Sleeping Bag update - Am I over reacting?

[trailwobbles]

SIMPLE QUESTION:
When we talked about bags under $100 last time no one really talked about TNF. I found a TNF Womens Aleutian 3s 20 deg synth bag that I'm thinking about. Any advice?More Involved Question:
So a kindly whiteblazer read my last post about finding a sleeping bag under 100 bucks and thoughtfully shot me an e-mail informing me about a sale SportsChalet was having on an older version of the Kelty Cosmic Down 20 for like 90 bucks. Great deal so I jumped on it and ordered two.

The "Order Support" department just contacted me and said it was a programming error and that the bags had been out of stock for months! They were sorry but there was nothing they could do.

I get that - I'm not unreasonable. I mean, I was super bummed but what ever, I'm in retail planning, I know errors can be made. They told me I needed to speak to customer service about other options, and that they couldn't transfer me - I would have to call them.

OK whatever, I call back, get through the menu and speak to some kid who sounds like they couldn't give a crap. I wanted help finding something comparable. Didn't have to be the exact same price, hell I might have even gone higher if they could work with me a little...throw in an inconvenience discount, you know, normal retail placating. Kid said it might be good if I looked around the site instead and got back to him - he was trying to get me off the phone. I said hold on, help me find another bag. He said look at the new Kelty Cosmic Down for 150. I said, that was too high, he said 10% off and he couldn't do better.

Kid couldn't even tell me if my card had been charged the first time or not. I'm just so under-whlemed with customer service right now.

I know they have to hit their margins and I wasn't asking for the world, it just seems like these people didn't want to make a sale. I'm thinking about calling back, asking for a manager, but I wonder if I'm not justified in asking for a higher discount on another product. Tell me if I'm over reacting - I'm too afraid of being a B****

Thanks

[trailwobbles]

Also what about Marmot Trestles 30 Degrees?

[HooKooDooKu]

When I ordered a Copper Spur UL2 from Campsaver.com during a year-end clearance... I too got a message to the effect of "sorry, we accepted your order but it turns out we're already sold out". But in Campsaver's case, one option they gave me was to wait for the new model year to arrive in stock and have it shipped out. The only caviot was that they had to wait to ensure their cost from the manufacturer had not gone up.

So if I were you, I would at least call, talk to a manager, and play the "you accepted the order" and "this is your mistake not mine" cards and specifically ask if their cost on the new model had gone up. If it has, offer to pay the difference in the old cost and the new cost to get the order fulfilled. Otherwise, I'd write them off my list of retailers I would do business with.

Let us know...

[bamboo bob]

I never heard of TNF. They seem to a Cabelas thing. I like CAbelas but they are not known for durable light weight equipment. Dicks has North Face bags for about $100=125.

[trailwobbles]

I never heard of TNF. They seem to a Cabelas thing. I like CAbelas but they are not known for durable light weight equipment. Dicks has North Face bags for about $100=125.

I'm sorry Bamboo Bon, TNF= The North Face ;-)

Sorry!

[bigcranky]

If it were me I would give up on the Sports Chalet order. They've amply demonstrated their level of customer service.

There seem to be a lot of 20-F Rated synthetic bags out there for around $100. My first "real" backpacking bag was just this sort of bag, and REI brand on one of their quarterly sales for maybe $80 or so. That was awhile ago, but if you're willing to put up with the size, bulk, and weight of that sort of bag, they are all about the same in terms of warmth and quality. TNF certainly makes a decent bag.

In all honesty, you're probably overthinking this. I do it all the time. :)

At some future date you'll have the funds for a nice $400 down bag, and you can agonize over the real differences in brands and models. But this choice isn't really as hard, given that they are all so similar. That Aleutian looks pretty good for the pruce, and TNF has a good rep for bags.

Happy trails!

[Venchka]

Campmor has the bag for $80. Maybe. Place the order over the phone. Verify they have it and will ship it. Then fork over a card number. Are you sure you want a 4 pound bag? I found this with a 10 second GOOGLE search. Campmor is reliable. IF THEY HAVE THE BAG.

http://www.campmor.com/kelty-women-39-s-cosmic-20-degree-sleeping-bag-regular.shtml?source=CI&ci_sku=43192&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=

Good luck.

Wayne

[Venchka]

Look at all of the sub-$100 bags Campmor has. The Mistral is lighter than the Cosmic and $5 cheaper.

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___41065?cm_vc=PDPZ1

You're welcome.

Wayne

[Franco]

If my calculations are correct, that TNF bag is about 17L (about 1000 cu inches) so about 1/3rd of a 60L pack or 1/4 of a 70L pack.
That is a lot of volume for one item particularly if you are not going to use it around the given temps.
(just a thought...)

[terryg49]

try ebay. There are some very good deals to be had there. I've purchased nearly new items at a fraction of the new cost.

[trailwobbles]

***UPDATE***
SportChalet finally helped me out with a good deal on some mountain hardwear gear. A mountain hardwear petaluma 20 for me and a mountain hardwear pinole 20 for him. They gave me a crazy good deal that I didn't even ask for. I mean CRAZY good. Hope there aren't any holes in the bags or something.

Will update once they come in.

Thanks for your help everyone.

[HikerMom58]

Great trailwobbles! Hoping for the perfect happy ending for ya! :)

[Hot Flash]

Kid couldn't even tell me if my card had been charged the first time or not. I'm just so under-whlemed with customer service right now.


So why didn't you log into your CC account or bank account online and see if you'd been charged?

[mirabela]

Good, looks like it came out OK. FWIW, we have the TNF Aleutian 20F bags -- got them very cheap (~$65) from Sunny Sports when our old REI bags started to lose loft. They're OK - they're warm, puffy, cheap, and competitively light within this bracket - but they are quite bulky. Not a complete deal-killer, but they definitely take up more pack room than many competitors in this market. They almost remind me of the old Slumberjack products from the '80's.

[Wise Old Owl]

I never heard of TNF. They seem to a Cabelas thing. I like CAbelas but they are not known for durable light weight equipment. Dicks has North Face bags for about $100=125.

Hey BB lets agree not to promote Dicks. They sell Camping gear to the masses... there is nothing of value or not freezing your butt off.. Seriously - I worked there for 6 months-great place to shop - horrible to work there... nothing to see other than back of car camping.