Author Topic: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!  (Read 34225 times)

Offline jethro

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #60 on: Jan 31, 2013, 10:34 PM »
Heres a pic wiyh the net not attached to the top. There are black plastic rings for the hooks:

Quote- fishslap: I use a variety:  whistlin' bungholes, spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser

Ice safety link: http://lakeice.squarespace.com/

Offline Riffle

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #61 on: Feb 01, 2013, 09:13 AM »
Hey doctor thanks for posting that, I definitely don't have hooks or any netting in mine!!!  >:(

Well, this will be my first interaction with Clam on a customer service issue, so we'll see how it goes.

Makes me wonder what else is messed up on my BigFoot, although, everthing else seems to be there and is functioning properly.

Between the zipper pulls and this, I think I'm due some sort of recompense.

We'll see what Clam says.

 :(

Offline Riffle

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #62 on: Feb 01, 2013, 09:23 AM »
Well, I just fired off an email to Clam, the clock is ticking, we'll see what they say (and of course I'll post everything here so you can all follow along.. :)

My email:

Hi, I just purchased a BigFoot XL4000T and I have two issues with this product:

1. My shelter does not have any ceiling gear nets, nor are there any attachments hooks sewn into the ceiling fabric. My understanding is that there should be two nets sewn into the ceiling at one end and then you can use the attachment hooks to secure it. All the other 4000T shelters I have seen have these nets. This makes me wonder if I have some sort of prototype shelter or if there are any other "isssues."

2. My zipper pull tabs are falling apart. Two broke as I set it up for the first time, one on the bag and one on the tent door.

The zipper issue is well known, as nearly everyone with this shelter has the same problem, as for the nets, I'm not very happy about spending top dollar on a shelter with missing features.

Please let me know what my options are at this point.

Thanks.

Offline jethro

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #63 on: Feb 01, 2013, 02:02 PM »
Wow, that is crazy! I would not be happy either!

I am not one bit unhappy with the zipper pulls, I have discovered that the parachute cord with a little black plastic piece of tubing is actually far superior to any zipper pulls they could have come up with. I would suggest that anyone who gets one of these just cut the pulls right off before even taking it on the ice. Way easier to use even if those zipper pulls wouldn't have broke.
Quote- fishslap: I use a variety:  whistlin' bungholes, spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser

Ice safety link: http://lakeice.squarespace.com/

Offline dap

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #64 on: Feb 04, 2013, 08:00 PM »
Ive used my XL4000T twice so far and love it. Plenty o room and it contains heat very well. The thermo fabric prevents you from getting dripped on from condensation. The windows fog up but thats with any hut.Havent had a problem with the zippers yet. Definitely a portable man cave! I haul it on top of my Otter sport sled,The sled is 53" long and the shelter hangs over front and back. I place everything in the sled then put the hut on top and secure it with one bungee. No problems so far. Not exactly an easy pull but better then pulling my old Clam fish trap.  One issue I have is with the storage bag. The seam above the storage pocket is unraveling. I have the same problem with the storage bag for the  Clam packable round table. Its storage bag is unraveling at the seam also. Their website is very vague on warranty information. I contacted them thru their website today to see what can be done on both issues. I was wondering if you guys know of any other ways to get a hold of someone there? I am not a big fan of throwing random emails to an unknown person in customer support hoping they get back to me.

Any suggestions would be appreciated
Darren

Offline Riffle

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #65 on: Feb 05, 2013, 09:47 PM »
I just got a response from Clam about my missing ceiling nets and the zipper issue and it looks like they are going ship replacement parts out to me.

While the response has taken a few days, at least they are responding, now we'll have to see how things go from here and whether I get my parts.

I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to attach replacement nets that were supposed to be sewn into structure of the shelters ceiling!   ???

Here is the email, apparently I'm not the only one with missing ceiling nets:

If you could send me a copy of your receipt, we can take a look.
We will also need your shipping address.

I have had a few XL4000T's that were missing the cargo nets.
Once we have your address, we can have some ring style replacement zipper pulls sent out to you and also the missing
Organizers.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

We appreciate your business and value you as a a Clam  customer

Sincerely,

Customer Service


Offline jethro

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #66 on: Feb 05, 2013, 10:46 PM »
Take it back to your retailer and cause a stink! They will deal with Clam.
Quote- fishslap: I use a variety:  whistlin' bungholes, spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser

Ice safety link: http://lakeice.squarespace.com/

Offline tdobb

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #67 on: Feb 07, 2013, 08:29 PM »
Glad the customer service is taking care of you. Good products are key to being a successful company, but there will inevitably be some defects no matter how good the manufacturing process. It's times like that when customer service is there to take care of any issues. A lot of people will say to take it back to the store but check with customer service first, they usually have a quick fix for you.

