On the Water And In The Woods

Sea kayaking, sailing, and lightweight backpacking in the-Chesapeake Bay, Mid-Atlantic region

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Praise for Folbot!

Prior to today, I have dealt with only one company that I would recommend to people solely based on their warranty policy, irregardless of gear quality. That was Kokatat, who volunatiry replaced my old beat up dry suit several years ago with a brand new suit for free, when I was ready to have to buy a new one.


Now, I have another company that I would recommend based on their warranty.


Folbot. In about 2005 I purchased their outrigger system for my sailing kayak. The system included two inflatable amas, which are plastic inflatable bladders inside nylon ballistic cloth fabric. This outrigger system has been stuffed in kayaks, lived in the back of a pickup in the heat of summer, and had some "interesting" shore landings over the years. This winter I discovered that one of the bladders had developed two small pinhole leaks. The bladder material was not one I had ever worked with, so I emailed Folbot for their recommendations on how to make the repair.


Their reply was that, having purchased the equipment directly from them the warranty (I didn't know there was one at time of purchase) would cover it, and they are now sending me a replacement bladder, at their expense.


It's nice to find a company that has that level of warranty!


3/11 update - The new bladder arrived very quickly. It is made of a heavier gauge material than the original bladders - more like the vinyl used in inflatable boats. Should be very sturdy, and likely easier to field patch.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home