Clam Qulity Control Questionable

[justafisherman]

I would return it. You are never going to have peace of mind that it won't fail as soon as the warranty expires.

I would return it if I could. The cost of the shipping from Canada doesn't make it viable unfortunately. I have it for sale. Ive set it up in my garage. At least who ever buys it will see what they get. Not if ,but when they question the substandard workmanship, Ill show them the letter from Clam. Ive had a few accuse me of having the shelter repaired ,do to the bad sew job . I still cant believe they inspected this shelter and had the audacity to send it to me . The other sad part is Clam has you cut out all the logos and zippers on the defective tent(which I donated to my local Outdoor store, just in case a fellow fisherman comes in looking for a pole or hub). To make sure no one is using a defective shelter and giving them a bad name . Well the one they sent me has to be the worst form of advertisement they can get.

[DTro]

Got any pics you can post?   

[mono_mono]

I sold my two year old Clam Kanai to the guy at the bait shop for half of what I paid for it. If I live to be 100, I'll never understand why they come with no anchoring system?

[icefisher5308]

Every company has their faults. I have had good experience with clam products as well as other companies. It sounds like this post is just here to whine. Just saying...

[Sharkeytimberwarp]

one time at the beach this guy was swimming in the ocean yelling Help! Shark! Help! I just laughed, I knew that shark wasn't going to help him.

[justafisherman]

Every company has their faults. I have had good experience with clam products as well as other companies. It sounds like this post is just here to whine. Just saying...

People like you are the reason I hesitate to post anything.

[3300]

one time at the beach this guy was swimming in the ocean yelling Help! Shark! Help! I just laughed, I knew that shark wasn't going to help him.

so what happened to the guy in trouble yelling at the shark?

thanks for joining us.

[Sharkeytimberwarp]

Shark was mad was he caught him and his shark wife kissing behind a reef. They started to talk it out but the dude got cut on one of the rocks and started to bleed. You know how the rest goes with blood and sharks.

He gone...

[hawg]

I work here with a guy that thinks Clam has great products and customer service. He sent a copy of the thread to Clam for a heads up. It sure sounds like thre's another side to justafishermans postings. In all fairness the question needs to be asked- Have they replaced 4 houses for you in the past over trivial complaints? I only complain about my personal problems with a company. If Clam's side of this story is true, they have done a pretty good job for you and your posts are extremely twisted. Bash for honest reasons, not just to bash. You have 6 total postings and You've had 6 posts this thread bashing Clam.?/? This is starting to sound a little fishy even to me. Holy Cow, now I'm sticking up for Clam! What's right is right I guess.

[BackCountry Kyle]

Just a note... My son had the tip of his Jason Mitchell Elite Series 24" walleye rod bend down and disconnect from the rod in one spot. He just received it as a Christmas present. I emailed them last night, got a reply this morning and they are sending a replacement. Very kind folks that absolutely understood why I didn't want to attempt to fix it myself... That just earned CLAM an A+ in my grade book. My son is amazed and stoked!

[justafisherman]

I work here with a guy that thinks Clam has great products and customer service. He sent a copy of the thread to Clam for a heads up. It sure sounds like thre's another side to justafishermans postings. In all fairness the question needs to be asked- Have they replaced 4 houses for you in the past over trivial complaints? I only complain about my personal problems with a company. If Clam's side of this story is true, they have done a pretty good job for you and your posts are extremely twisted. Bash for honest reasons, not just to bash. You have 6 total postings and You've had 6 posts this thread bashing Clam.?/? This is starting to sound a little fishy even to me. Holy Cow, now I'm sticking up for Clam! What's right is right I guess.

Did you ever ask the  question ,why would Clam  send out 4 tents? The answer is , they were all defective. I never said I hated any one at Clam or had a problem with them. I actually gave them praise. I'm complaining about the quality control in China. Every one in this forum has a right to voice their opinion in a respectful manner.  I'm only stating the true facts . Read my original post and you will see. The only fishy thing you should smell is the bait on your hook my friend.

[mono_mono]

Who cares if the OP is new here - There are numerous posters here who ARE NOT new who don't think to much about Clam either. They could be building better shanty's or selling them for less based on what I am reading....

[hnd]

clam was super high quality as far as i'm concerned 10-15 years ago.  all the older items i've used i've thought were real well done.  the last 3 or 4 years their products have just gone to turdsville.  the quality on my older 1 man is way above what i see in stores today.   i asked for and received 3 pairs of clam gloves 2 years ago.  i only asked for a pair but 3 people in my family bought them for me. instead of return them i thought, i can certainly use multiple pairs of gloves right!?  wrong.  all 3 pairs all 3 clam all 3 different models, all 3 fell apart.  within a year of normal use.  it was absurd. 

i've bought other clam products out of need (its all the bait shops carried around me) and most of it was junk (bobbers, lights, etc etc) 

i've wrote them off.  i'm a fan of pre trap link units for tents.  but i wouldn't buy a newer one.

