Product Alert ; Big Bubba by Travel Chair

If you are in the market for a chair to use car camping, do not buy the Big Bubba by Travel Chair. We have purchased three of these chairs since March of this year and all three have broken. Two broke at the footrest and the frame broke on two of them. The two footrest breaks came within the first day of use. The frame on one chair broke after 4 camping trips. The frame on the other chair broke after it was used on two camping trips. When the frame on one chair broke, it propelled me to the ground. Fortunately I did not stab myself with the broken metal tubing on the way down. Both frames broke in the same place, just below the armrest.

No one in our camping party came close to the weight limit of the chairs and none of the chairs were abused. You could be sitting perfectly still and the chair would break.

We contacted Travel Chair and they would not repair or replace the chairs. They also advised they do not sell parts for the chairs. They told us to carry the chair to the retailer. We ordered the chairs on the Internet from reputable companies. However, the problem was not shipping damage or other problems the retailer should be responsible for. The problem was product failure. The responsibility for this is with the maker of the product. Fortunately for us the retailer took the product back. They asked if we wanted a replacement! Naturally, we didn’t have a desire to try any other Travel Chair products.

After many years of camping we accept that occasionally some gear fails. It has been our experience that most reputable firms stand behind their products. Kelty, for instance, sent us a replacement product with instructions to return the broken product in the same box. They included a mailing label in the instructions and paid for postage. Same thing happened with Garmin, Coleman, and Katadyn. This seems to be the norm for most reputable companies selling outdoor related products, some of them costing several times what a chair would cost.

Also, be wary of product reviews posted on any mail order company web site. I can tell you from personal experience that not all reviews are posted. I don’t know the method these companies use to filter product reviews to determine which ones get posted, but I do know they don’t post them all.

Check us out at http://www.campsite190.com. We talk about products we, or others in our camping group, have owned and used.