REI does not sponsor me in anyway (maybe someday!) I like REi mainly because they have good prices and are great to work with, however I am becoming a bigger fan because of their return policies.

I have returned boots, socks and my most recent return was a Garmin Inreach. I bought the Inreach on January 25th, 2018. From day one it was hard to get it to startup and shut down., but it always did. On my most recent hiking trip to Prescott, Az, as I prepared for my daily hike. Loading maps, gpx files etc, I tried to start the Inreach. Nothing. I pushed the button harder. Nothing. I tried with a pen pushing the button. Nothing! Finally I plugged the unit into a charging port and it came alive. No the battery was fine. I did have it set to open when plugged into a charging port, so I was able to use the device.

But now I had another problem! It would not shut off! I tried everything as before but nothing worked. So it stayed on for the rest of my trip and back to our Rv park.

What do I do now? Call Garmin? Return it to Garmin (would have to wait awhile I am sure) or do I try to take it back to REI. I looked up the return policy for electronic devices and found out returns are possible for 90 days after purchase. Great! I still had 30 plus days to return the item!

Off I went to REI. After arriving I spoke with a sales rep and explained what was going on. She ad a Senior rep come over and he tried to turn it off. I told him you can hold the button down all day and nothing will happen. (While holding my breath because electronics have a mind of their own especially when you have a repair person looking at it or in this case a sales rep!) sure enough no shut down. He turned to the young lady and said mark it as a manufacture defect! Did I want cash or exchange? I still wanted the device so an exchange was made! Now mind you this is a $450.00 item, but they did not hesitate at all.

REI will remain my go to store. If you have not used them, either on line or in a store, please do. I think you will be happy you did knowing they will take items back.

I will review the Garmin Inreach at a later date.

Happy Trails