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Re: Need Advice/help



The number for Asolo is 1-800-892-2668.  

When I through hiked in 94, I went through three pairs of boots, all 
Vasque.  The first were a pair of Sundowners, that easily had 2000 miles 
on them; Vasque said they were dead due to natural usage, and I agreed.  
Why take advantage of the system? I also had a pair of lightweight 
Vasques that I wore in the summer; they fell apart after 200 miles, and 
Vasque once again said due to natural wear.  I had to raise hell to get 
another pair of boots--they refused to refund me $.  A lot of other 
hikers that year were also having problems with Vasque, and threatening 
to cuss their name up and down the AT produced no sympathy.  After the 
Sundowners blew, I had to buy an emergency replacement pair of Super 
Hikers in NH; had to go with Vasque because this was all they had access 
to at the outfitter in Lincoln.  The store owner was soooo nice; he didn't 
carry Vasque but called the company as an potential dealer to try to get 
me a deal.  There answer was for me to travel 50 miles to the nearest 
official dealer--yeah right!  The outfitter in Lincoln finally convinced 
them to send me a pair at his store at cost--but he didn't charge me a 
markup.  Great guy-crummy company.  Won't ever buy anything from Vasque 
again, but others have had good dealings with them.  Totally agree that 
if you think something might expire while on the Trail, you should check 
with the manufacturer about replacing gear worn or used on a thru-hike ( 
make this clear or they later will find an excuse to not honor their 
return/replace policy).  Outfitters on the trail usually don't want to 
deal with replacing gear for hikers--nothing in it for them.

Tara
Trail Snail  GA>Harpers Ferry<ME 94
tlbernha@socwork.wustl.edu


On Mon, 29 Apr 1996, B&KP wrote:

> >>I was under the impression that most
> >>(all?) boot makers would replace a pair of boots worn out on a thru-hike for
> >>free.  I've had a couple of thru-hikers tell me this, including cases where
> >>boots were shipped overnight to waiting hikers.  It seems that the 
> 
> 
> > Within the first three hundred miles of my s'bound thruhike the soles of
> >my Merrell Wilderness boots fell off partway. I called Merrell, and to my
> >relief, they immediately refunded my money. I bought a pair of Limmers off
> >the shelf and they lasted the rest of the way...
> 
> I've been trying to get in touch with the makers of Asolo boots to see if
> this holds true with their company as well, but I've gotten virtually  *NO*
> help from the people who work at the outdoor equipment stores in Ottawa as
> far as getting a phone # or address goes.  I was told that, "Well, our store
> definitely would not replace/warranty the boot if it was to be used for a
> thru-hike because everyone knows that thru-hikes eat gear,"...  :-(((((((
> 
> Has anyone here personally gotten in touch with the manufacturer of their
> boots?  How did you come up with the phone #/address?  I would personally
> hate to be stuck in the middle of a thru-hike with my boots blown out and
> have to buy a new pair which may/may not be as good as the ones that died.
> Ideas?
> 
> Slainte,
> Cindi
> GA => ME April '97
> Standby to receive! :)
> 
> 

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