Obsidian Pants Replacement

JLeMieux

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 2, 2016
Messages
167
Last spring I picked up some new with tags Obsidians from the classifieds here. I wore them on my hunt this year and loved them. Until day 3 that is. After 3 days of wear I noticed some piling and wear in the crotch. I wore them a total of 5 days and they were basically disintegrating.

I reached out to FL for a warranty claim. Initially I thought they were bought from FL as a gift, but when I started looking for the purchase info, I realized I was confusing them with a previous pair. I ended up selling those because they were too big.

Long story short. FL has denied my warranty claim because the pants were not bought directly from them. I just wanted another pair of pants, I wasn't looking for a refund.

I own a good bit of FL gear and have had zero complaints until now. This is kind of making me want to go a different route. I don't necessariy have a problem with them sticking to their policy, despite the obvious issue with these pants, but I do have a problem with the policy. These pants are brand new and for what they cost, I would expect the company to stand behind them more. I am quite disappointed in the quality of the product and the refusal to stand behind it.

With that being said, I'm open to recommendations on a suitable substitute for a good pair of pants used primarily for Sept elk and warm weather whitetail hunting. 20211019_092632.jpg20211019_092454.jpg
 

feanor

WKR
Joined
Aug 15, 2018
Messages
1,027
Location
Colorado
My buddy had a pair blow out there too. We just chocked it up to acidic gooch sweat. Ive had the corrugated guides and they are pretty bomb proof. A little swishy at first, but after washing, they quite down. They’re probably a little warmer than your pair though.
 
Joined
Apr 5, 2015
Messages
5,824
Yikes. I have recently upgraded my old Kanabs to obsidians. Man they are comfortable. Like pajamas. I hope mine hold up.

my favorite hunting pants are kuiu attacks. For not weather I like the tiburons. Those hip vents are the bees knees. Prana zions are a close second.
 
Joined
Feb 21, 2020
Messages
1,092
Location
MN
i have the obsidians (not the foundrys) with the updated crotch and they have the corrugate material in the crotch bc of blowout issue
 

mmac

WKR
Joined
Mar 30, 2017
Messages
358
Location
AZ
Why not take them to a tailor and for around $10 you can get patches sewn into them where they are wearing out?
 

Turkeygetpwnd38

WKR
Classified Approved
Joined
Aug 11, 2017
Messages
2,428
Location
Florida
The Kanabs 1, 2, and obsidians were a complete failure in my mind. I had all three, because I started with the kanab 1s and went through the warranty twice.
When I started out I drank the FL koolaid hard, but it got to a point when I had a warranty claim I would just wait until I had several so I could send them in one batch, it never took long... Now I have a mix of everything but stay away from FL aside from socks and base shirts (have two pairs of socks I need to send in now from ripping at seams, one is a warranty replacement from this spring).
 
Joined
Feb 11, 2020
Messages
780
Location
Oregon
I switched to the Sitka Ascent pants and shirt. They have 3 yrs hard use and still going strong. I will not wear anything else for warmer weather.
 
OP
J

JLeMieux

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 2, 2016
Messages
167
Thanks everyone. I will look into the pants recommended. I intend to take the obsidians to a tailor, but that's not really the issue.
 
Joined
Feb 11, 2020
Messages
780
Location
Oregon
Thanks everyone. I will look into the pants recommended. I intend to take the obsidians to a tailor, but that's not really the issue.
I like some FL gear just not the Obsidian pants. Not trying to bash them. I would not take the pants to a tailor. Not worth it as other problems with them will show up. They are just not durable.
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
4,973
Location
oregon coast
i have had good luck with the obsidians, i have 2 pair... not tough, but no problems like i had with the kanab 1 and 2's which did tear out easy. my obsidians have the corrugate material in the crotch and have been acceptable durability... i have stabbed some holes in them, but no major blowouts like the kanabs i had.

i'm guessing the warranty issue is because you bought them second hand... i never had issues with warranty claims on the kanabs, just got sick of ruining them every time in short order. i assume those are older obsidians by the looks of them, so the warranty issue isn't really surprising

seeing things from their perspective, you bought a second hand older version of pants for a discount, and you want FL to give you a brand new pair of their updated version.... that's a risk you take buying used, you won't have customer support if you have issues, and don't really think you should expect it....
 
OP
J

JLeMieux

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 2, 2016
Messages
167
i have had good luck with the obsidians, i have 2 pair... not tough, but no problems like i had with the kanab 1 and 2's which did tear out easy. my obsidians have the corrugate material in the crotch and have been acceptable durability... i have stabbed some holes in them, but no major blowouts like the kanabs i had.

i'm guessing the warranty issue is because you bought them second hand... i never had issues with warranty claims on the kanabs, just got sick of ruining them every time in short order. i assume those are older obsidians by the looks of them, so the warranty issue isn't really surprising

seeing things from their perspective, you bought a second hand older version of pants for a discount, and you want FL to give you a brand new pair of their updated version.... that's a risk you take buying used, you won't have customer support if you have issues, and don't really think you should expect it....
I understand why they have the policy and I understand the risks associated with buying second hand, but when you buy a pair of pants that are new with tags, you expect them to last more than 3 days. That's what is getting me. It would be different if I got a season out of them or if they were already used.

I was unaware of the material upgrade in the crotch area when I bought these, so that's on me for not doing a little more research.

I guess I mistakenly expected a little more out of FL, even once I realized those were the pair I bought off Rokslide and not directly from them.

At this point I'm just venting and am moving on, but my disappointment remains.

Side note: I have a pair of Kanabs 2.0 and have had zero issues. They have been great.
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
4,973
Location
oregon coast
I understand why they have the policy and I understand the risks associated with buying second hand, but when you buy a pair of pants that are new with tags, you expect them to last more than 3 days. That's what is getting me. It would be different if I got a season out of them or if they were already used.

I was unaware of the material upgrade in the crotch area when I bought these, so that's on me for not doing a little more research.

I guess I mistakenly expected a little more out of FL, even once I realized those were the pair I bought off Rokslide and not directly from them.

At this point I'm just venting and am moving on, but my disappointment remains.

Side note: I have a pair of Kanabs 2.0 and have had zero issues. They have been great.
Yeah, I completely understand your frustration, I would be too, but I also understand first lite’s stance… they only know what you told them, and I’m sure they hear all kinds of crazy excuses, so they can’t know when someone has a legitimate complaint… I wouldn’t fault them very much

couple that with sending them pictures of pants that haven’t been made in at least a couple years (without the stretchy crotch material) and claim they were new with tags, you have to understand their skepticism

my 2 pair of obsidian have been excellent, they aren’t the toughest pants by a long shot, but since they updated the crotch material, they have been great. I pretty much always have gaiters on in the woods, so that protects the area that takes a beating, and I have had no durability issues, and the coast is hell on gear… I wouldn’t hesitate bringing them as my only pants on a long backcountry hunt.

the fit is a little wonky, they are kind of baggy from the knees up, but I think that’s kind of necessary with merino… if they fit like most pants did, I do think the seams will eventually tear out, merino just isn’t a tough material
 
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