This summer, I experienced a tent pole failure on a new MSR Hubba Hubba. In essence, the adhesive that held the inserts on the poles to form the male ends broke, rendering the poles useless. This degree of carelessness in an MSR tent is shocking.
I sent an online form to Cascade Designs a month ago, but other than an automated response, I haven’t heard anything from them. There’s no other method to get in touch with them except completing this form, which takes, allegedly, more than a month to be reviewed.
It’s really sad to watch a brand like this give in to the all-around enshittification of bland, generic corporate mediocrity.
Does anyone know how to get in touch with them?
It seems like I have no method to deal with my useless tent.I also intend to upgrade my hammock.
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I’ve never seen glue used to hold the end/caps of poles in place, they’re typically just held in place by the tension of the cord. Are you sure the poles don’t just need new shock cord? I’ve replaced the cord on a Hubba Hubba before, it’s easy.
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A cylindrical insert in the poles forms the male end. Although it is a distinct piece that is cemented in place, it appears to be a part of the pole. It is traversed by the shock cord. A few of the inserts slid up the pole and became caught inside because the glue failed on some of them. Something annoying to find out after a hard day of tent-setting in the woods.
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Ah, I see, yeah that makes more sense – sounds like it’s the inner that mates two segments of pole, like this. Are they the Easton Syclone poles? Think I’ve heard MSR has had issues with those. If they don’t step up and offer resolution, Tent Pole Tech could probably repair them (but for a fee).
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Today, I was reading several reviews on Thermarest, and many of them mentioned the startling reaction I received from customer service (along with numerous valve problems). Very unsettling.
It seems that people who had written unfavorable assessments of the products had later succeeded in getting in touch with customer support. It’s fantastic that they received a response, but it’s also shameful that the corporation had to shame its customers before offering assistance.
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On its first use, the new platypus gravity filter I bought leaked along the seams. had the same situation after submitting a warranty request to Cascade in late April. Received an automatic reply; nothing more has happened since. Fortunately, I already had a working filter; this was just an addition to my kit. But that irritates me a lot. I would not have been able to play for the entire season if I had been depending on that filter.