Take care,
Tom

Offline walleyeman22

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #68 on: Feb 21, 2013, 09:02 AM »
I set up my Bigfoot XL4000T next to my friend's (same house) that did not have the ceiling mesh storage.....and we were both surprised to find that his house was not the same size as mine, even though they both were sold as Bigfoot XL4000T's. In fact, his house dimensions were in fact consistent with the XL2000 model. 

There were many differences between the two houses. Some of which were the overall width of the shack (mine was about 7 inches wider on each side), the color of the fabric (I understand that it could simply be a different dye lot), the eye bolts on the side hubs were at different heights, and the skirts were 4" different (mine has a 12" skirt and his has an 8" skirt).

Needless to say he was not happy and contacted Clam right away.  They didn't directly address the situation, but sent him a brand new house.  Clam has tried to sent out organizers to make up for the mesh nets, but never offered to replace it until they were called on the size......very poor.  I would highly suggest you measure your house and make sure it is the correct size......I bet it's not!





Offline Riffle

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #69 on: Feb 21, 2013, 12:12 PM »
Thanks for that info, I will check mine tonight.

Clam sent me two small organizers, along with the cord and rings for the zipper pull replacement.

The organizers can't really be used in this shelter vary easily, besides, I don't want to carry them around.

In any event, I will check my dimensions, just having used the tent a few times, it doesn't appear to be smaller than advertised, but then again, I haven't had another one to compare to.

It makes me wonder if these cargo-less tents were first run products or early prototypes or something.

I noted in one of my posts above (see photo) that I was surprised that my shelter only weighed 37 pounds, when the list is 42. I notice the XL2000 is listed at 35 pounds, so mine weighs more like the 2000!!!!

 :o :o

Did your buddy return the old one?

EDIT* Would you mind posting the dimensions if you get a chance, particularly the eyelet height. I'm assuming your is the full 96" x 96" with 82" center height.

Offline jethro

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #70 on: Feb 21, 2013, 02:23 PM »
Riffle, you and I are really close to each other, so you could compare with mine if you would like sometime. I'm 10 minutes to Henniker.

One thing I am seriously not happy about now is that I am noticing the hardware used at the hubs is not waterproof/stainless. My eyelets on the hubs are getting really rusty and it's beginning to stain the fabric. I've used it probably 20 times this year, a lot of use, but still. I know it's not a $900 Otter Outdoors shelter, but even as cheap as $319, it should have waterproof hardware. It's an ice shanty, it's going to get wet- a lot.
Quote- fishslap: I use a variety:  whistlin' bungholes, spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser

Ice safety link: http://lakeice.squarespace.com/

Offline Riffle

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #71 on: Feb 21, 2013, 02:54 PM »
Thanks for the offer, I'm going to look at it later today and do some measurements and take it from there.

The lack of a gear loft(s) really isn't sitting well with me, even after Clam sent me two organizers (useless with this hub shelter really) but I bought this online, so returning it would be a big hassle and not worth it.

However, IF the dimensions are off I will ask Clam to send me a new one for sure.

Makes me nervous given the posters account from above plus the weight discrepency.

Otherwise this shelter really is nice, I had it up last weekend with 45mph gusts and it was a rock, really impressed with the hubs and poles--just irritates me that they can't get the simple things right (crap zippers, lack of stainless hardware, miscut/mislabled shelters, missing gear lofts, etc.)




Offline jethro

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #72 on: Feb 21, 2013, 03:38 PM »
Otherwise this shelter really is nice, I had it up last weekend with 45mph gusts and it was a rock, really impressed with the hubs and poles--just irritates me that they can't get the simple things right (crap zippers, lack of stainless hardware, miscut/mislabled shelters, missing gear lofts, etc.)

I hear you. Of course, I am sure you and I both noticed the huge "MADE IN CHINA" printing on the box... That's probably what we get when someone made $11 for the 14 hour shift they put in making our shanties.
Quote- fishslap: I use a variety:  whistlin' bungholes, spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser

Ice safety link: http://lakeice.squarespace.com/

Offline Riffle

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #73 on: Feb 21, 2013, 04:06 PM »
Ok so I just put the shelter up in the garage and measured the following:

Width: (corner to corner not including the skirt): 89" inches

Center Height: 80" inches

Skirt Width: 8" inches

Eyelet Height: 42"

Weight: 37 pounds

The measurements of the XL2000 per Clams site:

Setup Size: 90” x 90”
Center Height: 80”
Weight: 35 Lbs
Fishable Area: (56 sq. ft.)
Fishes 4-5 Anglers comfortably

it sure looks like I have the same issue as walleyeman22's buddy.

Thanks again walleye, I'm sending an email to Clam right now.  ???

