Petzl Alevo Vent Cracking

[evo]

Does any one here own an Alevo vent? mine just cracked at the ear muff slot. I sent it to petzl america for a warranty return, which was denied. Since the rep "has never seen an alevo crack there" and chocked it up to impact or abuse. The ear muff slots are really tight, and the plastic is so thin there I can see it being a fatigue point. He is replacing the helmet with a Vertex Best vent, due to customer relations, but not as a warranty.
I getting tired of weak cheap petzl items, not including carabiners (they seem to hold up). I have a Sequoia harness and had issues with the rings, not to mention how light duty the saddle is.

I should have taken pictures before I sent it off to post here.

Any one else have similar issues with petzl?

 

[TimberJack]

Good on them for replacing the helmet though.

 

[islandarb]

Sequoia is lightweight but very strong in my opinion even though I have switched to a TM I still use it to mix things up. What issues with the rings I have screwed and unscrewed them lots and besides having no paint they are in perfect shape. I love the sequoia. However the TM offers better range of motion and better suspension off the lower D's.

 

[ChuckR]

evo,
I too would like to know what sort of ring issue you've had.

 

[TimberJack]

I had trouble unscrewing mine after applying lock-tite and am worried about the torx head stripping.

 

[evo]

The sequoia bridge stitching started working loose on the bridge. I played with the different adjustments for the center of gravity. I think I took the screws out about 3 times or so. The last time when I replaced the bridge (only 6 months of very light use less than 24 climbs) The screw head stripped. I called wesspur to see if the still sold the replacement rings which petzl pulled from the shelves. I then called petzl u.s.a. and they would sell me the rings, but they requested I sent them the saddle to have them replace the rings.
It seemed really odd to me when they explained I had to ship them the saddle so they can do it, instead of shipping me the rings. It was explained as a saftey issue, then why would they make the bridge replaceable/adjustable, give you instructions, and then not ship out the rings so I could install them myself?
I opted to call wesspur and purchased stainless allen head shackles that go to a tree austria saddle. Also something about the rings always didn't feel good with that tiny little screw holding the "bead" in place.

Other complaints are the Visor being on back order in the USA for so long. Then the helmet it's self cracking in well less than a year use.

I like a lot of petzl's gear, but so much of it seems to be under built in an industry where a lot of the gear is over built. In my personal opinion the gear seems to be more suited for recreation and a limited life span designed for light occasional use. I have no complaints about biners or any of their "hard" gear.