Macpac Rain Jacket is pilling ....

No specific experience with the Macpac product, but, eventually (almost) all materials will pill. There is screes of info online discussing it and I believe there was a rather comprehensive discussion on it here not too long ago. (Sorry I am at work or I would invest more time trying to find it). Without knowing the specifics it is hard to comment whether you have been treated fairly or not and whether the pilling is actually affecting the jacket's performance. It would obviously be disappointing for me if it was after a year but I only get out a couple of times a year so would not have had much use — not everybody's year is equal in days used! (As an example when I worked outdoor retail I had a chap bring back multiple times a gas stove with the metal hose that connects the cylinder to the cooker was damaged, always after around a year of use. It got replaced a couple of times until I did some more digging and found he was working forestry and was using it about 5 times a day 300 days a year. That is a lot of coiling and uncoiling of the hose. I doubt I will use my cooker 1500 times in my life and I may end up having 10 of them and never once doubt the performance/quality. He was 100% reasonable about it all and acknowledge that he was probably putting more of a workload on the cooker/hose than normal.)

not happy with macpac i've had an ultra lightweight pertex jacket from outdoor research, weighs 180gm bought at bivouac delaminate in the wash, it was relatively new, bivouac offered to refund or replace on the spot... outdoor research have a good warranty. pertex comes with a good warranty, that's partly why its so expensive, macpac need to take it up with pertex insist on a refund or replacement. especially if you know you havent abused the garment and its just had normal use. i had to take a delaminating raincoat back, not pertex. it was using a material that had a known defect and i had to point that out to them to get it replaced . i had a day pack, the zip pockets corroded making them unusable, took it back they said they were going to lubricate the zippers and told me to be more careful. I told them NO. as an outdoor pack its not fit for purpose, the zippers should not corrode at all... i've had so many packs from numereous brands that have been repeatedly soaked and not one of them has corroded, they were bought from brands known for their reliability. they escalated it to their design team and it was them that agreed to replace it the same thing happened to the replacement, i went back to them and it was like groundhog day... had exactly the same interactions with them again until i ended up with another replacement... not happy when every genuine warranty issue gets argued by them the shop staff and the support staff don't have a clue about warranty responsibility... how many other people have they fobbed off like this? macpac used to have really good warranty support. almost didnt matter how old it was they'd repair it... i've still got an old lightweight macpac rain jacket, 380gm, its got a lot of use before there was any deterioration in it... rain jackets are plastic,, and you're often paying $1 a gram or more for plastic... the source material is cheap.... so they are making a lot of money on it, so they should be giving you a decent product that they are backing up with a decent warranty or you might as well go and buy something cheap and not worry if something goes wrong with it

A lot of companies should look to the Warehouse for how to treat warranty claims. Ok not a lot of their stuff is suitable for what we do and the stuff that is gets laughed at but as long as you have the receipt its pretty much replaced no questions asked. I bought a gazebo off the Porirua shop once and got it home and opening showed it covered in mud and several knuckles broken.Obviously someone had bought it used it in wet conditions then carefully put it back in the box and returned it. When I took it back to a different store the same day the help staff laughed then apologized as they didnt have the same colour in stock. Buy a coat from them and if it leaks they will give you your money back. (they may try and give you a replacement first though)

I'm a fan of Macpac clothing but I think in general they were passed by some years ago in terms of being a progressive, high end company. A warranty should never have to be used, replacing gear that fails is not a solution - gear failing in the field is dangerous. I used to talk with Wayne Gregory quite a bit years ago when I product tested for Gregory Mountain Products, his philosophy was clear, he once told me "once a pack leaves my factory, I never want to see it again, ever". That was his view on fail safe gear. Also, terms like 'lifetime warranty' refers to the 'average lifetime of the product' which is obviously subjective. Saying that, pilling is always interesting, in theory it won't affect the performance but man is it a horrible eyesore and feels terrible.

Im not very happy with the fact that most Macpac jackets are pertex, apart from the heavier-duty ones. I got a pertext jacket from REI in the US, and its one facbric I will never use again. Its a good trade-off for weight, if you dont mind your jacket not lasting too long. Similar issues to you - after only a few uses where the pack rubs certain spots, hold the jacket up to a light source and you can see wear on the outer & inner fabric. To me, pertex is a better shell to use with no, or a very small pack - which kind of limits its use for trampers like us

@si-dog depends what you think of when you think of pertex, traditionally its been a 2 layer lightweight fabric that do have limited durability. They are doing more 3 layer fabrics now, which is more durable. with a knitted nylon layer on the inside which stops abrasion on the membrane

gore tex are bringing out new versions of their membranes and farbrics https://outdoorsmagic.com/article/gore-tex-pro-fabric-reinvented Three New Types Of Gore-Tex Pro The variations? That’ll be Most Rugged Technology, Stretch Technology and Most Breathable Technology. Most Rugged Technology is, as the name suggests, the toughest of the three. It has a polyurethane element added to the membrane and will be best paired with higher denier face fabrics and a heavier backer. This is designed for people that are going to be putting their kit through its paces and want as much lifetime out of the product as possible. Face textiles of 70-200 denier are available on the Rugged line. Stretch Technology will allow the end user greater freedom of movement making those critical moments on the mountain flow more easily. An elastic layer sits on-top of the membrane giving it 12%-20% more stretch. What’s even more impressive is that the product doesn’t lose any of its breathability or waterproof performance when being stretched. Most Breathable Technology is the lightest of the three and has been designed for people that are going to be pushing themselves to the limit aerobically and working very hard. It can be used with a 30-denier laminate and therefore you’ll find extremely lightweight garments with this.