Fair or not?

Lefthook

Have a Castelli jacket I bought in January, absolutely love it.

Recently it has developed an issue with the zipper and the bottom tabs have corroded making the jacket really hard to do up. The jacket is less than a year old and I would have expected better from a quality make.

I contacted Castelli Cafe where I got the jacket from and this is the reply:
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Thank you for your email - I am afraid that corrosion would not be covered under warranty the only way that this corrosion can happen is by the garment being stored un-washed / badly washed with salt either from sweat or road salt slowly eating into the zipper.
However if the zip is currently working just brush it with an old toothbrush and either rub a candle on the exposed brightwork or gentle wipe with an oil soaked cotton bud (being careful not to get oil on the fabrics) and it should be as good as new.

for more on Castelli care please read our care guides

http://www.castellicafe.co.uk/CastelliCafe-Castelli-Cycling-Apparel-Care-Guide

Kind Regards

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I am happy to admit that I have not followed the care guidelines religiously and do not wash the jacket everytime I wear it, as some weeks I will wear it everyday I commute. Not sure the guidance of rub with a toothbrush will solve the issue but will obviously try.

So do you think I should expect something better from a quality bit of kit? Do not have a leg to stand on? Contact Castelli directly?

Even if the consensus is 'bad luck look after your kit better' please let this be a warning to others.

imatfaal

The key to most of these things is "reasonability" ; they cannot ask you to take ridiculous care and then try to back away from statutory responsibilities using this as an excuse - but similarly you have to take reasonable care of the item and not use it / maintain it in a manner which is beyond its specification.

If the jacket was purchased within six months the onus to prove (not merely assert) that the fault was not pre-existing is on the Vendor (ie Castelli Cafe) - after 6 months that burden of proof switches to you the Purchaser. I have always found that given reasonable use that the Purchaser can discharge the burden of proof pretty easily - ie when something has broken because it was badly made by telling the truth about what happened, that you didn't mis-use it and how you actually used it.

Snakebite the 2nd

How many months use have you had from it?
Was it a winter jacket that was worn until March, then worn again in November for example?
If so then it could be argued that it has had only 4 months use.....

I've had wetsuits for surfing that have lasted years without issues with the zips.
The one time I did have issues I used some zipper wax I got from a dive shop.

The thing is that now it is corroded it will degenerate very quickly if it is not kept spotless.

To answer you original question then I think they should honour a replacement.
(I've had an old windproof that I got from Halfords years ago and it is still faultless. It should last longer than that).

bigmat

That sounds pretty bad, I have been wearing my Aldi winter jacket for the last 7 or 8 years, the first 4 or 5 it got worn pretty much daily between October and March, washed a couple of times a month at a guess. No corrosion to the zipper. For a top end brand you should be getting a lot better.

For the record, the item of kit that has proved least robust is the pair of very expensive Assos shorts I own, which have gone see through around the censored . Seems to be a similar issue that if they are not washed immediately then sweat / salt corrodes the material. Not had that issue with any other shorts I own, including Lidl / Aldi cheapies.

keef66

Unless you've regularly left it soaking wet for extended periods it sounds like a copout by Castelli Cafe. The zipper is clearly not fit for purpose, and so by extension neither is the jacket.

My Gore windstopper jacket is starting it's 4th winter and it's still as good as new, including all 5 zips (2 per zip-off arm )

It doesn't get washed very often, but it's always dried out promptly when it gets wet.

Lefthook

Yeah I treat all my kit the same and this is the first time that i have had a zipper corrode. It is a Poggio jacket so designed for 5-15 deg. So wore for the non freezing parts of the winter, probably until march/April and pulled it out again a month or so ago.

It hung in a cupboard in the bedroom, so not damp, over the summer.

Might try going to Castelli directly.

chris_bass

try rubbing soap on the zip

keef66

If you get no joy their candle wax suggestion is a good one to try. I've used it successfully on recalcitrant metal zips in jeans before.

itboffin

The advise they gave you is spot on, you need to do that with Castelli jackets I had the same with my alpha a couple of weeks back mostly due to the fact I've worn it all this year and only washed it once.

The moral of the story, behave like a pikey and you Castelli kit will refuse to let you wear it.

Fwiw its back to perfect working order after a low temperature wash with a dash of halo sports wash.

Lefthook

Thanks for the feedback all

itboffin

blimey what's that smell ...?

oh :roll:

The Rookie

So an expensive product has a zip fitted that is worse than that fitted to a cheaper product.

In plain English I'd call that a rip-off. Personally I'd be playing hardball with them, for example i'd ask what there salt spray test criteria was and when it was last conducted on that type of zip.

surrey_commuter

I am intrigued to know if the toothbrush and candle wax works - before kicking off it would seem to be worth following their advice - you might be pleasantly surprised

slowbike

Well - the toothbrush will remove the crud that's built up and hte candlewax lubricates and protects it ...

I don't wash my jackets every time I get back - my "cheap" one is fine, my expensive one had a stuck zip for about 10 seconds because I hadn't used it for a while - quick wash off and it's been fine since.
I've got a buoyancy aid with zip that works fine despite being regularly dosed with salt water - but it's a chunky zip designed for it.

If the zip is corroded after relatively light use then I'd want a bit more than washing advice - if it can be cleaned off and working correctly then that's fine.