Offline Riffle

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #74 on: Feb 21, 2013, 04:32 PM »
Well, I just sent off my email to Clam, I guess I'll update this in a few days with their response... :-\

Offline walleyeman22

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #75 on: Feb 21, 2013, 09:28 PM »
Glad to help, I hope that more folks get wind of this issue and get what they paid for. 

Offline Riffle

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #76 on: Feb 21, 2013, 10:10 PM »
Hey man, just by chance do you know if your buddy got his off Ebay?

I bought mine from Reeds Family Sports on Ebay, since they were sold out pretty much everywhere else.


Offline Fish_tracker

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #77 on: Feb 21, 2013, 11:12 PM »
Not happy with mine.

First one, zippers failed immediately. Returned to store

Second one, zippers failed after 3 outings. Zipper pull tabs broke too on both zippers.

Size is great zippers suck.

Why don't these guys do VELCRO doors and not zippers?!?! FT
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Offline walleyeman22

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #78 on: Feb 22, 2013, 07:23 AM »
Hey man, just by chance do you know if your buddy got his off Ebay?

I bought mine from Reeds Family Sports on Ebay, since they were sold out pretty much everywhere else.

Nope,  he bought it at our local Cabelas.

Offline Riffle

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #79 on: Feb 22, 2013, 04:49 PM »
Nope,  he bought it at our local Cabelas.

Got the call from Clam, they are taking care of me 100%.


Offline Riffle

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #80 on: Feb 26, 2013, 09:28 AM »
Clam posted this on their FB page explaining what happened with the size defect with the Bigfoot 4000T shelter:



Thought I’d jump in here. I work at CLAM and oversee the customer service and product development side of the business.

First, to the issue at hand, we can confirm the obvious. There are a small number of 4000T shelters out there that were produced to the wrong size specs. There are also some 4000T shelters out there that were produced without ceiling nets. All of the undersized 4000T’s do NOT have ceiling nets, but we know there are also some correct-sized 4000T’s without ceiling nets. IF you have ceiling nets, your 4000T IS the correct size. If you DO NOT have nets you MIGHT have an undersized shelter. Measure the floor dimensions. You should be at or close to 8 x 8 ft. on the floor. If you are not at 8 x 8 we will take care of you. We will allow you to KEEP your undersized shelter and will ship you a correct sized shelter at no charge. You WILL need to provide proof of purchase and proof that the shelter is undersized (pictures with tape measure). To contact our customer service, either email us at [email protected] or call us at 763-231-4120.

Here’s a stab at answering some of the other questions on this forum:

What happened?
Simply put, the 4000T sales are off the charts. Our customers saw this as a great shelter at a great price, and sales were more than 4 times our initial aggressive forecast. We chased sales and added “backup” factories to meet the demand, and somehow a batch that was the wrong size got out to you. It was certainly not our intent, and we believe we are compensating in a meaningful way those who received an undersized shelter.

What went wrong?
Ironically, we discovered that one of our “backup” factories was also making shelters for a competitor. When that competitor gives dimensions to the factory (and to you the consumer), the dimensions they quote are hub-to-hub, not actual fishing space. As a result this “backup” factory made a batch using the smaller hub-to-hub dimensions of our competitor as a guide, but we did not discover the issue until it was brought to our attention through our consumers. As an aside, when you’re reading dimensions and comparing shelters, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples and not floor space (which we quote) to hub-to-hub measurements (which our competitor does).

Why not address this proactively?
We are addressing this here, and we will also be addressing it through our website, an email blast, and our social media. While this issue is a very small percentage of the total units sold for this model, you are right that we should be proactive in getting it resolved.

Why doesn’t CLAM interact more in the forums?
The forums are a difficult environment at best for any company, which is why most avoid it. The company is fully transparent and accountable, while a minority of individuals in forums uses their anonymity and lack of accountability to distort facts and inflame what could be a healthy dialogue. We do monitor all of the forums regularly. I am a regular forum user, and the vast majority of forum users has integrity and is simply using the forum to share experiences and knowledge and learn more about their passions. In monitoring forums related to our products, though, we know for a fact that interactions between individuals and CLAM customer service are sometimes intentionally distorted or manipulated to the detriment of CLAM. In some cases the statements made are just plain untrue. Like most companies, we feel the best way to deal with this is to stay out of the fight, as it’s difficult to have a healthy dialogue with an individual who chooses to distort facts and manipulate the truth and then hide behind his anonymity.

Why does CLAM have “so many” quality problems?
As a percentage of sales, we don’t. Take a look on most lakes during ice season and you’ll see a sea of blue. We’ve sold far more ice fishing shelters than any competitor. We’re the first, the original, and the best. Our defective rate is as good or better than any of our competitors, but the fact is, even a small defective rate when dealing with huge volumes can result in unhappy customers. Our approach to quality is to build the best products, inspect during and after production, and deliver great customer service when we have an issue. We aren’t perfect, but our feedback overall tells us that we are doing well in all three of these phases. Having said that, it is our goal to continually improve, doing all we can to exceed expectations.

