The Katadyn Pocket Lifetime Warranty: Fact or Myth?
Are you confused by warranty claims for the Katadyn Pocket Microfilter water filter? Well, you are not alone.
If you surf the web for 20 minutes, I guarantee you will see conflicting information out there from various retailers, as well as the manufacturer. About half of them claim there's a 20 year warranty and the other half, Highwater Filters included, tout a lifetime warranty. So whose zooming who?
First off, as I pursued the truth, I noticed that some retailers refer to a "guarantee", and others to a "warranty". I was confused about the difference between the two, so I turned to Google. I discovered that a guarantee is a promise to replace a defective item, regardless of who purchased it. This is usually provided by manufacturers. A warranty is usually provided by the reseller and requires a purchase. Proof is often necessary, and warranties most often cover repair of items instead of replacement.
I figured the most authoritative source for accurate information would be Katadyn’s website, but as you will see, this isn’t exactly true. On their web page for the Pocket it states that it comes with a 20-yearwarranty. But when I downloaded the Fact Sheet available as a pdf file, the claim is a 20-yearguarantee. And on the front of the packaging that the Pocket comes in, it claims to have a lifetime warranty! Now, I’m more confused than ever.
I’m inclined to accept the lifetime warranty claim because it’s stated right on the front of the box, but I wanted to ask a live person, so I called up Katadyn North America in Minnesota. The customer service rep sort of chuckled when I asked her. The gist of her answer is that the Katadyn company will accept returns of Pocketsregardless of the age of the filter. She didn’t say that they will replace all returned Pockets, so you'd better contact Katadyn to find out whether they will repair or replace your filter. But rest assured that if your Katadyn Pocket water filter fails you 21 years from now, the warranty will still be good.
Of course, that’s assuming the company, or the world, is still around 21 years from now.
But that’s a discussion for a SHTF post. Check back for updates!
First off, as I pursued the truth, I noticed that some retailers refer to a "guarantee", and others to a "warranty". I was confused about the difference between the two, so I turned to Google. I discovered that a guarantee is a promise to replace a defective item, regardless of who purchased it. This is usually provided by manufacturers. A warranty is usually provided by the reseller and requires a purchase. Proof is often necessary, and warranties most often cover repair of items instead of replacement.
I figured the most authoritative source for accurate information would be Katadyn’s website, but as you will see, this isn’t exactly true. On their web page for the Pocket it states that it comes with a 20-year warranty. But when I downloaded the Fact Sheet available as a pdf file, the claim is a 20-year guarantee. And on the front of the packaging that the Pocket comes in, it claims to have a lifetime warranty! Now, I’m more confused than ever.
I’m inclined to accept the lifetime warranty claim because it’s stated right on the front of the box, but I wanted to ask a live person, so I called up Katadyn North America in Minnesota. The customer service rep sort of chuckled when I asked her. The gist of her answer is that the Katadyn company will accept returns of Pockets regardless of the age of the filter. She didn’t say that they will replace all returned Pockets, so you'd better contact Katadyn to find out whether they will repair or replace your filter. But rest assured that if your Katadyn Pocket water filter fails you 21 years from now, the warranty will still be good.
Of course, that’s assuming the company, or the world, is still around 21 years from now.
But that’s a discussion for a SHTF post. Check back for updates!
