Omega Pacific Link Cams

i see nothing wrong with the mr williams posting up a lack of response if he waited a certain time with no follow up

im a fan of LCs and have not had any poor experiences with OP ... but as a consumer of their products, i would like to know about their customer service or issues with the product

for example ive had issues for example with dead bird harnesses, certain fanboys will call you liars or worse for mentioning any issues with their favorite brand, but the reality is that dead bird beefed up the lower tie in loop and drop seat on their new models

personally i buy much of my gear from mec/rei to avoid having to deal with manufacturer's customer service

Kind of have to take a contributor's history and credibility into account. I do not post randomly nor often on Mountain Project. Those on this site who have climbed with me, know I actually climb more than just talking about it, alpine, waterfall ice, rock, etc. I rarely, if ever, have started a thread about gear despite climbing for several decades and being quite active on line via providing climbing beta on routes.

Because I am 48 and have been around a bit. I do have a REI member number, 036096842-W. That should be a bit old no? I have had direct conversations with an active President of REI before though regarding improving their company. Cannot remember the last time I bought any gear from them at all really...so fair enough they should not consider me a customer I suppose, but I am a member. I am not an avatar and used my real name on the review. My name is easily and quickly googled. They should not be deleting reviews like this in my opinion. It was quite accurate, has legitimacy and was made by a member with a legitimate name and member number.

This is my last resort. I agree it is unfortunate. The only thing more unfortunate, would be for me to retire my links over this experience....and not share it with others if I in fact I do have a concern the company is possibly avoiding an issue. When you are trad climbing, one critical failure can cause harm to the whole system. One needs a bit of experience to understand the forces at play, will let everyone study and learn that on another thread or with their mentors. Every piece has to be trusted to a certain reasonable level.

What was the goal of your repetitive rant here? 99% of people coming to this thread were hoping to glean some information about what might of happened to your cam, and you are repeatedly refusing to provide such information. So OP hasn't responded to you (yet), so REI deleted your non-informative and highly muckraking 'review', so what? I could think of many ways you could have provided more information, without being speculative, that would have helped the community and given buyers some valuable information, but you haven't. If I were you, I'd try to look at this from anyone's perspective other than your own, and act accordingly.

And for full disclosure, I own one gold link cam and I've never had issues with it, besides it nearly getting stuck a few times...

Colin Parker wrote:What was the goal of your repetitive rant here? 99% of people coming to this thread were hoping to glean some information about what might of happened to your cam, and you are repeatedly refusing to provide such information. So OP hasn't responded to you (yet), so REI deleted your non-informative and highly muckraking 'review', so what? I could think of many ways you could have provided more information, without being speculative, that would have helped the community and given buyers some valuable information, but you haven't. If I were you, I'd try to look at this from anyone's perspective other than your own, and act accordingly. And for full disclosure, I own one gold link cam and I've never had issues with it, besides it nearly getting stuck a few times...

Gotta agree, you still haven't said what HAPPENED to the cam, only you were displeased with how CS has dealt with it so far. These are two vastly different issues.

With your stated experience you should be able to provide a well thought out description of WHAT exactly occurred with the cam along with your thoughts on all of it. REI and any other web seller can't "vet" every poster online. EVERYONE will (or should) take a post online with a HUGE heap of salt. This especially true of those who don't have a large body of "online work" from which to base an opinion. You could be a true MASTER of the vertical world but no one knows that. Certain other posters online (very few I might add) have, for me, established themselves as well versed and reasonable people who's online postings I value and take to heart. RGold and Jim Titt come to mind. There are others of course. The other 99.9% of people are just other names on the screen.

Damn if this isn't a coincidence...

RC.com Link Cam failure post from April, 16th.

Dow Williams wrote: This is my last resort.

I assume since this is your last resort you called OP, maybe sent an email, and got no response? Or as you said they "refused to comment" when you talked to them?

Has he stated anywhere how long he waited for a response from OP? Did Dow just mail the cam out and put this post up the next day or wait a week or what?
I mean if you want an in depth analysis of why it broke it might take longer then a few days. And probably need more information then you gave them.
Do you expect them to just right away say 'oh yeah that is a defect with the cams!' If it is something new that you brought to their attention they will want to do some Quality control tests on a sampling of other cams to see if it is a real problem or if it was just a bad placement or something. That stuff takes time to figure out and especially if it could be a huge problem for the company, they will want to make sure their response is correct before making an official statement.

Hombre,

You've got to work on your editing and presentation!

Your original post made it unclear exactly what your gripe was because it's so hard to read, and your refusal to give up at least the story or provide relevant data such as the time elapsed since you got in touch with OP is more aggravating than thought provoking.

We want to care about the alleged unresponsiveness of Omega Pacific, but we can't care until we know more about the situation!

Ya gotta provide the details of what's actually happening, and work on your writing!

Great story!! Thanks for explaining the placement, fall distance, and the photos of the broken cam and description of how it failed were great. It was especially interesting since it wasn't the kind of placement Omega Pacific have already publicly stated can lead to a failure.

