Bushwalk Australia

I just made a warranty claim on a broken Leki trekking pole - due to their 'lifetime warranty' on pole breakage. The Australian distributor refused the claim because it happened while I was using the pole.

I don't know how a pole breaks when you aren't using it???

SO if you are buying a Leki product because you see the 'lifetime warranty' as a selling point - DON'T. They don't stand by their products.

I was lucky that the retailer 'Jolly Swagman' in Hobart chose to replace the part at their own expense because they agreed with me that it should have been covered under the terms of their warranty.

serious?

can you elaborate on how the poles broke / photos?
What was the reasoning Leki used in their reply?

I was on a walk to South-West Cape (S/W Tas) & slipped while the pole was still stuck in the ground & it bent over a log, fracturing the aluminium pole - bottom section.

The same type of claim has been covered by Leki in the US.

The Leki Warranty says "The warranty covers shaft breakage only." ... and this happened.
but next says "The Warranty does not cover normal wear and tear".

Again - Leki USA have covered pole breakage when in use - but not the Australian distributor - Wayne Eastburn of velovita.com.au

He said that he got advice from Leki in Germany - but I have no way of knowing this.

The main problem is that Leki interprets their warranty differently depending on the country that you purchase the poles.

I also share ‘MSW’s concerns about Velo-Vita and the way they handle warranty claims. Leki have a life time warranty on their poles but it’s not worth the paper it’s written on in Australia.
I purchased a set of Leki Corklite AS poles from Mountain Designs in Geelong last year. On my first hike, they started to slip after just 90 minutes. Despite tightening the poles again and again, they repeatedly slipped. I took them back to the store, but they couldn’t find anything wrong (testing them in the store for 2 minutes does not simulate hiking conditions). They said to bring them back if they slipped again.
On an 8 day hike through the Overland Track, they slipped many times and eventually the inner section fell out and bent.
I took the poles back to Mountain Designs and they sent them to Velo-Vita for a warranty repair. Velo-Vita refused to repair them under warranty because they said I misused them!
I rang Velo-Vita three times and left messages but they never returned my calls. On my fourth call I spoke to Andrew Gunns. He was very rude. He refused to let me speak to the person who assessed my poles. He said they only deal with customers via email. He refused to let me speak to a manager or even provide their name. He refused to give me the phone number and email address of Leki in Germany.
I then complained to Leki in Germany and they asked Velo-Vita to review my case.
Wayne Eastburn from Velo-Vita then examined the poles and said that even though they found oxidation in the poles that explained the slipping, it would not be covered under warranty. To add insult to this sorry saga, he offered to discount the cost to repair them, which should have been covered under warranty in the first place!
I then contacted Mountain Designs Head Office. I can’t speak highly enough of how Kara dealt with my complaint. She arranged for a full refund.
My recommendation is not to buy any bushwalking product that Velo-Vita distributes in Australia. The main brands they distribute are Leki, Deuter, Serfas and Abus.

I don't quite get the fuss over Leki poles. In my limited sample of seeing them used in the field twice, I've seen them fail twice. Once from breaking like the OP, and one from slipping like the post above this. To be fair I had an elcheapo pair of Fairy Down poles fail on me in similar ways and after that I've never used a telescoping pole again.

I'm a big fan of the Black Diamond Z poles. The click lock means avoids risk of telescoping failure. (sorry a little OT I know!)

I agree with your comments Pongo.
I bought the Leki poles because of their reputation and their lifetime warranty, but on both counts they let me down.
Around the same time I also bought the ‘Flicklock Alpine Carbon Cork’ trekking poles by Black Diamond. I’ve taken them on several hikes and they’ve never let me down (unlike the Leki’s that failed after 90 minutes).
My Leki poles had a click-lock system on the upper section and a twist-lock system on the lower section. The click-lock system never failed but the twist-lock system slipped on many occasions, which led to it eventually bending.
Leki claims on their UK website that their ELS (click-lock) system “…generates 400% more locking force…” than their old Classic (twist-lock) system. This is an admission that their older twist-lock systems are nowhere near as good.
Velo-Vita tried to get out of its warranty obligations by trying to blame me for misusing them. If I had misused them, then how come my Black Diamond poles never failed? The problem is with their inferior twist-lock system rather than with the user.
So like you Pongo, I will never use a telescopic twist-lock system ever again.

very poor business practice.. company should have folded and reincarnated regularly to avoid warranty claims altogether

Good on Jolly Swagman for replacing your pole.
Shame on Aust dist for not doing so.
I feel an email to to leki ha with a link to this thread might bring a change of heart.
Would be good to see JS get a credit for the pole they provided.

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msw wrote:I was on a walk to South-West Cape (S/W Tas) & slipped while the pole was still stuck in the ground & it bent over a log, fracturing the aluminium pole - bottom section.

The same type of claim has been covered by Leki in the US.

The Leki Warranty says "The warranty covers shaft breakage only." ... and this happened.
but next says "The Warranty does not cover normal wear and tear".

Again - Leki USA have covered pole breakage when in use - but not the Australian distributor - Wayne Eastburn of velovita.com.au

He said that he got advice from Leki in Germany - but I have no way of knowing this.

The main problem is that Leki interprets their warranty differently depending on the country that you purchase the poles.

Sorry but I don't understand exactly how that was a manufacturers design fault or a faulty item, this is what the lifetime warranty will cover.
At the end of the day Leki will cover a product that has failed due to a manufacturers fault, in this case by what you described, the failure was not due to a manufacturing fault.

