Kahtoola Micro Spikes - Customer Service Review

I took a nasty downhill fall on an icy slab last week. One of the round, rubber attachment points broke, the place where the Microspikes chains connect, sending me flying. My good sized winter pack kept my back and head from hitting the rock with the outcome an amusing faceplant and roll in the snow with no harm done.

I contacted Kahtoola that evening and left a message. Yesterday one of the customer service people called and after a brief conversation put me on with one of the product design engineers. He was great, asked a lot of questions, and discussed some product improvements on the drawing board. Very cordial and intelligent guy.
The new pair of Microspikes arrived this morning and included a postage paid UPS mailing label so they could examine the failure. In the package was a nice Kahtoola winter hat and a self storage tote bag.
I'd heard their customer service was good, my experience was beyond expectations and wanted to share it here.

Wow, that does sound like above and beyond the call of duty.

I can't wait for mine to break!

Tom Rankin said:

I can't wait for mine to break!

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haha. If you want a helping hand, i'm available.

25 minutes. 50 views of this thread. Think they got their money back on the expense of your new 'spikes, gear and time? Ten fold. They'e in the LL Bean camp of marketing and it's a lucrative camp to be in.

Peakbagr said:

In the package was a nice Kahtoola winter hat and a self storage tote bag.

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They gave you a storage bag for your hat!? Sweet! I want one!!

-Dr. Wu

No, the hat doubles as a storage bag. It's dual use.

Very cool! I agree about the easy exchange being smart marketing/smart business, but I think having you talk to engineer goes above and beyond that - you'd have to sell a LOT of 'spikes to offset the value of that person's time.

LOL...

It's their Chico bag that stuffs into a connected pouch. Weighs about 3oz and stuffed dimension of 5"x2.5". Unrolled it's 15"x 19" with shoulder straps and a carrying capacity of 40 lbs. Even comes with a tiny biner clip.

Good marketing all the way around. Now I'm interested in a set of their lightweight crampons that I saw in their catalog.

dr_wu002 said:

They gave you a storage bag for your hat!? Sweet! I want one!!

-Dr. Wu

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David Metsky said:

No, the hat doubles as a storage bag. It's dual use.

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No; it's a self-storage tote bag -- for storing one's self.

On a more serious note, I had a similar experience with Kahtoola when returning a busted Microspike last year.

I had one break last year, partly from my using them while bushwacking over ground with marginal snowcover....they got snagged by a frozen-in-the-ground stick, and the rubber snapped. I admitted that they were possibly not made for the use I was putting them to, and they sent me a new pair anyway!!Great service!

Just Ordered Kahtoolas

I needed a new pr of hiking crampons. I spent a lot of time looking online and got it down to 3: Kahtoola KTS Aluminum, Black Diamond Contact STainless Steel & Stubai Ultralite Aluminum.
I decided to try ones more geared toward hiking vs climbing. The Kahtoolas have shorter, rounder points and the front points don't stick out like climbing crampons do. I wasn't sure about going aluminum tho as they aren't meant for gravel or rocks & you do hit a lot of that early & late winter. Aluminum will wear down a lot faster in these conditions & could lend to why yours broke. They make a steel pair but they had the front points that stick out:more for climbing so I went w/ the aluminum style. Amazon has them on sale for $128 free shipping (normally $149). I loved the other 2 pr also, but again they had the climbing style points up front & I wanted to try something different.
The Kahtoolas got great reviews and especially noted was comfort , flexability & able to wear over diverse conditions - oh and not catching on stuff as much! HOw many times have your climbing style crampons caught on tree roots or almost ripped the bottom of your favorite hiking pants?
Oh and I also like the fact that I didn't have to deal with rusting (my other pair rusted pretty bad but I now know that they could have been treated with oil to alleviate that problem - too late now but an FYI to anyone out there who doesn't know this)
I look forward to trying these out & if anyone does want a pr I believe Amazon has the best price right now (several dealers have them, look for the one selling them at $128)

I Was looking at the Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro. They are currently $69 at Kittery Trading Post, $79 at EMS.

To stay on the O.P. subject, I bet that I would not get the same service if I have problems with the Mil-Specs that I bought from Sportman's Guide, but they are holding up well.

Peakbagr said:

He was great, asked a lot of questions, and discussed some product improvements on the drawing board. Very cordial and intelligent guy.

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Can you talk about any or the product improvements? I have broken through the rubber loops on 2 pairs of microspikes. Seems to me that having a narrow metal link in a rubber loop is prone to failure. If they just put a metal grommet inside the rubber loop it would prevent the problem. Also if they had carbide tipped spikes they would last more than a season in the Whites!

OldMan said:

Seems to me that having a narrow metal link in a rubber loop is prone to failure. If they just put a metal grommet inside the rubber loop it would prevent the problem.

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Looking at mine, I can see what you mean, but then the rest of the rubber further out would become the failure point. While these are probably the "Category Killer", they are what they are...not really meant for heavy weight hiking that crosses into mountaineering.

Quietman said:

To stay on the O.P. subject, I bet that I would not get the same service if I have problems with the Mil-Specs that I bought from Sportman's Guide, but they are holding up well.

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Ya think ? Although Sportman's Guide might do something for you. I don't know what their policy is. Vt Army Navy, Barre, VT carries the milspecs, they "might" have a policy.

I have not yet looked at the Hillsound. I'll need to wear out several other things before I can try those.

"Can you talk about any or the product improvements? I have broken through the rubber loops on 2 pairs of microspikes. Seems to me that having a narrow metal link in a rubber loop is prone to failure. If they just put a metal grommet inside the rubber loop it would prevent the problem. Also if they had carbide tipped spikes they would last more than a season in the Whites!"

I asked if they could mold a lightweight metal washer inside the rubber where the chains attach and was told that the rubber won't bond well with the metal. I've also thought about washers on the inside and outside of the round, rubber attachments.
They could also attach the chain around the rubber rand with thin, flexible wire or cable. The chains would then be attached over the strips of rubber rand lending less chance of catastrophic failure.
I'm going to stay in touch with them after they examine the MSs I sent back in return UPS.

Damn, you mean I could have gotten free replacements and other neat stuff!? And here I thought I was pretty inventive trying to fix them:



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Brian

Chip said:

Ya think ? Although Sportman's Guide might do something for you. I don't know what their policy is.

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My Friend, Your Satisfaction is 100% Guaranteed! Period.
We have the strongest guarantee in the business.

“You can order from the Sportsman’s Guide with complete confidence because we stand behind every item we sell. If you’re not happy for any reason at any time, just return the merchandise with your invoice, and we’ll promptly refund your merchandise returned total, or make an exchange, whichever YOU prefer. Top quality gear at the lowest prices in town!”

I haven't put it to the test, and who knows where I put the invoice...

Kahtoola just seems like an awesome company for peak-bagging gear. A lot of their products seem to make you ask, "Why didn't anyone else think of something so practical?" Must have been founded by peak-baggers.

While I *love* my microspikes (under appropriate conditions) and I am (OBVIOUSLY) not a lawyer, but, if I were the company, I would definitely seek to avoid any even remotely possible legal action... customer satisfaction is key!!!