Incredible Warranty Experience/New Citizen 15L Quality Report
So I know the internet is a much safer place for haterade and trolling--and I swear I'm just a customer and not a paid shill (though I bet a few folks here won't believe me, regardless)--but I recently had a pretty astonishing experience with Chrome that I thought I should share here for anyone considering a purchase: Back in 2012, I bought a 15L Citizen messenger bag--and have been using it on average 4-5 days a week ever since, biking to work and/or play all over New York. After nearly 15 years of bad weather, grit and grime (not to mention about a half-dozen times flying off my bike and eating some serious shit with that bag on my back), the worst thing that's happened to it (aside from a few light abrasions from the aforementioned shit-eating) was that the velcro for the main flip started to lose its grip after being opened and closed, oh, I'd guess several thousand times. (In fact, a couple of months ago, I even posted here asking for tips about who/how to repair.) Anyway, I reached out to Chrome itself for ideas, and after Juniper at the Help Desk asked me a few questions about having either the receipt or the inner tag with the "made on" date (the answer to both of which was no), I sent a few more pics of the problem... and they sent me a brand new 15L Citizen! That's right: Nearly 15 years old, no receipt, no other proof of purchase, nothing--and they still stood by their lifetime warranty!
I've now been using the new one all week and want to report: While I've read a number of posts here about Chrome's declining quality, I have to say I compared it pretty closely with my old one--and everything (aside from the design changes) seems pretty much the same: Durability/density of webbing, buckles, etc., thickness of fabric and lining, overall weight and substance. So, in a world of shitty products from shittier companies, I thought I should let folks on here know that at least my experience with Chrome was absolutely neither of those...!