Salomon Quest Tech inserts failure thread

[weasel1]

Excellent...hopefully they look into it. TC, you can also file a complaint with the VT Attorney General's Office at www.uvm.edu/consumer.

[wandering, not lost]

I know social media is made fun of a lot here, but it's pretty powerful stuff. I posted a link to the wildsnow page showing the Salomon fail on facebook with a caution not to ski Salomon Quests with Dynafit bindings. I feel like that's a good way to get the word out to other skiers who might be planning on skiing big lines in those boots this spring.

[bean]

Incidentally, the expectation that Salomon would respond quickly and publicly with an unqualified mea culpa is not realistic, no attorney for them would recommend that.

That said, I certainly hope that they will at least quietly address the issue properly. This is a terrible outcome for what looks to be a very preventable problem.

Agreed on the quick response, but it's well past the possibility for a quiet response to this issue.

[lobstahmeatwad]

what a fucking joke!

Way to save some scrill on the most integral part of the boot.
Solomon gonna get raped!

[Core Shot]

FUCK SALOMON YOU FUCKING FUCKS.

FUCK FUCK FUCK YOU SUCK.

IT WILL BE A LONG WHILE BEFORE I TRUST OR BUY YOUR PRODUCTS AGAIN.

AND YOUR BINDINGS AND BOOTS WERE MY FAVORITES BEFORE THIS SHIT.

I HAD BEEN A CUSTOMER FOR 20 YEARS, AND NOW I HAVE NO IIDEA IF I CAN EVER TRUST YOUR R&D AND ENGINEERING.

FUCK YOU YOU CHEAP ASS FUCKERS. FUCK.

[njfreeskier]

Just read Lou's blog "Dissecting the Salomon Quest Ski Boot Tech Fittings" and I am absolutely sick to my stomach. I cannot believe that in this day and age, with all the advances in technology we have available to us, that Salomon, would either cheap out on materials, not fully test their product, or even worse, release a product they knew to be unsafe; especially in an industry with such strong loyalty and heavy wear and tear on products.

Their customer service (or lack there of) in handling this matter is absolutely appalling, and the fact that they have still not issued any statement on the dangers of the toe-piece, really shows how little they care about their customers, or safety in general. It's absolutely disgusting.

TC, just know how much we all care about you and NEED you to come out of it as good as new. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Wishing you ++++vibes++++ each and every day. Stay strong buddy, we're here for you!

[wooley12]

Bergs site says "sold out" One size showing available at Bent Gate. Sent this email:

Sirs,

As a cutting edge retailer, I am sure you are aware of the dangerous defect in the tech fitting of the Salomon Quest boot. I see that you have them listed for sale on your web site. For the safety of your customers, I ask that you take the steps immediately to remove this product from your listings.

http://www.wildsnow.com/2888/salomon...tings-failure/

[ame="http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191256"]Saloman Quest Tech inserts failure thread - Teton Gravity Research Forums[/ame]

Anyone else want to be pro-active? Got a better form letter?

[sfotex]

I can't believe these things made it to market. I wonder if the design and testing was done with a prototype casting that was stronger, and then a lesser quality one ended up being used in production for whatever reason.

[natty dread]

My email earlier this week to Salomon asking if it was safe to ski my quest boots with Dynafits got me this back:

Hi,

Please contact us at 800-225-6850 for assistance.

Thanks,

Salomon Consumer Service

Wow^^
Either that's how they respond to all inquiries or they want no further written records on this issue.
Someone ought to call the number, ask the question, and record the response if that's legal?
Of course I imagine they have a litigation-proof response ready, from which they won't deviate.
This could get very bad for salomon.

[dynodonkeyaltabird]

lou's test on wildsnow blows me away. how can salomon let that happen?

[skifishbum]

I'd like to believe there is an engineer or somebody in R&D over there saying "I fuckin told you so" to a number crunching, penny pinching, profit maximizing asshole who decided to go with those cheap ass inserts.
Either way I can't see even the most feverish salomon supporter saying they didn't fuckin drop the ball on this one.

[PearlJam09]

Anyone else notice that there is a Voluntary binding recall on the bottom of Salomon's home page, but zero mention of this....

[buckethead]

wow. hat's off to lou dawson for bench testing this "product"
clearly if a design student had come up with this prototype he would have gotten a big F until he demonstrated the most basic understanding of materials and COMMON SENSE!



it really is beyond me how a company with the reputation of Salomon (or really any company looking to stay in business) could let a product like this even get out the studio!

i believe skifish hit the nail on the head.
the same thing happened with Challenger...after that catastrophe, members of the design teams that worked on the shuttle O-rings came forward with stories of NASA adminstrators putting deadlines and go-live dates ahead of adequate testing and safety, and in spite of the protestations of the designers and technicians, and in spite of their explicit concerns that they could fail.

i have to wonder if any of the folks who now run Salomon are skiers, or even understand skiing.

as one who has used you products extensively over the past 33 years:
FUCKING UNBELIEVABLE AND INEXCUSABLE SALOMON!

