Columbia Strata Trail Mid Boots Leak Water Despite Waterproof Claim

On February 2, I purchased a pair of Columbia Strata Trail Mid boots from Columbia’s official website. Although the product was marketed as “waterproof,” the boots let water in during normal rain in Istanbul, even though I specifically avoided stepping into deep puddles. As a result, my feet got wet.

I sent the product to the company for inspection on February 17. The item was unaccounted for for a period of time, and I was only informed on March 3 that it had been located. On March 10, I was told that the issue was not caused by a material defect and that my refund request would not be accepted. I have been dealing with this process for about a month now, and at this point, I have neither received a refund nor had the product returned to me.

I do not accept that a product sold as waterproof allows water in under normal rain conditions, nor do I accept my refund request being denied as “user error.” I request that Columbia acknowledge this product as defective and issue a full refund of approximately $176. Otherwise, I will file a complaint with the Consumer Arbitration Committee and, if necessary, pursue legal action.