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I'm not one to usually rain on a good products parade and I always make sure to comment on how much I really like a product when it makes me happy. Klim, Mammut, Camoplast, BCA, RKT, Legends... all of them have received posts about how much they improved my experience in the backcountry and increased my overall joy in the sport I love and promote so much.
Unfortunately this is not so when it comes to my new Klim Valdez jacket I purchased a few weeks ago. It was a stretch for me to spend the near $400 on a new jacket but after asking here on Snowest what everyone preferred the Valdez earned top marks and I decided to pull the trigger. I hadn't even hit the snow yet before I found that the zipper was malfunctioning (unhooking and unzipping from the bottom up) and sometimes I couldn't even get the dang thing off! First trip into the mountains I accidentally brushed the side of my exhaust pipe and the outer layer melted like a cheap piece of plastic. Yes I know what you are thinking... "Hey, moron, if you touch the exhaust pipe OF COURSE something bad will happen!" Very true, but this seems SO different from say, my Klim pants or my Klim gloves or my Klim boots or my Klim hat.... all of them have come into contact with my exhaust pipe and none of them melted like this material does. My second trip into the woods I came back with a tear all the way to my bare arm on my right cuff and I had no idea what I hit to cause it. The first wash also seemed to make the burns look worse and deeper AND made the zipper issue even more of a pain.
I purchased this jacket because all my other Klim gear had been so durable and high quality. This jacket doesn't match the build quality of Klim's other products and I see no way that it will last me hardly 2 seasons the way things are going. I take real good care of my stuff and it usually treats me well in return by lasting a long time. My previous sledding jacket lasted me 9 years on an average of 1500 miles per season and that's when I was a snot-nosed twenty-something who could care less about being careful with his gear.
I don't have extra money to throw away on products that let me down. I was hoping that I might be able to sell it used for a discount, but now with the tear and cheap melted elbow I don't think anyone would want it. I sure wouldn't.
Unfortunately this is not so when it comes to my new Klim Valdez jacket I purchased a few weeks ago. It was a stretch for me to spend the near $400 on a new jacket but after asking here on Snowest what everyone preferred the Valdez earned top marks and I decided to pull the trigger. I hadn't even hit the snow yet before I found that the zipper was malfunctioning (unhooking and unzipping from the bottom up) and sometimes I couldn't even get the dang thing off! First trip into the mountains I accidentally brushed the side of my exhaust pipe and the outer layer melted like a cheap piece of plastic. Yes I know what you are thinking... "Hey, moron, if you touch the exhaust pipe OF COURSE something bad will happen!" Very true, but this seems SO different from say, my Klim pants or my Klim gloves or my Klim boots or my Klim hat.... all of them have come into contact with my exhaust pipe and none of them melted like this material does. My second trip into the woods I came back with a tear all the way to my bare arm on my right cuff and I had no idea what I hit to cause it. The first wash also seemed to make the burns look worse and deeper AND made the zipper issue even more of a pain.
I purchased this jacket because all my other Klim gear had been so durable and high quality. This jacket doesn't match the build quality of Klim's other products and I see no way that it will last me hardly 2 seasons the way things are going. I take real good care of my stuff and it usually treats me well in return by lasting a long time. My previous sledding jacket lasted me 9 years on an average of 1500 miles per season and that's when I was a snot-nosed twenty-something who could care less about being careful with his gear.
I don't have extra money to throw away on products that let me down. I was hoping that I might be able to sell it used for a discount, but now with the tear and cheap melted elbow I don't think anyone would want it. I sure wouldn't.
