Klim boots are Junk, the warranty is even worse

[sledlaps]

Huge tear in the toe of a lightly used pair of Klim boots (less than 1 season riding). Never seen something like this happen to snowboard boots that I have ridden in for years.

Submitted a warranty claim to Klim and was denied on the basis that the boots have small scratches on them and therefore must have been "damaged by an external force".

Klim's policy seems to be that if your boots touch ANYTHING than the warranty is void.

This is beyond ridiculous, these are boots designed for snowmobiling. My issue is way beyond normal wear and tear. The boots are a defective product and Klim refuses to stand by their product.

I am posting this to let other users know about the poor quality of Klim boots and the even worse customer service that they offer. Stay away from Klim boots unless you only plan to wear them inside your living room.

 

[RBalazs]

I’ve not had any problems like that with their warranty department, quite the opposite actually. I’ve warrantied two pairs of GTX pros successfully due to failed BOA systems and the last time they swapped it out with the snow bike boots, at my request which are awesome.

Have to tried talking with them on the phone or just email?

 

[sledlaps]

I've only emailed with them so far.

I have also broken the BOA on the boots and it was difficult to even get them to send me a full replacement. At first they only sent the ratchet piece and told me I would have to reuse the old cables which wound up being impossible. Only after some back and forth and some time went by did they finally send new cables also. Now the BOA functions but continues to fall off its mounting spot.

Maybe I will try giving them a call tomorrow and see how that goes. At this point I've got nothing to lose. I'm pretty disappointed with my experience with Klim so far but holding out hope that they decide to make things right.

I am in the outdoor retail business, we deal with warranties to various companies daily and it seems like the policies at some companies have become to deny first and only honor their warranty when somebody is persistent. Its too bad that so many companies take this shortsighted approach, it seems to me that whatever the cost of a product replacement might be that it is way more expensive to generate negative word of mouth in the long run

 

[Sled Solutions]

Huge tear in the toe of a lightly used pair of Klim boots (less than 1 season riding). Never seen something like this happen to snowboard boots that I have ridden in for years.

Submitted a warranty claim to Klim and was denied on the basis that the boots have small scratches on them and therefore must have been "damaged by an external force".

Klim's policy seems to be that if your boots touch ANYTHING than the warranty is void.

This is beyond ridiculous, these are boots designed for snowmobiling. My issue is way beyond normal wear and tear. The boots are a defective product and Klim refuses to stand by their product.

I am posting this to let other users know about the poor quality of Klim boots and the even worse customer service that they offer. Stay away from Klim boots unless you only plan to wear them inside your living room.

Do you have pictures of what you were trying to warranty and what they denied you for?

 

[Ken65]

Huge tear in the toe of a lightly used pair of Klim boots (less than 1 season riding). Never seen something like this happen to snowboard boots that I have ridden in for years.

Submitted a warranty claim to Klim and was denied on the basis that the boots have small scratches on them and therefore must have been "damaged by an external force".

Klim's policy seems to be that if your boots touch ANYTHING than the warranty is void.

This is beyond ridiculous, these are boots designed for snowmobiling. My issue is way beyond normal wear and tear. The boots are a defective product and Klim refuses to stand by their product.

I am posting this to let other users know about the poor quality of Klim boots and the even worse customer service that they offer. Stay away from Klim boots unless you only plan to wear them inside your living room.

I had the entire sole come off the bottom of my Klim boots, at only 3 months use. Showed it to the rep that was on-site during the hillclimbs. He agreed that it delaminated itself and issued me a new pair. I'm always careful to not be kicking into the foot hole when it's packed with snow and ice. These new running boards are hell on the bottom of the boots. With that being said, I've tried other boots and have yet to find better ones than Klim. Does someone really make a boot that lasts more than 2 seasons?

 

[sledlaps]

I have always ridden in snowboard boots and get 2 seasons out of a pair of boots even though snowboard boots are definitely not designed or intended for the abuse of snowmobiling. These Klim boots are advertised that the soles are specially designed for durability made it less than 1 year when used for their intended purpose, What a joke!

I guess snowboard boots are the way to go

 

[RBalazs]

I have always ridden in snowboard boots and get 2 seasons out of a pair of boots even though snowboard boots are definitely not designed or intended for the abuse of snowmobiling. These Klim boots are advertised that the soles are specially designed for durability made it less than 1 year when used for their intended purpose, What a joke!

I guess snowboard boots are the way to go

Like I said earlier, just give them a call and stop bashing them until they completely disregard your request. Snowboard boots are gonna get torn up on modern sled running boards also.

 

[Sheetmetalfab]

This thread is worthless without pictures.

 

[sledlaps]

Here are the pictures of the damage that were sent to Klim. Their reason for the denial of warranty is the small scratches to the right of the large tear. According to Klim these small scratches are proof that the boot "has been damaged by an external force".

To me, these scratches are normal wear and tear for a snowmobile boot and could easily occur after a single ride. The other pictures show that the boots have been lightly used and overall are in very good condition.

These boots have been lightly used for less than 1 season and have only been used for their intended purpose of snowmobiling. I understand that all gear eventually fails and am not making the claim that it should be guaranteed for life. My issue here is that gear that has not been abused or used improperly should have a useable life of at least 1 season, especially when compared to snowboard boots which are not designed for snowmobiling and in my experience last more than 2x as long.

