frontpageidk_then | Staff posted Mar 11, 2026 10:39 PM
Item 1 of 2
Item 1 of 2
frontpageidk_then | Staff posted Mar 11, 2026 10:39 PM
25L Patagonia Black Hole Backpack
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$149
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My $150 waterproof coat from 2018 has apparently reached the end of its "lifetime," so there's nothing they can do even though it now absorbs water like a sponge and is falling apart now. When I bought it in 2018, I believed I wasn't just purchasing a coat, I was also buying into that lifetime guarantee. It's disappointing to see that expectation shift.
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My $150 waterproof coat from 2018 has apparently reached the end of its "lifetime," so there's nothing they can do even though it now absorbs water like a sponge and is falling apart now. When I bought it in 2018, I believed I wasn't just purchasing a coat, I was also buying into that lifetime guarantee. It's disappointing to see that expectation shift.
My $150 waterproof coat from 2018 has apparently reached the end of its "lifetime," so there's nothing they can do even though it now absorbs water like a sponge and is falling apart now. When I bought it in 2018, I believed I wasn't just purchasing a coat, I was also buying into that lifetime guarantee. It's disappointing to see that expectation shift.
That said, I get why they're modifying it. A lot of today's fabrics and fabric coatings and laminate glues have a limited, surprisingly short lifetime. I've had many clothing products, including a brand new pair of shoes, disintegrate over time. The chemicals inside the glues and polymers evaporate out or chemically react with the air or moisture in the air, and the process is irreversible.
I first saw this when a beloved pair of Gore-Tex Gen 1 pants started to delaminate. The glue had turned into a powder. Another Gen 2 Gore-Tex parka had its top face fabric start to bubble up and delaminate from the Gore-Tex layers underneath.
If you look at all these current-day rain gear and focus on the 1 star reviews, they almost always complain about how the lining or coating fails over a surprisingly short time (just a few years, sometimes under a year). Often it's a spray-on coating on the inside of the rain jacket that flakes apart.
I'm switching to single-layer woven fabrics that have no coatings such as the commonplace uncoated ripstop nylon fabric that is used in many lower-end packs. Water goes right through this fabric. If I need waterproofing, I use a lower-cost backpack cover on the outside and ziploc bags to keep things safe inside the pack.
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That said, I get why they're modifying it. A lot of today's fabrics and fabric coatings and laminate glues have a limited, surprisingly short lifetime. I've had many clothing products, including a brand new pair of shoes, disintegrate over time. The chemicals inside the glues and polymers evaporate out or chemically react with the air or moisture in the air, and the process is irreversible.
I first saw this when a beloved pair of Gore-Tex Gen 1 pants started to delaminate. The glue had turned into a powder. Another Gen 2 Gore-Tex parka had its top face fabric start to bubble up and delaminate from the Gore-Tex layers underneath.
If you look at all these current-day rain gear and focus on the 1 star reviews, they almost always complain about how the lining or coating fails over a surprisingly short time (just a few years, sometimes under a year). Often it's a spray-on coating on the inside of the rain jacket that flakes apart.
I'm switching to single-layer woven fabrics that have no coatings such as the commonplace uncoated ripstop nylon fabric that is used in many lower-end packs. Water goes right through this fabric. If I need waterproofing, I use a lower-cost backpack cover on the outside and ziploc bags to keep things safe inside the pack.
I don't think this is really a change. Maybe they have gotten more strict as people have abused it more, but it has always been the case that some items are not literally meant to last YOUR life of daily use.
Rain coats are one of those things that just don't last forever--that's why they are cheap and light compared to something like a $450 goretex shell. If you had a 2018 goretex shell that was otherwise in good condition, but the membrane was delaminating, I would expect them to still deal with it.
Lifetime guarantees on clothing items have never assumed they will actually last forever.
I don't think this is really a change. Maybe they have gotten more strict as people have abused it more, but it has always been the case that some items are not literally meant to last YOUR life of daily use.
Rain coats are one of those things that just don't last forever--that's why they are cheap and light compared to something like a $450 goretex shell. If you had a 2018 goretex shell that was otherwise in good condition, but the membrane was delaminating, I would expect them to still deal with it.
Lifetime guarantees on clothing items have never assumed they will actually last forever.
You seriously expect some jacket you buy when you are 20 will get a warranty replacement if it wears out when you are 60? Stuff doesn't last forever if you actually use it.
It is just wishful thinking that creates a delusion that any of these things were meant to apply to your entire life.
Have you ever actually read one? They almost universally say the lifetime of the product...
You seriously expect some jacket you buy when you are 20 will get a warranty replacement if it wears out when you are 60? Stuff doesn't last forever if you actually use it.
It is just wishful thinking that creates a delusion that any of these things were meant to apply to your entire life.
So when an 8-year-old jacket, lightly used, not abused, starts literally falling apart at the seams, and Patagonia responds with "sorry, nothing we can do," it feels like a straight-up bait-and-switch. At this point, I'd have been better off grabbing a $30 windbreaker from Amazon. No lofty promises, no "guarantee" hype, no disappointment when the guarantee evaporates the moment something actually needs honoring beyond minor fixes.
Customer: But why do they put a guarantee on the box? Tommy Boy: Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of shit.
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