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WARRANTY !!! Here is what you should expect...

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Gnarmy
Posts: 45 - Karma: 56
I have noticed quite a few threads this season complaining about companies warranty policies (mostly on skis).  I have been blown away by the expectations of a lot of NS members as to what they think they deserve or what a warranty should be. So here are a few industry standards as well as guidelines on how to ensure you get your skis replaced in the event that you do deserve a warranty!

1. DON'T SLIDE RAILS! I don't know of a single ski/snowboard brand that will warranty for rail damage.
However if you have cracked edges and your tip delam's don't mention the edge issues.... some companies will overlook rail damage to take care of an issue that is not impact related!

2. KEEP YOUR RECEIPT. If you cannot prove you paid for it and that you are the original owner then the  company has no liability to replace your equipment!
SIDENOTE: if you are receiving some type of discount or Pro-Form from the company you generally do not receive any type of warranty with your purchase.

3. IMPACT RELATED DAMAGE again most companies will not warranty for impact related damage. generally that means when your ski comes in contact with anything other that snow and something is damaged.. Core shots, edge crack/dents , delams, sidewall blowouts, binding rip outs, ETC...

BUT could also apply to any type of more than "average" abuse to a ski.. (big cliffs + hard landings or over/underotating causing you to land tip/tail heavy.

4. TOPSHEET CHIPPING  is not the same as a topsheet delam and is an impact related damage generally caused by your sharp metal edge coming in contact with your soft plastic topsheet.. keep your skis apart!

5. TALKING WITH THE WARRANTY DEPARTMENT if you approach someone pissed off guns blazing making demands your going to put the person on the other side of the line on defense right off the bat!

Be calm, cool, and explain the situation and ask what they can do to help you out.. Be prepared to send pictures of the damage and most likely be ready to ship your skis back for evaluation. ( you will be responsible for the shipping costs)

ALSO this process with many companies can take several weeks so be patient!

Rather you think it is fair or not these are VERY common demands that a company will make in order to replace your product!


 
Apr 25 2011 5:17PM
84 28
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25435 - Karma: 13,783
When a ski hits a solid metal object, the solid metal will win nearly every time. Doesn't matter if it's day 50 on your park skis or first lap, if you catch a edge just right you can irreparably damage the ski. For all skis, you can help extend their life by addressing the small problems before they become bigger ones, fix and file if you do a lot of rails.
Aug 5 2012 4:37PM
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MaryO
Posts: 2583 - Karma: 5,996
Yeah, I know you're right, but it's just such a bummer. Luckily we do have an awesome ski shop in the area who have fixed our edges in the past, and they can hopefully repair this latest one too.Plug for Pinewskis in Anoka MN;) 
Aug 5 2012 5:36PM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,682
Rowen allready alluded to this but, everytime you hit a rail on skis it is the equivalent of taking a giant metal bar and slamming it into the base of the ski, usually at an angle, such that the trailing edge of the ski absorbs all the impact. The force equivalent of about 2-3c the weight of the skier with alm their gear. Ya, it is going to cause some damage. You can reduce the ammount of damage by taking such actions as detuneing the skis to the point that the edges are round to help reduce the friction on the edge (reducing the impulse) but the physics are not going anywhere. I doubt you would expect your car's undercarriage to withstand dozens of 200lb impacts from a rail road rail everyday, but for some reason it is expected from skis.

If you are one of those absolute retards, that insists on sliding sideways down a metal pipe on skis, my suggestion is to forget about having a nice fancy new pair of park skis, and just get yourself an old pair of fugitives, public enemies, or scratch FS from however long ago on Craigslist or a ski swap and just abuse those untill they break in half, don't worry about the edges ripping out, because that is going to happen.
Aug 5 2012 5:57PM
1 0
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25435 - Karma: 13,783
Used skis are like used cars, you really have no idea what kind of abuse they've been put through usually. For me, its nice having a new set of park skis that are fast and have consistent edge underfoot. I prefer having gear that works, albeit for only half a season, rather than trying to learn tricks on skis with catchy edges and delammed tips and tails. In other words, if I hurt myself, I want it to be from my lack of skill, not from the broken gear I'm trying to use. Risking medical bills just aint worth the savings for me anymore.

Park is tough on skis, but proper maintenance can help. Honestly, if theres two quick things I'd suggest every park rat and/or financially responsible parent to do to get skis to last longer:

1) Dry out your skis - if there is a crack with water sitting in it, it can cause rust and weaken the laminate layers. If water stays in the ski, it'll expand when it freezes (next time you go skiing) and just get progressively worse.