I also know that sometimes **** happens and even the best manufacturers put out products that are defective. Again, no big deal. That is what a warranty is for. However, it becomes a problem when the manufacturer arbitrarily denies a claim.

 

[Sheetmetalfab]

Huge tear in the toe of a lightly used pair of Klim boots (less than 1 season riding). Never seen something like this happen to snowboard boots that I have ridden in for years.

Submitted a warranty claim to Klim and was denied on the basis that the boots have small scratches on them and therefore must have been "damaged by an external force".

Klim's policy seems to be that if your boots touch ANYTHING than the warranty is void.

This is beyond ridiculous, these are boots designed for snowmobiling. My issue is way beyond normal wear and tear. The boots are a defective product and Klim refuses to stand by their product.

I am posting this to let other users know about the poor quality of Klim boots and the even worse customer service that they offer. Stay away from Klim boots unless you only plan to wear them inside your living room.

Here are the pictures of the damage that were sent to Klim. Their reason for the denial of warranty is the small scratches to the right of the large tear. According to Klim these small scratches are proof that the boot "has been damaged by an external force".

To me, these scratches are normal wear and tear for a snowmobile boot and could easily occur after a single ride. The other pictures show that the boots have been lightly used and overall are in very good condition.

These boots have been lightly used for less than 1 season and have only been used for their intended purpose of snowmobiling. I understand that all gear eventually fails and am not making the claim that it should be guaranteed for life. My issue here is that gear that has not been abused or used improperly should have a useable life of at least 1 season, especially when compared to snowboard boots which are not designed for snowmobiling and in my experience last more than 2x as long.

I also know that sometimes **** happens and even the best manufacturers put out products that are defective. Again, no big deal. That is what a warranty is for. However, it becomes a problem when the manufacturer arbitrarily denies a claim.

I don't see how you can think damage to the rubber can be a warranty issue.

They have a valid point on external force damage.

They specifically cover defects or manufacturing issues.

If they make the sole so hard it cannot be damaged they would get complaints about the lack of traction.

You are less likely to get damage like that on a snowboard boot only because they are usually tipped up in the front for toe clearance to the hill.

I have 509 boots that are a year old and beat to chit.

 

[sledlaps]

I spoke to a nice woman at Klim who reviewed my case and told me she doesn't know what is going on with the warranty denial and agrees that the boots look like they are in very good condition, broke down too quickly, and should have lasted much longer. Unfortunately she was not able to approve the warranty and has referred it to her manager to be reviewed.

Thanks to RBalazs for the recommendation to pick up the phone instead of just dealing with them through email. Not sure yet that it will go anywhere but person I was able to speak with seemed much more reasonable than the tone that was communicated via email

​

 

[sledlaps]

I don't see how you can think damage to the rubber can be a warranty issue.

They have a valid point on external force damage.

They specifically cover defects or manufacturing issues.

If they make the sole so hard it cannot be damaged they would get complaints about the lack of traction.

You are less likely to get damage like that on a snowboard boot only because they are usually tipped up in the front for toe clearance to the hill.

I have 509 boots that are a year old and beat to chit.

It isn't that I think any damage to rubber is grounds to warranty the boot. I understand that normal wear and tear happens and everything breaks eventually. My issue in this situation is that given the short in-use life of this boot and knowing that they have been used lightly (I wear them to get to a zone then ride in ski boots) there is no way to justify the degree of damage other than to say the product failed... This is exactly why a warranty exists; To protect users from a product that does not meet the demands for which it was designed. Whether it is the design, material, or workmanship that was defective in this situation does not matter at all. The point is there is a defect leading to a decreased usable life. Even the woman I spoke with at Klim agreed with that.

Again, the bigger issue isn't the product or its breakdown. It is companies who when faced with this situation choose to deny claims arbitrarily or somehow blame the user for their own product defect. This is a shortsighted and ultimately very costly way of doing business. Replacing a product due to defect is a 1 time cost that can be written off as a loss against income on taxes. Creating a negative interaction with a customer and generating bad word of mouth going forward will cost far more than the replacement of said product.

Other potential users/purchasers of equipment deserve to be warned about the conduct of companies like this. That is the purpose of this thread

 

[Daner1978]

I have always ridden in snowboard boots and get 2 seasons out of a pair of boots even though snowboard boots are definitely not designed or intended for the abuse of snowmobiling. These Klim boots are advertised that the soles are specially designed for durability made it less than 1 year when used for their intended purpose, What a joke!

I guess snowboard boots are the way to go

Turcotte had been using snowboarding boots this year I noticed. Not a bad idea. Waaaay more comfortable too!

 

[bobback]

Looks to me like you kicked the running boards to get snow off and they ripped. I'm not surprised warranty was denied.

I've used Klim for many, many years. The few time's I've had to send something in for warranty, I've had great service from Klim.

 

[Mn_Mtn_Cat]

I had a similar issue with my boots a few years ago. The bottom of 1 boot just completely came apart and the the other looked just like new. They would not do anything about it.
I could handle it if they were 90 dollar snowboard boots, but 300.00 or so boots....no way. no more Klim gear for me, ever...
I have had 2 or 3 full suits over the years.... and in the early years, I tore my bibs and they fixed them, then Polaris bought them.....

 

[High Voltage]

Since Polaris bought Klim, one should be sending their gear in every year to be reflashed and updated. You were probably walking on an old tune.