Product Warranties

Surfing, Skateboarding, and Snowboarding are activities that have tested the limits of materials, construction, manufacturing and quality control. Even within the most reputable brands of products, there are still occasional bad apples to be found.

I've tortured the same XCEL Infinity Hooded 5/4/3 for the past two years and it's held up like a piece of body armor. It rarely got a rinse (not good), it was hung to on obscure posts and wires (not recommended) and left inside out to dry in the sun (worse). This suit was indestructible and was constantly worn in 50 degree water. After well over 150 uses, it started to buckle. I'm honestly surprised it lasted as long as it did.

One day not long ago I came across the exact same XCEL wetsuit at BackcountryOutlet.com for 35% Off, they even had my size. It was meant to be and there was no hesitation, I even paid extra for 2 day shipping. I hadn't realized how cold my old suit had gotten until I wore the new one out in the water, and it had even dipped to a chilly 46 with some wind and upwelling. I was quite toasty and happy in my new XCEL wetsuit.

About two weeks later I was suited up on the beach with my surfboard in hand and realized the zipper on this new XCEL wetsuit had somehow fallen off the track. None of the seams or stitching had been pulled or broken, an unfortunate magic trick. I called up the XCEl wetsuit warranty department the next day and they were more than happy to get a warranty return process started. 3 weeks later I was wearing my suit again, and it appears to have been repaired quite well. If anything like this ever happens to your gear, here's a quick little guide to help you jump warranty hoops as fast as you can.

If you can't find any of the original warranty contact information in the product packaging, it's usually easy to find the warranty contact information of the brand or manufacture online. Once you get in touch with a representative, they'll most likely issue you a return authorization number or "RA" number. This RA number should be written in marker in at least 2 places on the package. It's also a good idea to include the RA# a piece of paper or receipt inside the package. If you didn't keep the original receipt, you can usually get away with using a print out of your order confirmation email. You'll want to include a copy of this in the box whether they ask for it or not. Remember to go the distance.

With whatever product you're sending in for warranty, make sure it's clean, dry and contains as much of the original packaging as possible. Whether you take good care of your gear or not, it's more than likely any warranty return department is going to give more consideration to a product that looks as close to new as possible.

Once the manufacturer receives your defective product, it will usually take anywhere from 3 to 10 business days to inspect your product, then either repair or replace it and get it back out in the mail. In some cases, the manufacturer will send your product back to you the same way you sent it to them. If you overnight it to them, sometimes they'll pay for overnight shipping to get it back to you.

Surfing Guide

Learning to surf starts by building a relationship with water and the ocean. Being a good swimmer is half the battle of learning to surf. 98% of the time you're in the water will be spent padding or waiting for waves, you're lucky if the other 2% is spent standing your surfboard. Swimming in the waves where you think you'll first try surfing is a good, again to get familiar with the water and read more