La Sportiva boot warranty?

[keenwesh]

Posted this in the gear forum, no one responded yet and I'm impatient. Going to Cody next weekend and will be screwed if I'm out a pair of boots.

 

I just inspected my Baturas (purchased new summer before last, used for a season and a half of ice, maybe 100 or so days total) The lower grommet that has to be tightened to keep heel lift to a minimum is tearing out in both boots. Here's a shot:

 

 

It works for now, but will blow out completely soon, probably when I'm out climbing. Will I have any luck talking to La Sportiva's warranty people or am I out the cost of a new pair of boots?

[JasonG]

Probably depends on who you get. My experience hasn't been good with LaSportiva CS, but it has been a long time since I talked with them (years), so your experience may be different. I had a pair of Trango S's that wore out in 11 months (sides blew out, surprise, surprise) of weekend warrior use. They told me that I got my $300 worth, and I would need to pay full price for a replacement.

 

This demonstrates why there is some value in buying from the evil empire (REI) when it comes to boots (which seem, these days, to wear out faster than it takes to wear down the sole). I've had several pairs from different manufacturers wear before their time. It surprises me that modern boots don't seem to be designed to take the abuse of mountaineering. Light is great, but they need to last at least a few seasons of moderate use.

[keenwesh]

rei doesn't carry boots in size 48

[FireTrailPCT]

Damn! I just bought a pair of La Sportiva Karakorums last week. I haven't even wore them yet. I hope they give me at least a good 2 years.

[JasonG]

 

But they can special order them....not that I am advocating pushing business REI's way.

 

But getting to your situation with the worn out gromments, seems like a good cobbler could fix those without too much trouble/cost. I had an old pair of Makalus years ago that had loops in a similar spot wear out. I had a cobbler fix them for ~$40. Probably not something to put off, given the looks of them. Good luck!

[FireTrailPCT]

Are you sure they don't carry a 48? I thought I saw a guy once with size 14's, getting ready to go to Ecuador for 2 weeks. He was renting, though.

[keenwesh]

they didn't have them in the store because REI doesn't stock jack shit in terms of actually useful gear. I thought I'd stick it to them by purchasing from some other place (I can't remember now). I'm a fucking moron!

 

There's a LS rep or something that works at northern lights on tuesdays so I'm going to bring them into him tomorrow to see if I can get any kind of warranty. Otherwise I'll probably take them to a cobbler. Alternatively, I've been told scarpas will fit my anemic little ankles much better, so if I can somehow scrounge up a pro deal I might be getting new gear (that I most definitely cannot afford, being a unemployed college student is rad!).

[FireTrailPCT]

Going the cobbler route sounds like the best idea, as long as the guy has been doing it for a while. You obviously want a good job done on these, not a half assed job. Ask first, see if they even can fix em up.

 

You're right about REI, though, they don't stock shit, but you gotta love the return policy. Good luck on getting them fixed. Post again if you get em done, let us all know how it turned out.

[Jake_Gano]

I had good luck sending mine in for warranty/replacement.

[keenwesh]

I went and talked to the La Sportiva rep and he offered to send them back for warranty, but I'd have to wait 4-6 weeks for the replacement pair. That doesn't work all that well for my lifestyle.

 

He took a picture and sent a request in. If I'm lucky LS will send a replacement pair to Northern Lights and I can swap 'em out there. If I'm unlucky I'll be fucked. My plan for this weekend is to just run a strip of tape around my ankle to hold my heel in place.

[JBo6]

A Voile strap might work pretty well for that.