[XXX-er]

IMO It doesnt take an engineer to see what happened , you can see how the REAL dynafit fitting has a thick square edged bar running between the 2 exposed sockets,the square edged bar would give the piece all its strength ,the flat part gives some strength but mostly it gives surface for the plastic to grip

I would say the salomon piece is MISSING that square bridging piece of metal , those ends would fold up under stress ... AND they did

we havent even got into whether the sockets in the salomon piece are made to the correct dimensions AND hardness ... given what I seen so far I wouldnt even bet a case of beer on it being correct

this looks very much to me like Salomon fucked up

[byates1]

i am so pissed,

dalton, you are the man, everyone is enraged, and that is good, but we're still thinking of you,

i got some lines to show you on the spot i came down on you earlier this winter. i'll get some lines ready this fall as well.

trust me, we will be skiing amazing terrain down the road a bit, take it slow and low, easy pace, long term plan, endurance style. endurance.

endure.

[bern43]

Wow. I can't believe that test. Ridiculous. I'm amazed that Salomon released those. I'm even more amazed that they're still selling them. For those of you stating that their lawyers are probably advising them to not say anything your probably right. But in my opinion those lawyers are likely doing Salomon a disservice. Salomon should first take care of TC, they should then issue some sort of statement explaining what happened and why it won't happen again. Legally saying nothing right now might make sense. It doesn't make sense from a business standpoint though, let alone a moral one. Unless they make this right I won't be buying any more Salomon products.

[thin cover]

Since I have read Lou's report all I have done is run that days events over and over and over and over and over in my head. It will forever scare the shit out of me. But I am not going to let it own me. I mean you can run the gamut of emotions, most of which I have, but in the end I want to be normal dad again, a functioning husband, and I'll take a mediocre skier at this point. Time to start looking for positive everyday and getting it back, I've been here before.

Thanks to everyone for the wishes, thoughts, and offers. I am sincerely overwhelmed. And thanks to Lou and Jonathan S who have been a tremendous help.

[axebiker]

HUDGE MAG PROPS to Lou for the write up - saw it over at T-Tips, which brought me over to this thread.

Dalton...don't know what to say that hasn't been said already. Stay STRONG. People have come back from worse - hopefully you'll be exceptional as well.

SALOMON...I've used your gear since I started skiing in 1992. Over. Done. I have a pile of Tyrolia's on my shelf that will be getting phased in, and I've bought my last Salomon ANYTHING. Godammit you guys...I LOVED your gear. I'm beyond disappointed.

[huckster989]

You gotta love wildsnow for stuff like this, I don't know anywhere else you can find this stuff. I think a lot of alpine companies are rushing into the AT market to get a chunk of the cash flowing that way and are forgetting that companies like dynafit, scarpa, garmont, fritschi and so on have been doing this for a lot longer and have done some serious R&D as well as real world testing.well the only salomon product I use is a jacket so I think I should be safe

[Hugh Conway]

Shit TC - Hope you heal up well


That's amazing bullshit from one of the biggest companys in the ski hard goods world

[beaterdit]

Damn, this really does suck. Salmon really screwed the pooch on this one and I really hope they do right by Thin Cover. I too am heavily invested in their products. Been skiing their stuff on and off fro 30 years and I currently have eight pairs of 916s of various iterations. Don't have the money or desire to phase them out but you can be sure I won't be patronising this company until they make it right.

[Vt-Freeheel]

My email earlier this week to Salomon asking if it was safe to ski my quest boots with Dynafits got me this back:

Hi,

Please contact us at 800-225-6850 for assistance.

Thanks,

Salomon Consumer Service

Press 3 for customer service 7:30AM-4:30pm MST and tell them how you feel.

[eug]

This fucking blows!

How about we line up a few Salomon execs who were involved in the project, strap them in these fittings and send them down the hill?

Definitely deserves a sticky and probably a share on TGR's facebook page. There is over 17000 people linked to it. Now that I think about it, how about posting to Salomon Freeski fan page?

[GHSTRCN]

Definitely deserves a sticky and probably a share on TGR's facebook page. There is over 17000 people linked to it. Now that I think about it, how about posting to Salomon Freeski fan page?

I've post on their facebook page. I'll post much more if my post gets deleted. hahaha

Best of luck TC! I know minor knee injuries are hard to deal with, hope you can pull through this one...


EDIT: I meant minor injuries suck and that I hope your MAJOR injury will turn out alright. haha

[ts01]

First and foremost, I'll join with everyone who's wished a good recovery to thin cover. I'm horrified by the injuries but impressed with your attitude.

Second, thanks to Jonathan and Lou for the analysis and reporting on this.

A couple of thoughts from a tele/alpine skier, not AT.

1 - This makes me really appreciate the alpine DIN standard and tried and true 75mm tele gear.

2- At the risk of threadjacking, the Wildsnow report reminded me: no aftermarket parts in my car, ever again, for any part involved in stopping, starting, or steering -- that'll be OEM only. A few months ago my timing belt snapped and my engine cut to a dead stop in freeway traffic, in the fast lane, in the rain, with a carload of kids and a tractor-trailer in the center lane. Obviously I'm here to tell it but that's pure luck, not engineering. When they tore it down and rebuilt the engine I learned that the shop had - unknown to me - used aftermarket parts for the timing belt -- automotive equivalent of the Salomon -- and a tensioning bolt snapped. OEM costs more, and cheap imitations cost less, for a reason. Here, Dynafit has the engineering, but Salomon left it to luck, probably to build it (if not sell it) cheaper; sorry to see that TC got the short end of that deal.