Sierra Designs Customer Service

[optimator]

Last month I was camped at the Lava Beds National Monument in Northern California. Around 3 am the 63 mph winds hit :eek:... One of the poles on my SD Alpha ended up bending. I emailed SD and they told me to send it in. They received it on 1/26 & today I received my replacement. No questions asked, they just fixed it. Good stuff :banana

[Ramble~On]

Thanks for sharing that.
I'm leaning towards a Lightning XT 2 and haven't had much to do with SD.
Good to know that they stand behind their stuff and the folks who use it.

[mudhead]

Thanks for that.

Good to know they took care of it, and that a SD 4 season tent folded.

[hootyhoo]

I bought a Sierra Designs sleeping bag many years ago - more than 12 years that I can remember.
I was in the local shop where I bought the bag almost two years later looking at another bag - I mentioned that the 20 degree Sierra Designs I had bought was only good to about 30 and I needed a better bag
The shop salesman informed me that Sierra Designs realized that the synthetic insulation they used was not holding up and that I could bring the bag in for a full refund. I brought it in and no questions asked they refunded me in full.
I have never worn one out, but have had enjoyed Sierra Designs tents. Well made, good designs, and backed by a lifetime warranty. And usually the price is very competitive.
I am using an old Clip Flashlight currently and a friend of mine is still using my old Clip Flashilight as his first and only tent that he has ever owned - I would guess that my first one is about 16 years old - and has seen a lot of use.
They get my vote. Good stuff. Very dependable. A good balance between weight and durability. Great customer service.

[Kanati]

I bought a Sierra Designs sleeping bag many years ago - more than 12 years that I can remember.
I was in the local shop where I bought the bag almost two years later looking at another bag - I mentioned that the 20 degree Sierra Designs I had bought was only good to about 30 and I needed a better bag
The shop salesman informed me that Sierra Designs realized that the synthetic insulation they used was not holding up and that I could bring the bag in for a full refund. I brought it in and no questions asked they refunded me in full.
I have never worn one out, but have had enjoyed Sierra Designs tents. Well made, good designs, and backed by a lifetime warranty. And usually the price is very competitive.
I am using an old Clip Flashlight currently and a friend of mine is still using my old Clip Flashilight as his first and only tent that he has ever owned - I would guess that my first one is about 16 years old - and has seen a lot
of use.
They get my vote. Good stuff. Very dependable. A good balance between weight and durability. Great customer service.

Love my SD Clip Flashlight 2 which I bought last January 08, but when I was reading the instructions and parts list, it called for 9 stakes to erect the tent and vestibule. But it takes 10 to put it up, (8 for the T plus 2 for the V. I called them and had them to call up the instructions on the pc. After reading it they agreed with me and immediately sent me two stakes so I would have an extra. I told the young lady I was talking with to be sure to feed this back to their engineering/production people so it would get corrected.

Someone posted on wb last week that SD has discontinued this tent.

[optimator]

Thanks for that.

Good to know they took care of it, and that a SD 4 season tent folded.
The tent didn't fold. The area I was was in was pretty much all rock. I half assed tied down one corner and the wind got under the tent. My fault, not the tents. Ive had it in similar situations when I took the time to properly stake it out and it's been bomber.

[mudhead]

Good to hear. I had a tent that took wind well with the side tiedowns used, floppy without.

Makes a difference, thanks again for the particulars.

[Alligator]

My experience with them was seven or so years ago. I bought an Omega tent from them. The first one had pinholes in the rainfly and they replaced the tent. However, there were design issues with that model to where it would not sit flat while freestanding. I think it was even model year specific. This was not an isolated problem, it was noted by other users as well. I sent the tent back and they did nothing about it. When I called to question their refusal to do anything about it I had the tent sitting in my backyard. While I was on the phone with them, my cat walked under the bowed bottom of the tent. In other words, the bottom was high enough off the ground for the cat to be interested in walking under it:rolleyes:. I told this to the rep. He told my to saw off a little bit of the tent pole. The tent will lay flat when staked, so it's usable, but freestanding should lay flat.

Like I said it was a few years back now. I understand even good companies can have design flaws and that sometimes mistakes are made in the customer service department.

[gohawks]

My experience with them was in regards to an article of clothing that malfunctioned shortly after purchase, an obvious manufacturing defect. They basically told me tough luck.

It seems everyone has different experiences with different companies. I had great luck with golite and gregory while others haven't.

Gregory and Golite sent small replacement parts out to me at no cost.

Granite Gear charged me .75 for the buckle and $4.00 postage for a small buckle that broke on my kids' pack.