[DTro]

There is a big difference between customer service and quality control.   We all seen what happened when they sent out a bunch of tents sold as 4000 XLT’s when they were essentially 2000’s, and I’m sure a lot of you were stung by the whole drill adapter gear box debacle.   If they were manufacturing this stuff right here on their own rather than contracting it out from China, (or even worse yet, just slapping their sticker on Chinese mass produced junk) I bet the products would be a whole lot better.    I had a tent light/fan/combo several years ago which was obviously a sticker job since about 5 or 6 different companies had the same exact thing.  The thing just kept dying on me after only a couple of trips, I’d call them and they would send me a new one and another and another.  Finally the 4th time it failed, I said forget it I don’t want it anymore, so yeah I can empathize with the op just at a much smaller financial hit.

[Yoopergirl]

I've had several hooks pull out of jigs and attractors (glass rattle tubes/rhinestones) fall off of Clam jigs.  Won't buy them anymore.

[justafisherman]

Thank you everyone for your support.  I appreciate the honesty . I hope Clam was forwarded this thread as mentioned by hawg . If they really cared about their loyal customers  they would right the wrong with me and many others .

[wyogator]

Thank YOU justafisherman for starting this thread and alerting people on this site to the declining quality control of Clam. This is unacceptable.  I bought an Eskimo Quick Fish 3 because I had an Eskimo Quick Flip before that, that survived 12 hard years of abuse including sliding out of a pickup going down the highway and being blown across the lake in a windstorm.  But, to be honest, part of my decision to stick with Eskimo was because they have removable Velcro windows and Clam doesn't.  If Clam had them, I probably would have bought Clam based on their stellar reputation.  It makes you wonder how many people are buying Clam based on this reputation alone.  They have no clue about this lack of quality control.  I have Cabelas Ice Chairs that are made by Clam.  The stitching came unraveled on the carry straps.  Rather than send them back, I just sewed them back on.  I just don't understand why Clam doesn't do anything about this.  I also don't understand why we have posters on this site, who are so loyal to Clam, like Apple fanboys , that bash you for being honest about your experience and even posting Clam's reply. It appears that many others on here have had bad experiences with Clam also.

[Wingthing]

Hawg has a friend that what...works for Clam, is a pro for Clam...Hawg do you own any Clam stuff or did you just come to pick a fight with Clams response to the thread?
I have a Clam IA Lift suit after 2 seasons bottom of bibs ripped to rat sh#t, bib chest pockets ripped on inside meaning their useless. That being said the suit is very comfortable & warm.

[Ice Scratcher]

That being said the suit is very comfortable & warm.

But what does that mean?

As ice fisherman, comfy n warm, doesn't mean that much coming from the wonderful hell we play in..

Halloween costumes can be comfy and warm.. lol Busting out a gorilla suit next season..

<°)))>{

[Wingthing]

But what does that mean?

As ice fisherman, comfy n warm, doesn't mean that much coming from the wonderful hell we play in..

Halloween costumes can be comfy and warm.. lol Busting out a gorilla suit next season..

<°)))>{

It means it's comfortable to wear vs my old 1 piece Helly Hanson floater suit fits well & is warm when out on the ice. Wind doesn't go through it, never been wet when wearing it the rain either. Not sure if that's clear enough for you...lol

[justafisherman]

Good Day friends. After all these posts , apparent submission to Clam of this thread . I cant believe no one from Clam has reached out to me. Nor have they come on line and posted any comments. I guess the best way to get rid of a problem , is to just  ignore it.

[GRT_Hunter]

I don't want to get involved in a back and forth argument over Clam quality control, but I do have an experience that is relevant to this thread.

In December 2014 I ordered a Clam 1660 Mag Thermal from Glen's through Amazon.  The shelter arrived and was in a box labeled as the insulated 1660I.  Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was not able to set it up until I brought it to my remote camp on a fishing trip with 4 friends in January 2015. When I set it up, I discovered that the shelter was actually the uninsulated version of the 1660 and not the insulated 1660I.  Since we were at this camp for a week and it was our only shelter, we used it.  At the end of the trip, I contacted Glen's and their response was to issue a $100 credit to bring the price down to the actual cost of the uninsulated version.  Glen's also advised they could not exchange the uninsulated shelter for an insulated one because they were out of stock.  I was not very impressed with their response or service.

