Last July, I purchased an Otter Box Model 3500 Otter Box to use for my canoeing and kayaking. During a recent trip down the Colorado River the box took a plunge into the river when we were swamped at Black Rocks. To my dismay, upon retrieval I discovered the box had 1.5 inches of water in it.
When I bought the box, the shop in Hood River explained that it was guaranteed. My initial horror of its failure was subsiding thinking I would be covered for my loss. However, I recently discovered that your guarantee is for the box and not for its contents.
This seems absolutely insane. The contents I lost far outweigh the value of the box and this inane guarantee is too little too late. Why have a guarantee that ensures that while I may lose all my valuable possessions, I will still have a brand new Otter Box waiting for me. Needless to say, I am not really interested in a replacement.
The people at Otter Box have been very kind and understanding and they did replace the box as their guarantee describes.
They also sent me an analysis of the failure. In their view, the product failed because the box's seal got dirty. They explained that comes in the instructions that I received with the box. Trouble is I never received any instructions. So, in order to use this box, you must maintain a clean seal. Too bad I lost a significant amount of gear to discover this.
I would not recommend the product for anyone who intends on using this in a place that gets dirty (i.e. camping) as it is possible that the box will fail.
As for me, I am selling my two boxes and opting for another new dry bag which have not failed.
