cool_hardware52
Contributor
It's important, especially for the manufacturer, to see the issue from the OP's perspective, regardless of how one feels about the situation. The OP states he's been using wings for over a decade (he's GUE Cave 2 since 2001, so hardly someone unfamiliar with such gear) and had his first bladder failure earlier this year. He sends his wing in and pays the $50 replacement cost (plus shipping both ways). He gets it back and before he does even one dive on it, he notices another bladder failure (which he's asked to pay *another* $50+shipping to fix).
Sure, it's certainly possible (and even probable) that this is just a case of really bad luck. The OP went several hundred dives without any wing/bladder issues, but had bladder failures back to back. Is it possible Tobin missed something when he shipped the wing back or the bladder was damaged in shipping?
We date code our bladders. The OP originally purchased the wings in early 2010. He first returned the wing about 2 months ago. We replaced the bladder with a new bladder with a 2011 date code. After the OP had possession of the wing for 2 months he again returned it with another obvious pinch flat. The damaged bladder had the 2011 date code. The damage is *exactly* where one would expect it to be if a back plate was dropped on the wing.
To suggest that we changed his original (2010 bladder) with a new 2011 bladder and somehow pinched it before we returned it to him, or replaced his bladder with a damaged 2011 bladder is really a stretch.
If we had indeed returned a wing with a hole in it why does it take 2 months for this to be discovered?
We test all wings, new and repaired before shipment. We *know* how to package a wing to prevent damage in shipment, and this wing was returned by itself, no back plate was even in the same box.
How does a wing suffer the exact damage one would expect from dropping a plate on it, when it is packaged in a box without a back plate? Beats me. Space aliens maybe.
Something is happening to these wings *after* they leave DSS, and throwing free parts at the problem won't solve it until that *something* is changed.
All wings suffer pinch flats. If you doubt this then why does every reputable wing offer replacement bladders for sale?
Tobin