No more Helly Hansen for me

By KC Gaudet February 2, 2009

Once upon a time, I owned the best technical down jacket of all time and it was Helly Hansen. The jacket had everything that I've learned to look for in a down jacket, burly material, burly zippers, mesh pit zips, attached hood, and then some. After 2 seasons or a bit over 200 days of skiing, the main zipper failed and I was forced to send it back to Helly Hansen. They were unable to repair the zipper and I was forced to take my pick from their newer puffy coats. At that point I was psyched to be getting some new gear and picked the new top-of-the-line down jacket.
I got my new jacket, tried it on, put my cell phone in one of the front pockets. As soon as I stuck my hand in the pocket to get my phone out the pocket ripped almost completely off of the jacket! Instead of sending it back right away I skied the rest of the season in it with the pocket flapping around. Near the end of that season the main zipper crapped out and I sent the jacket back to Helly Hansen. This time repaired the jacket. The next ski season came and before too long I had multiple zipper failures and was forced to go buy another jacket to ride in. I sent the busted up jacket back to Helly Hansen yet again.
They offered to fix it, but I wasn't having it. A main zipper failure far from home could be deadly and the jackets track record was lame. For whatever reason, they didn't offer me the high end jackets as a replacement and I was forced to take the Montreal.
The Montreal is warm, really warm. But it lacks anything technical and a stroll up the street can leave you wishing for some core venting. Besides that, the main zipper is a joke and gets stuck almost every time unless you pay extra attention to it. The icing on the cake is the shell material. It is the weakest crap I've ever seen used in clothing. I've had my Montreal for a month or so and have multiple holes in it and the feathers keep pouring out of it. I got one tear from brushing up against a dirty car, I mean this stuff is GARBAGE.
I appreciate the customer service, but I'll be throwing away my month old Montreal jacket and getting something I can depend on, probably not Helly Hansen. KC

View Details: Helly Hansen Montreal Down Jacket - Men's

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