The product did exactly as what it was described, it was due to user error that a failure eventuated, this is not the manufacturers fault & they are not required by law to replace the item/items.

I can't comment on the other posts made in this thread & I'm not sticking up for Leki, but the failure was due to an accident & not the product just failing, any trekking pole would be broken after the same accident as you had.

Supertramp wrote:Sorry but I don't understand exactly how that was a manufacturers design fault or a faulty item, this is what the lifetime warranty will cover.
At the end of the day Leki will cover a product that has failed due to a manufacturers fault, in this case by what you described, the failure was not due to a manufacturing fault.

The product did exactly as what it was described, it was due to user error that a failure eventuated, this is not the manufacturers fault & they are not required by law to replace the item/items.

I can't comment on the other posts made in this thread & I'm not sticking up for Leki, but the failure was due to an accident & not the product just failing, any trekking pole would be broken after the same accident as you had.

I agree. If you crash your car, it's not the manufacturers responsibility to replace it free of charge. It didn't fail because it was faulty. You broke it. I fell over and broke my BD poles but the thought never occurred to me that it was someone else's fault, with or without a lifetime warranty.
There is no confusion about the warranty in this case and wear and tear means falling over and breaking it. How is that confusing to some?
Something for nothing....

DarrenM wrote:
I agree. If you crash your car, it's not the manufacturers responsibility to replace it free of charge. It didn't fail because it was faulty. You broke it. I fell over and broke my BD poles but the thought never occurred to me that it was someone else's fault, with or without a lifetime warranty.
There is no confusion about the warranty in this case and wear and tear means falling over and breaking it. How is that confusing to some?
Something for nothing....

A friend had one of these poles collapse in ten minutes of use, took them back store exchanged them. Walking into Sealers Cove the first time he used it, a pole collapsed he fell into it and it broke. No warranty given as he miss used it apparently.

If a new cars brakes fail and causes a smash then yes I would make sure that they paid. Our problem here is that the value of the goods are low so people can't be bothered to chase justice. Our only recourse is to highlight it on forums such as this. After we've had our *&%$#! session sometimes we find out others are having the same problems and hopefully future buyers are warned. All comments are welcome, well most anyway, of note though the staff in Anaconda informed me that they don't stock leki poles anymore

The OP doesn't mention the pole collapsed first causing him to fall. If that was the case I would agree.
I hate poles that collapse due to the mechanism failing. Unless that info was left out then without doubt it is not a warranty claim IMO. Simple.

I had a Leki pole lock and I couldn't get the lower 2 sections apart. I took it to the shop I bought it from , they failed to separate the sections so they sent it to the new Leki wholesaler, who told them it wasn't a Leki pole, after a long delay. The shop manager (Adventure 195 in Newcastle) was not impressed and argued that they didn't know the product they were selling. Off his own bat he replaced the the poles , vowing to tell Leki if they didn't respond he wouldn't stock Leki.
He said the previous wholesaler in NSW, an Austrian knew the product inside out.
The new set also failed one section got sucked out by the mud to full extension in SW Tassie , causing the end locking screw to bend,so I got a new section, again the shop just charged me cost.(No offer of warranty from Leki)
Now after another hike in the S. Tas I can't get a lower section to come apart , won't lock or unlock, just sticks.
So now my 3rd experience of failure of a Leki Makalu super lock. I think I am going to cut my loses and switch brands. No faith in the local wholesaler of Leki, and now have my doubts about the locking system. On the previous hike in the Alps, the locking mechanism was giving problems. Do I maintain them? yes ! separated,washed,cleaned and dried after every major hike.
Seeing the other posts I think this experience may be of interest to anyone thinking of buying Leki poles. Its a pity because all other aspects of the pole I like.

Black Diamond "Flick Lock" mechanisms are the way to go. Threw my Leki Makalu sticks into a glacier five years ago and haven't looked back. The flick lock never slips, is easy to lock and can be adjusted / tightened when necessary. I find them much stronger than Leki and they're more comfy on the hands too (I use the "Contour Shock Flick Lock")

My wife got me Leki poles for Xmas upon the recommendation of Mountain Designs. I am starting to worry now.

Anyone tried the BD Flicklock Pro yet?

simonm wrote:My wife got me Leki poles for Xmas upon the recommendation of Mountain Designs. I am starting to worry now.

Don't worry.... I have a pair of Leki Makalu Ti's that I have had for about 9 years. They must have more than 8,000 k's on them by now. They have been absolutely faultless all this time. I have replaced tips numerous times as they get worn, but the poles are still going strong . They are the twist-lock style & despite all the complaints about these collapsing, I have never had this happen & I routinely put my full body weight on the poles on downhills (can only think that people don't twist them fully tight)... So here is an upvote for Leki poles.... mine are fantastic !!

Komperdell > Leki

Komperdell poles have the best locking system I've seen. If you want a strong pole get the C3s. If you want a light pole get the Ultralite Vario.

I have had the same issue as the original poster in relation to the failure of a Micro Vario Carbon pole whilst on the Te Araroa. The poles were purchased from eBay and sent from the UK and this thread left me in no doubt that I didn't wish to go down the claim an international warranty in Australia path! I have gone through this situation previously with cycling related products and most Australian distributors refuse claims on any available reason in order to penalize you from getting it directly from overseas. Generally sending it back to where it came from is a far better option and has better results.

Instead, I contacted Leki via facebook with many photos and they eventually sent a new set from Czechoslovakia.