Let me make it clear from the onset that I believe with perhaps only one or two exceptions all of the regular cottage vendors here on the forum do well at communicating with potential buyers, and make some fine winter tarps. In my case after considerable reading of all I could find about larger winter tarps, including customer reviews and inquires with vendors/makers of said product I decided on SLD's 13' Winter Haven.
Now a good bit of what follows has already been said about Jared, nevertheless I want to add 'my two cents' as it relates to my dealings with him and the final product. First off the response time to emails of any length, meaning a single question or many is nearly immediate. In every case he provided clear/detailed/concise answers and when he thought it might be helpful he offered suggestions. Courteous and never a hint of impatience with any of my inquires/emails made it a real pleasure communicating with this gentleman. As a side note I wish I were in close promixity to his place of business 'cause I believe it would be a geniune pleasure dealing with him face to face.
The tarp itself is excellence in it's purest and simplistic form with no 'gingerbread' needed to enchance it. SilPoly fabric maintains a taut pitch, stitches/stitching throughout is equal and straight, side pullouts located perfectly for RR hammock, Line-Locs provide very, very easy staking/tensioning, seam sealing seems to have been done by an artist so neat and smooth, no smearing or blobs. Hard to imagine a tarp of any higher quality that offers so much space for such light weight,...28 oz. Delighted and totally satisfied with this purchase 101%.
Having used the tarp for 3 months now I decided to add an exterior pole mod in lieu of sticks/branches which in combination with the pullouts had been my choice for achieving more interior space. Not being sure if the mod would provide as much space as I was getting with the pullout/stick system I asked Jared if I could return the mod if it didn't meet my expectations,...absolutely, no problem. Within 3 days from my inquiry, from west to east the mod was in my hands. Turns out to be even better than I anticipated. Did away with 4 stakes, 4 line tensioners and 48' of line which lessened the total weight of the mod to 3.1 oz. Best of all no additional guylines to possibly trip over.
However I did have one concern and that was whether or not the webbing/grommet system Jared uses to hold the poles would prevent the pole tip from slipping out of the grommet when the pole was under a lot of tension. I asked about this and in his usual gracious customer service manner he offered an alternative solution,...at no additional cost and to be shipped immediately.
I almost forgot to mention about a price adjustment/credit he made to my credit card because of an oversight in communications. Tell me it doesn't get any better than that in dealing with a business. So, all due respect to everyone, from my perspective, Jared, is definitely a leader among the vendors here in all areas of customer service and product.
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Originally Posted by Vanhalo
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