1.) Swamp Fox - 10/08/2017

Does anyone have the Muddy Pro sticks who also has experience with the LWs? Do the V brackets on the Pros pivot anywhere close to what LWs do? I like the LW pivot on weird trees, but I have heard some people say they like the Muddy design better. I don't know what model they refer to when they say that.

I'd like somebody to explain to me why they think the Muddy design is better.

The reason I ask is twofold: I have a little project going on and may want to buy some Muddy Vs if they'll sell them to me. Their website is very weasely when it comes to the question of whether "replacement parts" are available. Danger, legal liability, blah blah blah. What people tell me about the design will determine whether I try to pursue brackets from them or not. I shouldn't have a problem getting Lone Wolf brackets

Secondly, I'm wondering what I'll get back in the mail when I finally get around to returning a Muddy stick I've had for a while. There's been a recall on some 2012 sticks for a while, but I'm just now getting around to dealing with it. I bought one of their sticks to hang stands, because it is double-stepped, and that's just easier physically compared to standing on two staggered steps. The V brackets on them rotates a small amount, but then is restricted by the main tube, so there is much less positioning possible compared to the LWs. I don't know how much practical usefulness is lost, but from experience there is some.

Will I get a stick back with brackets with no, minimal, or unlimited rotation? As far as buying Muddy brackets as parts goes, and depending on what size aluminum tube I can find, I might be able to increase the rotation cpmpared to stock sticks, or rotation might be eliminated altogether. I don't think *increasing* the rotation to match LW is a possibility on a replacement Muddy bracket without a lot of jerry-rigging and experimenting with washers, spacers, etc.

I'd like to know what people think and what to expect before I spend a lot of breath with Muddy trying to buy brackets just because some dude I don't know on the internet thinks they're "better." --- LOL

2.) Swamp Fox - 10/18/2017

So ...

Bringing this back up from circling the drain, because I finally got around to calling Muddy about the recall. They want 24-48 BUSINESS HOURS to respond to my voice mail, LOL. I think if you listen to their outgoing message and form an impression from that, I might be lucky to receive a response sometime next week.

Bonus Good News: Come to find out they won't honor their old treestand strap replacement policy anymore since Big Game (or the holding company) bought them out.

Winning friends and influencing people ...

3.) bluecat - 10/18/2017

All too common. I've got 3 calls in to a company right now that brags on how good their customer support is. I'll never hear from them.

4.) Swamp Fox - 10/18/2017

If they don't get back to me in a reasonable amount of time, I'll strip it for parts and rejigger my project. Might actually work out easier and more versatile this way, and I might skip replacing the stick altogether. The original purchase was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time, but never really did it for me.

It was just so much fluff.

5.) bluecat - 10/18/2017

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;52483]

It was just so much fluff.[/QUOTE]

+2 :wink

6.) Swamp Fox - 10/19/2017

[B][SIZE=2]Maybe You Get Bad Customer Service Because You’re a Bad Customer[/SIZE][/B]



LOL ...

[QUOTE]“What’s wrong with you people?! I just sat in the drive thru for ten minutes and now I have to come in here because you guys can’t understand f*cking English! I ordered this burger with NO ketchup but of course I get it with gobs of ketchup. Unbelievable. This happens every f*cking time!”

Wait, it’s unbelievable yet it happens every time? Hmmm. And your ketchup specifications are this important to you yet you continually come to the one place in town that apparently has a ketchup obsession? There are literally six other fast food joints within a two mile radius, but here you are at the one place that screws up your order “every f*cking time.” Interesting. Logical thinking isn’t exactly your forte, is it?

The poor girl at the counter, who likely had no hand in this ketchup fiasco, offered to give you a new burger, plain and dry, just as you prefer. But that wasn’t good enough, was it? Their failure to obey your demands must be punished.

“No, I don’t want a new burger. Give me your name and the number to corporate. I’m sick of this sh*t. Give me my money back and the number to your corporate office! Why can’t I ever f*cking get good customer service?!”

[url]https://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-walsh/bad-customer-service_b_3799574.html[/url][/QUOTE]

7.) Swamp Fox - 10/27/2017

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;52479]So ...

Bringing this back up from circling the drain, because I finally got around to calling Muddy about the recall. They want 24-48 BUSINESS HOURS to respond to my voice mail, LOL. I think if you listen to their outgoing message and form an impression from that, I might be lucky to receive a response sometime next week.

Bonus Good News: Come to find out they won't honor their old treestand strap replacement policy anymore since Big Game (or the holding company) bought them out.

Winning friends and influencing people ...[/QUOTE]


Well, after 63 business hours without a response, I put in a second call to voice mail. Let's see what happens.

8.) Swamp Fox - 11/02/2017

Update: I got a call back on that second attempt within one or two days that included a phone extension, and a follow-up yesterday that did not. Essentially, though, the instructions were to provide pictures, any number marked on the stick, and information about the posts and brackets via email.

Since I'd been kept waiting this long and their site told me to expect a four-day delay for response to email (!), I wasn't willing to go through that if I didn't have to. Besides, I'd already checked the stick against pictures of the sticks under recall (included in the official recall bulletin) and my stick matched the pictures. If the stick matches the pictures, the notice said, the stick is under recall.

What's left to discuss?

So, I made the call today a little aggravated and with no great expectations of reaching anyone. Must be my lucky day, though, because I did reach someone who was very nice and cut through all the nonsense. Turns out that since my stick does have a stamped number and because my stand-off brackets do rotate, my stick is NOT actually under recall. I explained a second time that my stick matches the recall notice, and was told that the deciding factors are the manufacturer's stamp and that my brackets rotate, apparently two signs that my stick was made after the recalled batch.

Wish they'd put that info in the recall notice instead of putting people though all the fuss, but I guess that's corporate America in the 21st century.

Something made me slow-walk this whole thing since finding out about the recall years ago, and maybe somewhere along the line I'd picked up the idea that I didn't have to worry about the stick I had for some reason, but at this point I don't know what that could have been. It's almost as likely that since I wasn't really using the stick much, I wasn't all hot and bothered to prioritize its replacement.

But anyhoo, maybe this info will help someone who has a stick and doesn't know what's going on. You can find the recall notice with pics online, and it wouldn't hurt to email Muddy to confirm the info I've given above about a mfr stamp and rotating brackets.

9.) Swamp Fox - 11/02/2017

BTW, I did completely forget to ask about replacement parts during my phone conversation.. :bang: :tap:

I guess I'll try that through email, LOL.

10.) bluecat - 11/02/2017

Glad you found some closure on that. Have a Fresca on me.

11.) Swamp Fox - 11/02/2017

Not complete closure.

I can't find replacement straps for Big Game's Stagger Steps anywhere (they are under Muddy's brand now) and the bracket project isn't completely dead yet, though it is circling the drain.

It'll be interesting if Muddy won't support the Stagger Steps. I can't find custom straps so far, which means sooner or later people will be tying their steps with their own rope and knots.

That can't end well.