FAQ | Adventure Trail Gear

This page will serve to provide general product & warranty type information, as well as a FAQ resource.

*De Minimis Exemption for USA bound orders*

The DME has been in place for items shipping from Canada to the USA under 800USD in value, as the administrative systems and burden to process these millions of parcels a year, was not financially reasonable. At this time, it appears the DME will be removed at the end of August 2025, possibly causing American customers to pay import broker fees, duties, taxes/tariffs. Information for small businesses to access, digest and put into action is terrible.

We are researching our countries trade agreements, import/export rules, and the USMCA (new NAFTA) to determine how we need to document and ship our products in accordance with these policies to avoid (if possible) the incurring of costs by our American customers. Our products are cut and sewn in Fredericton, NB, Canada with bulk of raw material made in the USA and South Korea; with some smaller components coming from various regions. Our products would be classified as 'Originating Goods' according to the USMCA, however it is unclear if they will be impacted by any level of fees when imported to the USA.

Orders placed before 15 August by USA based customers will be shipped before the DME is removed, orders after this time may result in charges to customers on importing. Adventure Trail Gear is not responsible for paying any import fees, duties or taxes for shipments entering the USA. If fees are due, and not paid by the customer, resulting in a product being returned, ATG will only refund an order amount, less shipping charges incurred, in this scenario.

Once we have further definition on the impacts to shipping timelines (will the administering of imports by the US border folks make a normally 4 day shipment, 10 days?), fees, etc, we will update this information and possibly our shipping costs and selling regions.

FAQ:

Q1. What is the lead time on new orders?

A1. All our products are hand made, in house. With now over 150 variations of colour, size and mounting configurations, we rarely have all items built on a shelf and ready to go (at this time in our growth). We do our best to throttle sales and commitments as best possible to maintain a 1-2 week build time. Because our team works across their own homes in Fredericton, N.B. if an item is built in 10 days, it can take another 1-2 days for it to move to where we do S&H from, and 1 or 2 days to consolidate a larger shipment and move to the post office. Exceeding 3 weeks from order to shipment is rare, but can happen if we have a quick burst of orders over a few days, personal calendars don't line up perfectly, etc.

Q2. Whats the best way to reach us?

A2. We all work regular full time jobs, aside from our seamstress team, who are full time ATG team members. I (Nick) will do my best to answer phone calls if it does not interfere with my ongoing work activities (Regular Force member of the Canadian Armed Forces). Email to info@adventuretrailgear.com is typically the best option, and we do our best to respond within a couple days. Messaging through IG and FBook is also a suitable method, however it is not as easy to search for conversations/names as email is, if we are conducting business admin in the evenings.

Q3. Why does my receipt/checkout switch back from a selected currency to CAD?

A3. The website platform allows you to select a specific currency when browsing and viewing your cart. For some reason, it tends to switch back during the check out process to display totals in CAD. Do not worry! You will not be charged $215.00 USD on a spare tire bag, if that was the CAD value. Your payment platform will process the transaction in your specific currency, at their conversion rate at the time.

Q4. Who do we ship with?

A4. We ship through UPS, Purolator, CANPAR, Fedex, and sometimes Canada Post. If a customer MUST have a different shipper used due to specific access limitations at your address, please reach out BEFORE placing your order, so we can provide guidance and discuss if additional fees will be required.

Q5. How long do orders take to ship (once in the system)?

A5. Most shippers have removed guarantees since COVID-19. When they do offer them, they are typically exaggerated. From New Brunswick Canada, shipments typically take 3 to 6 days within Canada (East to West respectively). For mainland U.S.A. destinations, shipments take 4-6 days (North East to South West, respectively). Shipments worldwide are typically in the 5-12 business day range with our current shipping charge rate. We can offer a shipping discount Internationally if customers want a protracted wait time (example: Shipping costs can drop from around $100 to $70 CAD, however this comes with a timeline of 8 to 12 WEEKS). If International customers are interested in this timeline for roughly $30 CAD less, please reach out and we will provide a shipping discount code.

Q6. What to expect after ordering/communication regarding shipping?

A6. Your order process will go as follows:

Place your order;
Thank you email with order confirmation info;
We will review the order, and add if to our build list if not readily available to ship;
Your order will be build IAW the timelines above;
Your shipping label will be made and box packed by Nigel in Fredericton, N.B.;
Nigel will scan your label with his phone through our website app. This will send a shipping confirmation email with tracking links;
Nigel will load up all orders and take them to the post office, or schedule a post office pick up at his place;
Tracking will begin updating shortly after received at the post office;
Once International orders leave Canada - entering your tracking number in your National Postal Service's website will typically give the most accurate tracking timeline.

Warranty Info:

This will be updated as product feedback is captured. Typically this info had been displayed in the check-out process, however I wanted to make it simple and more easily found as customers considered our products.

Because these designs have been evolving over the last 4-5 years at the longest, and materials used are being updated as improvements are identified, a benchmark warranty is in place for the time being. As customers use each product, submit feedback, and field testing is completed, we will compare the environments of use and categorize any issues to develop a relevant extended warranty.

At this time, all products will have the follow (limited; some case by case situations) terms:

- 2 year craftsmanship warranty. An example would be a seam coming undone due to improper back-stitching or a stitch line too close to an unfinished fabric edge.

- 2 year material warranty. This will also be extended and amended based on customer feedback with regards to use, environments, etc. This is to cover excessive colour fading; unrecognizable starting colour/colour change (This only applies to regularly produced colours, and not special requests such as yellow, orange or pink), material degradation, hardware degradation (due to exposure, UV, temperatures, etc).

- Upon discussions via email, phone or video chat, we will come to a solution to have the product repaired or replaced. This will be extended once the current build composition (material, assembly process) exceeds the 2 year point on the majority of products being used, and a benchmark can be identified with no consistent material or assembly process issues identified.

- I hope all understand our current warranty guidelines. The bottom line is, I want this to be smaller scale, sustainable and personal. So regardless of the situation, I will make myself available to discuss matters with customers and make sure a reasonable and thought-out solution is reached through honest conversation.