I decided to file a warranty claim with Clam. The Clam rep was quick to respond and sent me a new insulated shelter.  I returned the uninsulated on and Clam paid all the shipping.   

Obviously there is a quality control issue when a product is packaged and shipped to distributors or customers in the wrong box - but Kudos to Clam for making it right. 

I have since added an Eskimo 949I from Reeds to my ice shelter fleet. (I also own an Otter Lodge)

I know this doesn't have much to do with quality control, but because I own and use both Clam and Eskimo in various situations, my own observations are:

The Clam storage bag is crappy.  It's almost totally disintegrated from the inside out.
The Clam zippers are smaller and freeze up easier. I also have to set the tent up loose by the doors, and pull the poles inward, to get the zippers to close.
The Clam tie down straps are superior to the Eskimo ropes.
The Clam windows are useless if you are sitting down.

The Eskimo storage bag is large and easy to pack the shelter in. The velcro straps make it easy.
The Eskimo zippers are stronger and easier to close and open. 
The Eskimo windows are perfect for looking outside while sitting down. They also function as vents if need be. 
The Eskimo anchors are far superior and I use them on both shelters.

For what it's worth - my 2 cents.

[Buckshots]

Good Day friends. After all these posts , apparent submission to Clam of this thread . I cant believe no one from Clam has reached out to me. Nor have they come on line and posted any comments. I guess the best way to get rid of a problem , is to just  ignore it.

Hey Justafisherman, I know it has already been mentioned, but let's see some pictures. I, and a whole lot of others here, would like to see what there "within tolerance" range is.

[Buckshots]

And for all you guys complaining about the Clam jigs, saying you won't be buying anymore, well I can't believe you bought them in the first place! What did you expect! Y'all must of been watching too much Jason Mitchell or that other Clam staff show. I know the bait shop sells them but a jig made by Clam? That'd be the last thing I would ever buy. Stick to what you know works.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

And for all you guys complaining about the Clam jigs, saying you won't be buying anymore, well I can't believe you bought them in the first place! What did you expect! Y'all must of been watching too much Jason Mitchell or that other Clam staff show. I know the bait shop sells them but a jig made by Clam? That'd be the last thing I would ever buy. Stick to what you know works.

I always put fishing ice fishing lures on my christmas list. I always get a couple of clam lures. While they are expensive they do look nice. I have had some issues with paint chipping, but not bad. had worse with other brands but they were way cheaper.  The main issue I have with the clam jigs is the hooks they use on the smaller jigs. This year I was using a dingle drop and loved the jig. Problem with it was the cheap hook they put in it. The hook kept straightening out and after about 10fish broke off. I moved to a northland mooska jig with no problem.

Clam has some good concepts, but the actual quality of the product has declined so far over the years I try to stay away from a lot of the stuff they put out. I've got a 10yr old voyager and when it gets replaced I'll be going to an otter shack.

Anyone on this site that doesn't believe the quality of stuff from clam has declined over the years can't be using anything they've put out lately.

Clam is way to worried about profits and such anymore. I guess if it doesnt break they cant sell you a new one. I'm just waiting for clam to come out with a flasher......I can see it being an old fl18 colored blue and them wanting $1000 for it. lol.

[Buckshots]

Otter is the way to go. I can't believe all the clams I see out on the ice. The Otters are all full thermals and comparing them to similarly sized clams, they're pretty much the same amount of money. And guess which one holds their value? Especially after a few seasons. People with their clams and all the black coating coming off it's ridiculous.

[justafisherman]

Hey Justafisherman, I know it has already been mentioned, but let's see some pictures. I, and a whole lot of others here, would like to see what there "within tolerance" range is.

I would love to post some pics. I cant find the option to attach them to my posts.Under Attachments and other options , its not there

[Buckshots]

I'm not sure if it's the right way or not, but I use Photobucket and copy and paste the image link or whatever it's called.

[justafisherman]

Here is the Photobucket link to the photos. The photo showing the roof net is missing the attachment ring. The Pictures of the half sewn on window cover and missing roof ring are from the previous shelter, which also had uneven sewn panels,  that was replaced by the current shelter,  with all the uneven sewn panels which are pictured . I actually had a few fisherman walk over to my shelter( to see how we were making out for the day). Look at the uneven sewn panels and said to me "who was the drunk at Clam that put that tent together ".

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://s86.photobucket.com/user/justafisherman/embed/slideshow/"></iframe>

[SpitzoMT]

@justafisherman

Here's your pics sir. A picture is worth a thousand words. The lack of quality/attention to detail is just ridiculous !!