.... oh wait, we got none of that. So you're just wasting our time.

mattm wrote:

Send that to me. I can fix it good as new for a small fee. All work guaranteed.

John Wilder wrote:OP and Dow should be in touch by now- I chatted with OP this am and they're addressing the issue as we speak.

John is correct. My "last resort" did get their attention. I have received an email indicating they are now interested in the issue. I will withhold my opinion or any other statements on the matter until I have completed any communication with the appropriate parties. Everything I have stated thus far is factual. I don't speculate when it comes to forensics on gear on the internet with avatars. If I was talking to you in person, it would obviously be different. You can keep bouncing back and forth between yourselves, but I will wait to see what OP does from this point forward. I will report back once I get their opinion on the cam based on my observations in the field.

So we are clear, I of anyone, would rather not lose faith in the link cams and retire my lot. I would much rather keep them in use and never hesitate to reach for them. Their versatility saves me considerable ounces on big alpine routes. In my opinion, I had given OP more than adequate time to respond and/or at least acknowledge receipt of the cam. Better late than never is acceptable in this case of course.

Lucidity and Clarity. They're not just words that both end in "y". Look up the definitions and start incorporating the concepts into your everyday communication. You'll thank me later.

Seriously - this was the most circular, continuous string of nonsensical and oddly-worded posts I've read yet on MP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtNHuqHWefU

Hello, All ...

I'm the sales & marketing director for Omega Pacific and found this thread on Wednesday. We're pretty prompt to respond to any returns--particularly when there could be broken gear involved--so I was alarmed to read it.

I looked into it right away and found that we'd received Dow's cam a week earlier--on the 17th--and called him twice, leaving him a message that he, apparently didn't receive. I contacted Dow via email on Wednesday, though, and we exchanged a couple of messages about what had happened and his cam was repaired and returned that day.

The nature of the damage to the cam was a pair of broken trigger cables, which is unfortunate and certainly inconvenient, but not all together uncommon. Sometimes, when cables get bent near the swage, they become brittle and fibers can break. We replaced all four cables with freshies, gave the cam a tune-up and sent it back to him within about eight days of receiving it.

Everything seems to have gone according to our return policies on this one, save that Dow didn't get the phone message we sent him on the 18th, and we regret that. We're glad, though, that the damage to the cam was not structural, an easy fix and was returned within 10 days, as per our typical turnaround goal.

We are always available to discuss any concerns or questions about our gear, so please feel free to contact me at the coordinates below.

--Lane
Omega Pacific
info@omegapac.com (attn: Lane in subject line)
1.800.360.3990

In the end this thread will go down as one of the best 'awww deeeaaamnnn' threads on this site :-) I think now we know the real reason why more information wasn't furnished up front.

I can't believe Omega Pacific even dealt with the guys broken trigger wire. One of my Metolius cams has a frayed trigger wire that I repaired with climbing tape. Should I be posting vague gear failure reports on every site that will allow it?

JohnWesely wrote:I can't believe Omega Pacific even dealt with the guys broken trigger wire. One of my Metolius cams has a frayed trigger wire that I repaired with climbing tape. Should I be posting vague gear failure reports on every site that will allow it?

I called them up for a replacement trigger wire kit and they had me send in the cam and fixed it along with a good cam cleaning. I had it back in a week with no charge for the service. This was on a three or four year cam that has been heavily used. I have found their customer service outstanding.

I don't carry the Red and Yellow much anymore. I have found the purple and green ones invaluable on my rack.

Dow Williams wrote: John is correct. My "last resort" did get their attention. I have received an email indicating they are now interested in the issue. I will withhold my opinion or any other statements on the matter until I have completed any communication with the appropriate parties. Everything I have stated thus far is factual. I don't speculate when it comes to forensics on gear on the internet with avatars. If I was talking to you in person, it would obviously be different. You can keep bouncing back and forth between yourselves, but I will wait to see what OP does from this point forward. I will report back once I get their opinion on the cam based on my observations in the field. So we are clear, I of anyone, would rather not lose faith in the link cams and retire my lot. I would much rather keep them in use and never hesitate to reach for them. Their versatility saves me considerable ounces on big alpine routes. In my opinion, I had given OP more than adequate time to respond and/or at least acknowledge receipt of the cam. Better late than never is acceptable in this case of course.

I find it strange/interesting/scary that you climb "big alpine routes" yet you can't tell the difference between a structural vs non-structural part of the cam. It's a damn trigger wire!

MichaelLane wrote:The nature of the damage to the cam was a pair of broken trigger cables

Colin Parker wrote:In the end this thread will go down as one of the best 'awww deeeaaamnnn' threads on this site :-) I think now we know the real reason why more information wasn't furnished up front.

100% agree. If you go back and re-read Dow's posts, all the while knowing it's a broken TRIGER WIRE, one realizes the level of teenage melodrama he spewed about NOTHING.

Seriously? You retired your entire rack of link cams because OP didn't get back to you within a WEEK about a broken trigger wire?

To Quote Boomer - "C'mon Man!"