Just about all of us at CLAM are passionate ice fisherman and women. We work hard to put high quality, innovative products to market that we are proud to have our name on. We will stack our quality up against anyone’s. If you take the time to compare, to look into the details of all that we put into our products, we believe you’ll agree.

Steve Geertsen
CLAM Corporation

 





Offline fishinnut

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #81 on: Mar 21, 2013, 11:36 AM »
Clam posted this on their FB page explaining what happened with the size defect with the Bigfoot 4000T shelter:



Thought I’d jump in here. I work at CLAM and oversee the customer service and product development side of the business.

First, to the issue at hand, we can confirm the obvious. There are a small number of 4000T shelters out there that were produced to the wrong size specs. There are also some 4000T shelters out there that were produced without ceiling nets. All of the undersized 4000T’s do NOT have ceiling nets, but we know there are also some correct-sized 4000T’s without ceiling nets. IF you have ceiling nets, your 4000T IS the correct size. If you DO NOT have nets you MIGHT have an undersized shelter. Measure the floor dimensions. You should be at or close to 8 x 8 ft. on the floor. If you are not at 8 x 8 we will take care of you. We will allow you to KEEP your undersized shelter and will ship you a correct sized shelter at no charge. You WILL need to provide proof of purchase and proof that the shelter is undersized (pictures with tape measure). To contact our customer service, either email us at [email protected] or call us at 763-231-4120.

Here’s a stab at answering some of the other questions on this forum:

What happened?
Simply put, the 4000T sales are off the charts. Our customers saw this as a great shelter at a great price, and sales were more than 4 times our initial aggressive forecast. We chased sales and added “backup” factories to meet the demand, and somehow a batch that was the wrong size got out to you. It was certainly not our intent, and we believe we are compensating in a meaningful way those who received an undersized shelter.

What went wrong?
Ironically, we discovered that one of our “backup” factories was also making shelters for a competitor. When that competitor gives dimensions to the factory (and to you the consumer), the dimensions they quote are hub-to-hub, not actual fishing space. As a result this “backup” factory made a batch using the smaller hub-to-hub dimensions of our competitor as a guide, but we did not discover the issue until it was brought to our attention through our consumers. As an aside, when you’re reading dimensions and comparing shelters, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples and not floor space (which we quote) to hub-to-hub measurements (which our competitor does).

Why not address this proactively?
We are addressing this here, and we will also be addressing it through our website, an email blast, and our social media. While this issue is a very small percentage of the total units sold for this model, you are right that we should be proactive in getting it resolved.

Why doesn’t CLAM interact more in the forums?
The forums are a difficult environment at best for any company, which is why most avoid it. The company is fully transparent and accountable, while a minority of individuals in forums uses their anonymity and lack of accountability to distort facts and inflame what could be a healthy dialogue. We do monitor all of the forums regularly. I am a regular forum user, and the vast majority of forum users has integrity and is simply using the forum to share experiences and knowledge and learn more about their passions. In monitoring forums related to our products, though, we know for a fact that interactions between individuals and CLAM customer service are sometimes intentionally distorted or manipulated to the detriment of CLAM. In some cases the statements made are just plain untrue. Like most companies, we feel the best way to deal with this is to stay out of the fight, as it’s difficult to have a healthy dialogue with an individual who chooses to distort facts and manipulate the truth and then hide behind his anonymity.

Why does CLAM have “so many” quality problems?
As a percentage of sales, we don’t. Take a look on most lakes during ice season and you’ll see a sea of blue. We’ve sold far more ice fishing shelters than any competitor. We’re the first, the original, and the best. Our defective rate is as good or better than any of our competitors, but the fact is, even a small defective rate when dealing with huge volumes can result in unhappy customers. Our approach to quality is to build the best products, inspect during and after production, and deliver great customer service when we have an issue. We aren’t perfect, but our feedback overall tells us that we are doing well in all three of these phases. Having said that, it is our goal to continually improve, doing all we can to exceed expectations.

Just about all of us at CLAM are passionate ice fisherman and women. We work hard to put high quality, innovative products to market that we are proud to have our name on. We will stack our quality up against anyone’s. If you take the time to compare, to look into the details of all that we put into our products, we believe you’ll agree.

Steve Geertsen
CLAM Corporation

Any interest in selling the defective shelter??
God grant me strength to catch a fish
So large that even I
When telling of it afterwards
May never need to lie.

Offline wyfrabill

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Re: Clam Bigfoot XL4000T review with pics!
« Reply #82 on: May 19, 2013, 07:35 PM »
I just read this thread about Clam while looking for auger info. I dealt with clam in jan 2013 about issues with this hub and was giving the cold shoulder for what was their manufacturing defects. Their response that was posted on here makes me laugh

 



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