Sherpa Mountain

Review Date
August 11, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by: matt gladwin ,  Mountaineer

Price Paid:  $239.00 at IRL Supplies

Summary:
I am reviewing the Arctic Trekker snowshoe. I work for a forestry and resource supply company that dealt with Sherpa for many years, as they were the industrial snowshoe of choice. Now that they are defunct, we decided to build our own snowshoe to fill the hole in the commercial/industrial/backcountry market. We call it the Arctic Trekker, and its style and function are based roughly on the old Sherpa Mountain snowshoe, except that it exceeds the quality and durability in everyway. It has a thick tempered frame, with double coated uerathane decking. the claws are aggressive and stainless steel. It is the premier snowshoe of its kind and it is our goal to have the Arctic Trekkers on the foot of every former Sherpa user. Oh yah, all of the parts are interchangeable with the Sherpa, making us the last supplier of Shepra repair parts in North America. Please see them on our website.
www.irlsupplies.com

Customer Service:
Customer service is prompt and knowledgable. Arctic Trekker snowshoes have a lifetime manufactorer defect warranty.

Similar Products Used:
Sherpa Mountain Legend

Review Date
January 11, 2004

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Reviewed by: Michael Potter(Unregistered User) ,  Day Hiker

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I run a snowshoe program at a public school. We ordered Sherpa snowshoes because of the dual rotation and the honorable repair policy. The shoes are excellent but since then the company has changed hands and they no longer offer the free repair policy. Also we bought some of the newer models with the comfort bindings. They don't match the older models and the rivets have broken. To me the newer models are less durable and the company should offer its honorable repair policy to those who bought their product before they changed hands. Our school has since purchased numerous pairs of snowshoes and needless to say they are not Sherpas. I have spoken to a few shop owners and they have given up on Sherpa. They are a classic example of not sticking with a product and a policy that works. I agree with the lawyer who said there should be some recourse for the people who lost the honorable repair policy.

Customer Service:
The original Sherpa company had an excellent customer service record. The new company should be concerned about customer service rather than the bottom line.

Review Date
January 11, 2004

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Reviewed by: Michael Potter(Unregistered User) ,  Day Hiker

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I run a snowshoe program at a public school. We ordered Sherpa snowshoes because of the dual rotation and the honorable repair policy. The shoes are excellent but since then the company has changed hands and they no longer offer the free repair policy. Also we bought some of the newer models with the comfort bindings. They don't match the older models and the rivets have broken. To me the newer models are less durable and the company should offer its honorable repair policy to those who bought their product before they changed hands. Our school has since purchased numerous pairs of snowshoes and needless to say they are not Sherpas. I have spoken to a few shop owners and they have given up on Sherpa. They are a classic example of not sticking with a product and a policy that works. I agree with the lawyer who said there should be some recourse for the people who lost the honorable repair policy.

Customer Service:
The original Sherpa company had an excellent customer service record. The new company should be concerned about customer service rather than the bottom line.

Review Date
April 24, 2001

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Reviewed by: Jon Bernard(Unregistered User) ,  Mountaineer , from Hamilton, NY

Price Paid:  $140.00 at Overstock.com

Summary:
The pair I bought were the previous year's model, with the classic binding, and longer crampons than I've seen on some other Sherpas.

These snowshoes were great for ascending and descending icy slopes, and the adjustable pivot binding worked as advertised. But the bindings were a constant annoyance: they frequently slipped loose, the straps often got snagged in the metal clasps, and they were impossible to adjust with mittens or gloves, esp. when they became encrusted with snow and ice. On one trip in which four of us were all using Sherpa Mountains, dealing with the bindings was so time-consuming that we found it easier to posthole our way up the slopes.

I eventually returned the pair I bought; even at $140 they weren't worth it.

Customer Service:
None.

Similar Products Used:
Tubbs and Atlas something-or-others with ski-boot bindings.

Review Date
December 24, 2000

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Visitors rate this review
3.50 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by: Rod Briggs(Unregistered User) ,  Mountaineer , from University Place, Washington

Summary:
Sherpa at one time was an excellant manufacturer with a warranty that could be relied upon. It appears that Sherpa has recently been purchased and no longer stands behind its warranty. Makes me wonder if perhaps they are breaching thier preexisting duty, warranty. I was wearing a pair of Sherpa snowshoes, when the bindings pulled off through the rivets holding them to the shoe. Looks like a manufacturing defect to me, the head of the rivet is small and pulled through the hole in the binding. I called Sherpa to have them repaired and was amazed when they told me they no longer stood behind thier warranty. As an attorney, I was amazed that the Sherpa company would be so bold as to decline to repair the shoes do to a manufacturing defect, and also to inform me that the warranty given on shoe sold prior to the purchase of Sherpa is no longer valid. I for one will not purchase any product from Sherpa in the future. I also own a pair of Atlas snowshoes and find them to be a very good pair of snowshoes. The Atlas bindings are superior and I hope that if there is a problem with them ever, Atlas will do the right thing and repair the problem if is a design or manufacturer defect with the shoe. Good luck with Sherpa if you have a problem with your shoes.

Customer Service:
The new owner of Sherpa are no longer standing behind the warranty of shoes sold prior to the new owner acquiring Sherpa. Is this a breach of warranty? My binding pulled of the shoe. The head of the rivet holding the binding to the shoe pulled through the hole in the binding. I called Sherpa to have it repaired and they informed me that they no longer repaired the shoes for free, even when it is a design defect, and thier original warranty covered it. Now they charge a fee, customer service, I think not!

Similar Products Used:
None