have owned and worn Columbia brand foulies for thirty years, and when a structural problem occurred after washing the jacket in year 18, I called and was told to send it back for an eval. I did, they did and then they asked what color new jacket I would like them to send free gratis! Don't know if Columbia has been "acquired' in the interval, but I am on year 12 with the replacement and many washings later, the jacket is as good structurally as it was when new. The water repellant needs a re-spray occasionally, but that's a given.

It sounds to me as if Chris' problem was structural, so I think even a "Bootstrap" company would want to make good... think about the raves they would have gotten had they chosen the other path.

 

[RECESS]

I would hope it says "practical lifetime warranty" or "limited lifetime warranty", that would be the right thing to do. Lifetime warranty means as long as the original purchaser owns the product.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

Sorry BillLynn, if it says lifetime, it should be lifetime.

I can understand not wanting to foot the bill for the previous owners products, but you buy the name and reputation for a reason.

Your new products should state LIMITED Lifetime warranty. if that is what you intend.

LifeTime is Lifetime, unless its abused.
sure if its got a hole in the elbow or knee, it wore out, but a seam splitting, is a mfg defect IMHO.

I'm not impressed.

I suggest you change the name to Atlantis Limited, or something slightly different to note the ownership change. and the change in warranty policy.
Can you imagine Sears selling the craftsman brand and the new owners not honoring the lifetime warranty on hand tools?

 

[berner73]

If it's an accurate account of events, the OP has a fair gripe over his initial experience over the phone. That would rub me the wrong way too. Sounds like a training issue though and not a conspiracy to cheat a customer out of their consumer rights. Come on, the stuff was bought 30 years ago, moth balled in a closet for the last 20 years and now you want remittance? Something to be said for dealing with an issue when it arises.

Siding with the vendor on this one given the details to date and the offer to discuss it in person. Anonymity on the internet is easy, posting his name and contact info on a forum strikes me as a legitimate attempt to resolve the issue. I don't have a horse in the race, just find it refreshing to see a legitimate small business trying to make a go of it with a little class.

BTW, to the OP - do you still have the original proof or purchase in a legible form? Now that would be impressive.

 

[ggrizzard]

And on a related topic...

Today I took a 10 yr old Taylor Made fender to West Marine in St. Augustine that, while still holding air, showed severe stress cracks on one side. They (nor I) had ever seen a fender do that but, they asked how old it was and then replaced with new. What a pleasant experience.