2) File down edge cracks - if theres a crack, file it down aggressively. Cracks are weak points and catch points, if you catch it on a rail you risk pulling out the edge and creating a huge problem. Swap your left and right skis if you always grind one direction too, you'll get to enjoy those graphics a lot longer, even if they're mismatched for a few runs.
Aug 5 2012 6:49PM
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Literature
Posts: 13668 - Karma: 3,054
Cheap park skis are like skateboard decks--they're going to break if abused enough.

Nobody has yet pointed out that the price points on park skis are the lowest out there. They're always cheaper, in large part because the manufacturers recognize that people will abuse and then replace them more frequently than something not designed for park destruction.

It's true that you get what you pay for as well, so it stands to reason that companies don't always include their best materials and constructions when people aren't looking to pay for them.
Sep 24 2012 12:38AM
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dhoiska
Posts: 140 - Karma: 26
Great thread. I just got done explaining what happen to my surface no times to Skyler at surface's customer service and they hooked it up! I rode my no times a week and one of the skis edges peeled out on the tip and tail. Obvious defect considering both the tip and tail came apart within a week of riding them. I sent skyler some pictures and my receipt and he got back to me right away. Just gotta say that Surface is a great company that stands behind their product.
Jan 10 2013 6:33PM
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borskee
Posts: 796 - Karma: 127
BEING POLITE pays off so much!

i warrantied my first pair of ar6's because of a core snap and the ski became rockered. so i got on the phone with tyson hall who had me send them to the shop i bought them from and they then sent them to armada from there.

got my new ar6's in the mail a couple weeks later in a smaller size than i had before because i thought what i had was too big

after 4 days of riding them the tail of one of my ar6's delamed really bad almost to my binding

normally under armadas warranty policy they only allow 1 pair of skis to be warrantied once under the purchase

i got back on the phone with tyson and i explained him my situation politely and i got to send my skis back to armada for another look at

tyson gave me a call back after inspecting the skis and sent me another pair of ar6/ar7 hybrids that were delt to the atheletes before the ar7 was done (basically ar6 with 1st yrs ar7 graphics)

being polite paid off in my situation a whole lot and i respect tyson and armada for everything they did for me

SO BE POLITE
and quit crying about top sheet damage and edge cracks, its gonna happen if you ski park
Jan 14 2013 4:56AM
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dingus
Posts: 1328 - Karma: 7,876
Thats why BackCountry is super GNAR because lifetime warrenty no matter what
Mar 10 2013 10:25PM
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Gapper_gene
Posts: 55 - Karma: -160
maybe they can have people pay an extra amount of $$$ for extra warrenty
Mar 14 2013 4:37PM
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scarsimd
Posts: 668 - Karma: 773
k2 didnt accept my warrenty cos i had hit a rail... wankers
May 10 2013 1:53PM
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rozboon
Posts: 1642 - Karma: 867
Did you even read the thread? You bashed a wooden ski on a metal pipe with your whole weight on top of it and you're surprised when the manufacturer says you've abused it? Unless the warranty claim was utterly unrelated, like a tip or tail delam, did you honestly expect them to warranty it?
May 12 2013 3:35AM
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Caucasian_Asian
Posts: 2447 - Karma: 1,665
This is what happens when you try and scam a warranty claim

https://www.newschoolers.com/ns/forums/readthread/thread_id/749492/page/1/
Jun 24 2013 12:02PM
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Pipe_Munky
Posts: 10882 - Karma: 2,114
a lot of manufacturers will offer a replacement ski at a discount for skis not deemed a valid warranty claim within the warranty period.

if a shop wants to sell an "extended warranty" that would be completely up to them and it could be very costly
Jul 2 2013 11:31AM
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TemplarSkis
Posts: 7 - Karma: 19
For those interested - We started a kickstarter campaign and have a one year guarantee on our skis - basically if anything goes on them rails or no (beyond chipping your topsheet) we will be happy to ship a new pair (or your $ if we can't get you one) - as long as we can get the pair back for testing and a short clip telling us what happened.

Skis are going for $500 with shipping right now (I think only 6 at that rate). Msg me if you guys have any questions!

Sep 28 2013 4:16PM
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virgin
Posts: 182 - Karma: 91
Sport conrad told me to "cut both skis in two pieces" and send them a picture for refund. What is this for?
Jan 31 2014 11:13AM
1 0
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rozboon
Posts: 1642 - Karma: 867

Sometimes it's pretty costly to ship skis back to the manufacturer so if you can get a warranty claim accepted just through sending them pictures sometimes they will ask you to make the skis unusable and send them proof before they process your refund/replacement. The quickest way to do this is to run a saw through them then send off the pictures. This is so that you can't claim warranty then repair the skis somehow and keep using them.

