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View Full Version : got some new toys yesterday...



Creeky73
10 February 2009, 13:29
I wanted to take a minute to prattle on about a couple of products I received yesterday that I am sure most of you are familiar with. I have a Rock River Arms TASC model that I have added onto a bit, and yesterday I got my Bobro vertical grip, and Gear Sector two-point sling. I am very happy with both products.

For anyone who is contemplating the Bobro grip, and you are not sure about which length to get, I opted for the full size version, and it is not nearly as large as I thought it would be, which is a good thing. I was concerned it might be too long overall but the bottom of the grip is just visible at the bottom of my hand when gripping it, and I think the shorty version might have been a tad uncomfortable to me in hindsight. It seems to be very well made, however I would like to see a torture test review on the grip to see how well this polymer holds up to heavy impacts. One thing of note: be careful when trying to torque down the cap to tighten it onto your rail. The corners of the edges of the slot on the bottom literally cut my hand and drew blood.

The sling from Gear Sector is as high quality as the guys on this forum have said. It was a booger getting the quick detach mounts onto the auxiliary ends that came with the sling. I would suggest dropping the extra cash to get the QD adaptors if you intend on using QD's, it will make things much cleaner and easier, but I am very satisfied with the product. It seems to be very well made, and the plastics on the dark earth sling I ordered are a very, very close match to the Magpul flat dark earth color. This was not the case with the Omega Rail I purchased in flat dark earth. It was more bronze, and left me wishing I had gotten the black version instead. Anyhoo...

One other thing to mention. I ordered the Bobro part on a Sunday night. I ordered the Gear Sector sling the following Thursday night. I received them both on the same day. Bobro's website stated that all orders would ship same day if received before 3 p.m. and that emails with tracking numbers would follow. This did not appear to be the case in my situation. I received an email on Tuesday from Bobro that my package had shipped, but it should have left on Monday. I also never got a tracking number from them. Gear Sector not only shipped my package next day, but I received the tracking information, and also got an email from Jason almost as soon as I had the package in my hand, asking if I had received everything ok. In other words, I received the same fantastic customer service from Gear Sector and Jason as many other users here have had, and I wish more people did business the way he does. Quality, American-made products with great service to boot, hell I would have paid double for the sling in hindsight. Dont get me wrong about Bobro, I'm not suggesting anyone to not do business with them or anything like that, I may still order an aimpoint mount from them, I just didn't get the same warm-fuzzy that I got from Gear Sector. Bobro did not charge shipping and it took a week, so overall I can't complain too much.

Army Chief
10 February 2009, 13:42
Sounds like Bobro just needed a day to catch up with weekend orders -- not sure what is amiss there, quite honestly. From a retailer's standpoint, there is often is a world of difference between a Sunday order and a Thursday order, but in any event, I'm confined to APO shipping at the moment, so things like tracking numbers and confirmation e-mails are still largely the stuff of fantasy to me. I'm deliriously happy if I can just get a vendor to ship to me without running afoul of ITARs. ;)

AC

Creeky73
10 February 2009, 13:59
the worst experience I had was back around august or so last year with Magpul...they kept me waiting for about 2 months on a MIAD, but told me several times "it will be there next week." I was contemplating ordering a UBR stock, but when I saw that my ETA for it was going to be "it will be there when it gets there" I decided to get the CTR and save a few bones in the process. I'm sure I could have ordered the MIAD from any number of online stores and had it sooner, but I do like ordering direct from manufacturer when I can, especially if it is the same price as retail stores. In either Magpul or Borbro's case, the product is worth the wait.

SHIHAN
11 February 2009, 12:08
the worst experience I had was back around august or so last year with Magpul...they kept me waiting for about 2 months on a MIAD, but told me several times "it will be there next week." I was contemplating ordering a UBR stock, but when I saw that my ETA for it was going to be "it will be there when it gets there" I decided to get the CTR and save a few bones in the process. I'm sure I could have ordered the MIAD from any number of online stores and had it sooner, but I do like ordering direct from manufacturer when I can, especially if it is the same price as retail stores. In either Magpul or Borbro's case, the product is worth the wait.

As a manufactuer I can understand where thay are coming from. The supplier says you will have it by this date. We then give the customer a little time added on and when it comes time still no product fromt he supplier. They give many excuses and another deliver on date and it happens again except with some other BS. So yes its ultimately the company that takes the heat but there is alot going on in the background thats hard to see.

Army Chief
11 February 2009, 13:36
Little wonder that Magpul has since adopted a policy of not announcing anything -- and I mean anything -- until they actually have it sitting on the loading dock.

AC

bigcoastie
11 February 2009, 13:57
It's a good policy but I'd have to say they take it too far. I understand they don't want to break people's hearts by telling them it's going to be done by a certain date etc. and when that comes and they haven't delivered it creates a problem, but as of late it's just gotten to the point where it seems to be the answer to everything.

Creeky73
11 February 2009, 16:23
During one of the phone calls I placed to Magpul inquiring about my order, someone who seemed fairly knowledgeable answered the phone, other than the regular receptionist girl I usually got. He was pretty nice, and explained that one of the reasons why they were running behind is because every one of those MIADs are hand cut and fitted, so it isn't like they can just flip a switch and produce more. It was nice to get something a little more detailed than "hold please.....ok, you'll get it next week. bye." And again, I am not really disappointed with Bobro or anything, and I didn't mean to make it sound like I was complaining, I just wanted to point out how happy I was with Gear Sector.

Army Chief
11 February 2009, 22:38
I think your point is a valid one, and the intent was clear enough. In a sense, I think a lot of this goes back to the idea that we're generally OK with delays and shipping issues, provided we have some idea what is going on. After all, who among us really doesn't want to know more about what's going on behind the scenes, right?

I guess the issue at hand is simply that, whether you're talking about Magpul and the MIAD (or ACS), or VLTOR and the Fortis, or something else entirely, it is probably unrealistic to expect a company to be able to give every customer an in-depth primer on their R&D and production issues. Of course, because we share a common interest in such things, it is inevitable that we should actually like to know as much as possible, so it is always going to be frustrating when the wall goes up.

As far as business practices go, it's certainly not unreasonable to play one's cards close to the vest, but for every one of us who would use these kinds of updates as a pretext for waiting patiently, there are probably 3 or 4 malcontents who would -- and do -- hit the net with disparaging remarks about how they ordered "x" on such-and-such a date, and still haven't received their widget.* Little wonder that businesses tend to remain tight-lipped these days ... which is unfortunate for those of us who have a passion for knowing what is actually going on behind the curtain.

AC

* Lest there be any misunderstanding, there is zero correlation in my mind between this remark, and your opening post in this thread, Creek.