[pct-l] SMD gear

[Adam Bradley]

Here is one of the many responses I am cataloging on
SMD equipment:

In defense of Adam (re: bad opinion of Six Moon
Designs) I also had an
issue with customer service on their first version of
the Europa tent.
I used it on a thruhike of the JMT in 2003 and the
tent performed
well--very noisy in the wind and of course, single
walled so I had to
wake and wipe but otherwise a very lightweight and
wonderful shelter. 

The problem I had was with the pole that holds the
foot end up in an
arch...the female side of where the poles fit together
cracked--I
managed to finish the hike without it breaking
completely by using
duct tape (yeah, duct tape!) 

I did not abuse the tent and it was only 2 or 3 years
old; in my
opinion, too soon for that type of failure unless
there was a defect
in the manufacturing. When I contacted SMD, they
wanted nearly $40 to
replace that 3 foot pole. It irritated me so much that
I will not buy
their products again even tho I thought that the tent
was an excellent
shelter.

  I also got a great review from a highly visible
hiker today.  I am going away for the holiday and
won't be able to follow up with my blog, but rest
assured listo will be back at it after the holiday.

feliz navidad listo
--- AsABat <asabat at cox.net> wrote:

> > >>These folks get free gear given to
> > >>them by the manufacturer so they will tout it
> without
> > >>really believing in its durability et
> > 
> > Well, here is one guy (me) who PAID for the SMD
> gear
> > and was rather pleased with the results.
> 
> And here is one guy (me) who got SMD gear (the
> wonderful Europa tent) for FREE and reported (on
> BackpackGearTest) that he had a small problem with a
> tent peg loop pulling out of the seam. I fixed it up
> for the night, and Ron later repaired the fault AND
> redesigned future tents to include extra bartacking
> at the peg loops. I've since had the tent in some
> wild wind storms in the desert and it still works
> great with no problems - one of my favorite tents.
> 
> For unbiased reviews, check out
> www.BackpackGearTest.org. We are allowed to say
> products stink, but only if we objectively say WHY
> they stink. We're always looking for dedicated
> testers, too.
> 
> AsABat
>  
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