Note that if you haven't had a warranty claim accepted in writing then you would be a gigantic idiot to take to your skis with a saw.

Feb 2 2014 10:59PM
3 0
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supersquid
Posts: 1430 - Karma: 2,544
totally see where your comin from the whole concept of park skiing is to slide matal rails on your skis they can only take so much but when these park skis are $300 dollars and up i think the company should at least offer some warranty maybe only for two months cause i know my parents (im 14 btw) would not buy me two sets of skis in one year its just not gonna happen so when a ski delams after a month something should be done because guys like me are out for a season if something like that happens

Feb 24 2014 7:44PM
0 1
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Prof.Pretzel
Posts: 450 - Karma: 787
Thanks for the advice could be helpful
Jun 26 2014 7:24AM
0 0
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ANDR3WNEWELL
Posts: 96 - Karma: 88
Bump
Aug 20 2014 6:21AM
0 2
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Casey
Posts: 7703 - Karma: 22,497
If I wanted 50 people to mercilessly rip me a new asshole and tell me I am a retard for ever existing over and over, I would post my warranty issues on newschoolers.
Feb 9 2016 9:26PM
4 0
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cinnabonconn
Posts: 250 - Karma: 458
I have Armadas and one of them snapped when i was hitting an airbag. I emailed armada pictures of my skis, they gave me a new pair of skis in return. I did not have a receipt or anything, just the skis itself. However the process took a little bit of time as we emailed back and forth, but it was great that they will replace the my skis even for something that I should probably blame myself for not the skis.
Nov 11 2016 11:56AM
0 0
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Greeney
Posts: 168 - Karma: 148
HG skis has a warranty for edge impact. Go on their website.
Dec 31 2017 1:23PM
0 0
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MitchWAndrew
Posts: 121 - Karma: 429
GnarmyI have noticed quite a few threads this season complaining about companies warranty policies (mostly on skis). I have been blown away by the expectations of a lot of NS members as to what they think they deserve or what a warranty should be. So here are a few industry standards as well as guidelines on how to ensure you get your skis replaced in the event that you do deserve a warranty!

1. DON'T SLIDE RAILS! I don't know of a single ski/snowboard brand that will warranty for rail damage.
However if you have cracked edges and your tip delam's don't mention the edge issues.... some companies will overlook rail damage to take care of an issue that is not impact related!

2. KEEP YOUR RECEIPT. If you cannot prove you paid for it and that you are the original owner then the company has no liability to replace your equipment!
SIDENOTE: if you are receiving some type of discount or Pro-Form from the company you generally do not receive any type of warranty with your purchase.

3. IMPACT RELATED DAMAGE again most companies will not warranty for impact related damage. generally that means when your ski comes in contact with anything other that snow and something is damaged.. Core shots, edge crack/dents , delams, sidewall blowouts, binding rip outs, ETC...

BUT could also apply to any type of more than "average" abuse to a ski.. (big cliffs + hard landings or over/underotating causing you to land tip/tail heavy.

4. TOPSHEET CHIPPING is not the same as a topsheet delam and is an impact related damage generally caused by your sharp metal edge coming in contact with your soft plastic topsheet.. keep your skis apart!

5. TALKING WITH THE WARRANTY DEPARTMENT if you approach someone pissed off guns blazing making demands your going to put the person on the other side of the line on defense right off the bat!

Be calm, cool, and explain the situation and ask what they can do to help you out.. Be prepared to send pictures of the damage and most likely be ready to ship your skis back for evaluation. ( you will be responsible for the shipping costs)

ALSO this process with many companies can take several weeks so be patient!

Rather you think it is fair or not these are VERY common demands that a company will make in order to replace your product!


Hey so I’m kinda shitting my pants because my ski is literally ripping out from the core in the middle so I sent a warranty application to evo they haven’t emailed my back yet but do you think they will replace them that shouldn’t happen and I haven’t done anything to break it like that
Feb 26 2018 5:25PM
0 0
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skiP.E.I.
Posts: 7128 - Karma: 16,752
Don't expect much. Most companies, especially big brands only offer warranties in words.
Jun 27 2018 10:35AM
0 0
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animator
Posts: 4439 - Karma: 25,025
Someone tag that kid that was crying about his Majesty skis
Dec 29 2019 5:16PM
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