Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
| Messages 1 - 11 of total 11 in this topic |
drljefe
climber
Toostoned, AZ
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 21, 2009 - 06:14pm PT
|
To whom it may concern-
The point of this letter is not to bitch and moan even though that's probably what it'll end up sounding like. Sorry in advance...
First I'd like to say that I supported Chaco when they first appeared on the scene in the early 90's- I had the original style (Z1) I guess, and they were killer. I got many miles out of them approaching climbs in the Granite Mountain Wilderness in AZ.
Then I moved to the beach....
Flips are necessary for the beach lifestyle as I sooned learned, and my surfer friends looked at my "sport sandals" funny. I converted to flip flops (slippahs) year round. Beach, bike, work, skate- I only wore shoes when absolutely necessary. In the 11 years I lived at the beach surfing I became picky, and demanding of my footwear. I eventually found a craftsman named The Sandalman, in Costa Mesa, whose handmade sandals were the best, went through multiple pairs for years. Had Rainbows as backups.
But...
now I'm back in the desert and was in need of a new pair. Chacos are available at a few shops here in Tucson so I coughed up the seventy-something bucks for a sweet pair of black topgrain leather Flips with the Vibram sole. The fit was great and the cupped heel was gonna be better for my back.
Soon, though, the straps started to chafe and irritate the tops of my feet. Blistered, and almost allergic style. My bro said his pair took a bit to break in, but I had never experienced anything like this in all my flip flop connieussur-dom. They did eventually break in but not after scarring my feet. I have tough feet, too, after years of backcountry approaches, battles with reefs, rock climbing shoes, and ladder work in sandals. Basically I don't care about the scars, as they'll fit right in with all the others!
Now I was happy...
but then they started to stink. I know, I know, you hear it all the time- "my feet don't stink", but these flips took on a smell of their own almost immediately, which is also unique in all my flip experience. Couldn't that wait til some beer got spilled on 'em? Or a few trips out into the dusty world of dirtbagdom. Guess not. At this point they're still just city kicks. I scrubbed, they stunk, still.
Now, the leather on the footbed is cracking.
The stitching is unravelling.
Oh, The Stink!
I really wanted to love these sandals and was stoked about my shift back to Chaco- I was even going to get some other styles for climbing trips. Now I'm not too sure.
The real zinger is that I just bought 'em in October!
AND I've never spent that much on slippahs.
I'm bummed. 3 months?! 75 bucks?!
Positives?
The Vibram sole shows NO sign of wear, and my lower back feels great. Thanks!
And just so 'you' know- I've never been prompted to write a product complaint letter- ever.
But sandals are important business, serious stuff.
Thanks for listening, probably nothing you can do about it, warranty probably doesn't cover anything. Plus, if I tried to send them back, Department of Homeland Security would probably confiscate them, thinking the noxious smell emanating from the package was something terrorist related!
"Lost my boots in transit, babe- a plie of smokin' leather,
nailed a retread to my feet,
and prayed for better weather"
Grateful Dead:Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo
Any response would be welcomed.
Sincerely, Jefe Bret Harte
Customer service replied immediately, I sent some photos, and a new pair of upgrades arrived today. Stoked.
It is refreshing to deal with companies that stand behind their product. The surf industry is much different(disposable).
|
|
DGirly
climber
EDH, CA
|
|
|
Jan 21, 2009 - 07:13pm PT
|
It's not just the leather ones that stink. Have heard you can put them in the dishwasher (prob. not the leather ones though) and they smell better! Love my Chacos but not as much as my old Alps!
Happily I just got a pair of Chacos at REI for $22...the 50% off any ending of $.83. Gotta love that sale!
|
|
Prod
Trad climber
A place w/o Avitars apparently
|
|
|
Jan 21, 2009 - 07:50pm PT
|
I guided in the Grand for 6 years. Flip flops were the only respectable wear there as well. I loved the old really basic Teva's, then they went hi-tec with stelth rubber and foot beds etc. Ruined. Then I found Deckers, who actually made Teva's for Teva, they had a basic pair of flops. I was happy. Have not found a good pair since 95. My current flip flops are Chaco's, sculpted foot beds, sporty souls, nice straps. They suck, sort of defeats the purpose.
KISS.
Cheers,
Prod.
|
|
reddirt
climber
subarwu
|
|
|
Jan 21, 2009 - 07:57pm PT
|
made in china is not always the end of quality if there's good quality controls in place??
but this may have something to do with it:
Chaco sandals production leaving Paonia
By Sharon Sullivan
Grand Junction CO Colorado
Grand Junction —,
Chaco sandals — highly popular with the outdoor crowd — will no longer be made in Paonia, the company announced recently.
