Pack bag - covered by warranty or not?

[Peakbagr]

I have a Gregory bag - humongous size, designed to carry a large pack. I've used it for years as a travel bag to carry stuff for hiking trips out west.
Only used on vacations to ferry clothing, daypack gear as checked luggage.
Gotta be 20-25 years old. Over the last 6-7 years the interior waterproofing has been delaminating, leaving a stink on everything in the bag. I know the bag is old, but externally and inside it looks great other than the delamination.
I have photos of the inside and the original tag and warranty. The Gregory CSR said they'd have to see the bag, but then said delamination might be considered 'normal wear and tear'.
Yeah, it's old and I've gotten use out of it, but it's probably been on 20-25 trips. None of my Gregory packs or any other bag have ever experienced this. Wonder what folks think. Don't bother to reply if you're going to call me a cheapskate. LOL

 

[JoeCedar]

The rep is incorrect. Delamination is a chemical degradation of the polymer. It is not “wear and tear”, especially on the interior of the fabric.

I had this happen several years ago on an Osprey pack. They gave me a new one.

 

[David Metsky]

I wouldn't feel comfortable turning in a 20-25 year old piece of gear for a warranty repair.

 

[Peakbagr]

I wouldn't either, Dave, if it had 20-25 years of use. Other riding in the holds of airliners ten times, it's been used visiting friends.

 

[skiguy]

I remember when Campmor came out. Great buys along with a Black and White catalog sale mentality. You could also hit up the warehouse store in Paramus.

 

[Jazzbo]

I have two large cotton duffel bags I bought 15-20 years ago at a tag sale obviously used for carrying hockey gear which I use now to carry winter gear in winter season. In and out of the car every other weekend in winter and shoulder seasons. They still look pretty fair and no laminating to worry about.

I've had numerous small packs and stuff sacks de-laminate on me. I think may be unavoidable with nylon materials. especially if not stored in cool dark dry place versus attic storage where it may be hot and humid.

 

[ChrisB]

I have a Gregory bag - Don't bother to reply if you're going to call me a cheapskate. LOL

I respectfully suggest you treat yourself to a nice new state of the art bag. We ain't getting any younger....
cb

 

[Mike P.]

I have two large backpacks from the 90's and both have a lot of whitish gray flakes on the collar part of the bag. (An EMS and Lowe Alpine Bag) Both have many years of basement storage, one in CT, the other in Germany, NJ and AL. They do not seem to have a smell and I would zip-lock anything in them any way.m

Is this delamination or something else? I certainly wouldn't bring them back, they go back to my days working PT at EMS...

 

[Peakbagr]

The bag has always been stored in a dry, place. I replaced it with another large bag when the internal delamination began but feel the company should replace this as a weekend travel bag. As I mentioned, if this had been beat up over the years, I wouldn't have asked them.

 

[sierra]

The bag has always been stored in a dry, place. I replaced it with another large bag when the internal delamination began but feel the company should replace this as a weekend travel bag. As I mentioned, if this had been beat up over the years, I wouldn't have asked them.

I had a large duffle made by Wild things, after years of use, it went into storage. I pulled it out last year while moving into my new house. Same thing as yours, a horrible mess of flakes and gunk. No way of saving it, oh well. Sometimes you just move on. I think years replace use, when your talking 25.

 

[jfb]

https://www.gregorypacks.com/Warranty.html

The condition described seems, to me, like the natural breakdown of materials.

 

[griffin]

I had a large duffle made by Wild things, after years of use, it went into storage. I pulled it out last year while moving into my new house. Same thing as yours, a horrible mess of flakes and gunk. No way of saving it, oh well. Sometimes you just move on. I think years replace use, when your talking 25.

This. I don't think I've ever had the lamination on a bag or other piece of gear last anywhere near 20+ years, regardless of use or storage.

 

[jfb]

Here's something that may be worth trying: https://www.whitemountain.com.au/information/information-material-delaminating.html

 

[iAmKrzys]

https://www.gregorypacks.com/Warranty.html

The condition described seems, to me, like the natural breakdown of materials.

Originally, I was a little skeptical of peakbagr claim - 20+ years is a long time but I took a look at the warranty link above and here is an excerpt (emphasis is mine):

We build Gregory gear to last a lifetime and that's how long we stand behind it. We guarantee to you, the original purchaser, that this product will be free from defects in materials or workmanship, for as long as you own it.

These are plain big words, and while perhaps delamination is naturally expected to occur after 20 years, it is not likely a result of wear and tear, especially if widespread, so I really think Gregory should stand behind its own product & warranty.

 

[expat]

I'm not sure that delamination over 20 years is a defect in materials. Delamination over 5 years would be, but over 20 years I think that would be expected behavior. No material or process is free from the ravages of time. Myself included.

 

[Tito Alba]

I'm not sure that delamination over 20 years is a defect in materials. Delamination over 5 years would be, but over 20 years I think that would be expected behavior. No material or process is free from the ravages of time. Myself included.

Nothing ventured. Nothing gained. Contract Gregory and get a Return Material Authorization (RMA) number and then send it in. You never know!

 

[peakbagger]

I expect it will come down to PR, does Gregory want to risk possibly bad publicity for not replacing it or possibly get good publicity from a happy customer. LL Beans went through that math for years and finally decided to reign back on the guarantee when it got too expensive.

I have had to ditch a fair share of gear with failed PU coatings. In all cases I got a reasonable lifetime on the gear and in a couple of situatons

 

[dug]

I have little doubt they will replace it. Companies almost always do.

They will also incorporate those lost costs into their product costs, which makes everything else more expensive.

 

[Peakbagr]

I gave up and threw it away, in spite of the excellent observation Joe Cedar made.

 

[Remix]

A while back, I had an EMS duffel with the same problem. It also had the bold EMS Lifetime warranty.

After some years (far less than the OP) it delaminated with the rubber chemical turning into some kind of foul smelling gum smelling a little like toluene. It was always in the bedroom closet, used only for airline travel, and never saw mold.

They adamantly refused to replace it in spite of very light use. If it "naturally degrades", it should probably not be covered by an "as long as you own it" warranty. This was not a pair of boots, or a ceramic water filter cartridge, or a pair of snowshoes.

After that, I never bought anything of value from EMS again and only shopped their clearance racks.

On the other hand, Leki gave me a free replacement for a lower pole section that I bent. I will be buying Leki's for the rest of my life.