ibarash

I've had spectacular luck with Cloudveil's customer service. I trashed their pants bushwacking this summer, sent them back, and got sent (for free!) a new pair of pants, a brand new ice floe jacket, and promises of their new spring line when it comes out, so I can see if I can trash them again. I'd bet that if you send those gloves back, Cloudveil will treat you right.

Hi all, Thanks for all the responses, and all opinions. Just wanted to clarify a few points: 1) I posted this to the group as a warning, so that people do not do as I foolishly did and trust oral promises to get important gear from Nunatak in time for a big trip. Whether it is Tom's fault or his sewers or the postal service is really none of my business. Tom originally agreed to get the bag to us 1.5 weeks ahead of when we were leaving. Being told 5.5 days ahead of time that it was not going to come, is unacceptable. An apology from the person who took the order (and just happend to be the owner) and a refund was the minimum necessary recompense, and Nunatak went no further. 2) I have no doubt about the quality of Nunatak's gear. I am extremely disappointed that I will be unable to take his product with us on our trip. 3) Alternatives to this bag are difficult to come by, especially when you live (as I do) outside of the NW. Ah ha, you say, why are you posting here when you don't even live here?? I'm from Seattle, starting climbing there, and I still consider it my home. Anyone have any suggestions where to get good dual person down sleeping bags besides Nunatak? I'd love to know for future reference. Ilona

Sorry in advance about the length of this post. For those of you that haven't heard of Nunatak, it is a small company based in Twisp, WA specializing in premium lightweight down climbing gear: sleeping bags, jackets, pants, booties. My boyfriend and I are planning a 3.5 week climbing expedition to the Brooks Range Alaska which leaves in a few days. 1.5 months ago, we ordered a dual alpinist sleeping bag from Tom at Nunatak, with the guarantee that it would be recieved in time for our trip. Being a bit of an anal person, I checked in with Tom periodically between then and now, inquiring about the status of the bag. I was repeatedly assured that all was well, and that I would be getting the bag with time to spare. Then earlier today I get the following message from Tom: "Ilona. Just received the package that was to contain your bag. it was not included after speaking with Seattle sewing again, looks like it did not get sewn by her for some reason or another. as none of this matters to you, ill be crediting your card this afternoon. I cant believe I dropped the ball on this for you, you have my most sincere and regrettable apologies. I hope your trip is going to proceed with a backup. nonetheless, I do not blame you for not recommending Nunatak to your associates. good luck, tom" So, since he has given me permission to not recommend Nunatak to my associates, here I am, posting to the greater climbing community. Here was my response to Tom, sent just a few minutes ago: "Tom -- I am shocked. What a surprise... I almost don't know where to start. In spite of the numerous emails back and forth, the numerous times I have asked on the status of the bag and you have confirmed to me that all is going well and I "should have one fine bag" in the next little while, 1.5 months after the order was placed I find out that the bag wasn't even sewn???? That means that every time you said that all was going well, you were not telling the truth. You probably did not have a chance to actually check on status of the bag in person, and just assumed that your "sew-er" was doing his or her job. But that leaves me in a very awkward position. We were, as I have said before, counting on the bag and therefore counting on your word and your company's name to provide us with what I thought would be the perfect product for our trip to Alaska. We will find an alternative, but we would have been much more able to find a better alternative had you told us 3 weeks ago that you would not be able to get us the product. As it is now, we have 5.5 days. Completely unacceptable. One of the most appealing things to me about your company (in addition to your fine products) was the personal attention from someone who was (I thought) clearly in touch with needs of mountaineers and climbers, and therefore aware of the time and design constraints involved. Every ounce is counted, every piece of equipment is optimized on a trip like we will be taking in a few days. Your product was an important element to the whole equation. I think you need to fire "Seattle sewing" as a first step, and secondly you need to reevaluate your statements and priorities. If you cannot do something for someone, give them time to come up with alternatives. Double check everything you do before you make commitments to people. I have no doubt that your products are high quality and well designed. We obviously made a mistake in not ordering the sleeping bag from you 2 months in advance, instead of 1.5 months. But you said it could be done, and 3 weeks ago you said that all was going well. As I said before, I'm shocked. Ilona" Take from this what you will...