The remaining line of Chacos still being assembled in Paonia will be moving to China, which will eliminate approximately 50 jobs in Paonia. Ten or twelve of those jobs are expected to be absorbed into other departments within the company.
The remainder of the employees will be offered severance packages, said General Manager Ed Wieland.
The company will be moving mid-summer next year, Wieland said.
Founded in Paonia in 1989 by owner Mark Paigen, Chaco remained a tiny company for many years, experiencing a growth spurt in 1998-99.
The company has less than $25 million in sales, and “we are growing very rapidly,” Wieland said.
“It’s important to understand, with the exception of the Headwaters line — we were already producing in China for the past four years,” Wieland said. Popular with river runners, Headwaters sandals can be worn in water and for hiking.
In August, Chaco employees learned that one of the Headwaters’ models would be manufactured in China. Two months later, the company announced it would move the remainder of its production to China as well.
“Starting in 2009, 100 percent will be going to China,” Wieland said. “It’s been coming for a long time.”
China makes 95 percent of all footwear in the world, Wieland said. “They are the kings.”
The cost of making a pair of sandals in China is significantly lower than in Paonia, Wieland said.
The defect rate is also lower in China than in Paonia, he said.
Also, the Paonia plant doesn’t have the technical capability to produce models on the drawing board, Weiland said.
The company hasn’t been able to claim “made in Paonia” for a long time.
“The majority of the components come from abroad,” Wieland said. Foot-beds come from New England, webbing is from France and China.
“We couldn’t even use the ‘made in USA label,’” Wieland said. “They’re assembled in Paonia.”
Chaco headquarters will remain in Paonia, and its distribution center will stay in Delta, together employing approximately 60 people in the areas of sales, product development, customer service, information technology, finance and marketing, Wieland said.
In Grand Junction, Chaco sandals are sold at Brown’s Shoe Fit, REI, Whitewater West and Summit Canyon Mountaineering.
Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com
http://www.gjfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/COMMUNITY_NEWS/71113015&template=printart
|
|
rlf
Trad climber
Josh, CA
|
|
|
Jan 21, 2009 - 08:02pm PT
|
Wow, I love my chacos. The only shoes I wear except climbing shoes.
|
|
Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
|
|
|
Jan 21, 2009 - 08:17pm PT
|
wow, i love the internets.
trip. just like that.
|
|
stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
|
|
|
Jan 21, 2009 - 09:28pm PT
|
This is going to sounds somewhat snobbish from a flip flop standpoint, but I swear by my Oakley flips. They outlast about 5 pairs of normal flips, don't get stinky, and are way more comfortable. Well worth the extra $$.
|
|
pud
climber
Sportbikeville
|
|
|
Jan 21, 2009 - 11:49pm PT
|
I recently acquired a new pair af Chacos.
I wore them for 3 days until the strap began wearing holes in the tops of my feet.
I went back to my original super comfy Rite-aid flip flops.
Retail $2.99
Love 'em.
|
|
Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
|
|
|
Jan 22, 2009 - 01:22am PT
|
The problem with this, and many other products is that a company makes somethign that Really works (they pour their heart ans soul into getting there)and then abandon what works, to keep up with a percieved threat, and loose the whole market all together. You can trace this through the evolution of the Ford Thunderbird,but in this idiom think about how there have never been as adequate approach shoes as the Fire Flyers or the original Five tennies (the ones that fell apart if you wer alive near them. The market manufacturers dared each other to make a lamer shoe and they al accepted the challenge.
I've led Davidson Dihedral @ the forks in each of the shoes I first mentioned. I've never been that great a climber. Imagine trying to do that with a modern approach shoe! Of course they are abandoning us to build a bigger market of outside wannabes. As long as that's how it works, how can they be be criticized for going for the $ and ditching the clientel that made them a growing concern, in the first pace?
|
|
CAMNOTCLIMB
Trad climber
novato ca
|
|
|
Jan 22, 2009 - 01:52am PT
|
Chaco has gone way above and beyond for me and just about everyone I know. Great product and super customer service.
If your shoes stink, clean your feet.
Brian
|
|
drljefe
climber
Toostoned, AZ
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 22, 2009 - 05:49pm PT
|
I just got word from a friend that as of 1PM today Chaco has been acquired by Wolverine Worldwide Industries. This footwear group has everything from Hush Puppies to Harley Davidson under its umbrella. They also own Merrill, which I didn't know, has the licensing deal to produce Patagonia footwear.
I guess it's "Buh-bye Paonia".
And for the record...MY FEET DON'T STINK!
|
|
| Messages 1 - 11 of total 11 in this topic |
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!