Kelty’s Own FAQ Calls International Customers ‘SOL.’ Seven Months Later, I Agree.
I have been a loyal Kelty customer for years. Our family of seven all use Kelty sleeping bags. This is the first one that has ever failed.
In October 2025 I lodged a warranty claim for two Kelty Big Dipper 30 sleeping bags with a zipper fault at the base. Kelty's own team confirmed the fault is repairable.
Seven months later, here is what was offered: A repair requiring international shipping from Australia to the US and back, at a cost that exceeds the value of the bags. Reimbursement for only one of the two bags, in USD with no currency conversion. My ticket was then marked Resolved without any resolution.
I am not alone. Another Trustpilot reviewer had a near-identical experience: a faulty new Kelty tent where Kelty insisted on sending it back at the customer's cost for repair rather than simply fixing it. In Amazon Q&A for Kelty products, customers have stated plainly that Kelty does not honour its warranty in practice, and that 'lifetime' means whatever Kelty decides it means.
What Kelty's own FAQ actually says about international customers: that they are, in Kelty's words, 'a bit SOL in the repairs department.' That is a direct quote from Kelty's published FAQ. It tells you everything you need to know about how this company views customers outside the US.
I am not angry. I am genuinely disappointed. This is a brand I trusted, recommended to other families, and spent years buying from. A zipper fault on two children's sleeping bags should not take seven months and produce nothing.
If you are buying Kelty outside the US: the Limited Lifetime Warranty does not function in practice. Every option offered is one the company knows you cannot reasonably accept. That is not a warranty. It is a document that exists to create the impression of one.
Factor that into your decision.
