Cautionary tale of poor quality product from Spika.

Late last year I purchased a "Deluxe" rifle bag from Spika, I specifically wanted one with a shoulder strap as I have a bunch of bags without straps already. I used that bag maybe 20 times only carrying it from my ute inside to the safe, nothing stressful.

Then one day I heard the sickening thud of my rifle in the bag hitting the concrete hard, unfortunately the front bell of the scope took the brunt of the hit and is now bent downwards, scope buggered and unusable. The stitching of the fabric tab that holds the strap in place had come apart while it was over my shoulder.

The scope is worth about the same as my insurance excess so not worth claiming for. I emailed Spika and while they were fairly quick to offer me a replacement bag I declined and told them I didn't want to trust my gear in another one of thier bags, they made no apology for the damage thier product caused and no offer to compensate me for it.

Guess it's my hard lesson to learn, not to trust Spika products again.

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That’s a real downer man. Is it not a scope with lifetime warranty? If it was a vortex they would be replacing it for you ��

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Originally Posted by BenTheBuilder

That’s a real downer man. Is it not a scope with lifetime warranty? If it was a vortex they would be replacing it for you ��

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Nah it's not covered. Lately I've been replacing all my scopes with Leupold and Burris for exactly this reason.

Thats pretty shit quality there for a reasonably pricey product.

People just don't have any integrity now aye. Its all about the money

Iv got 2 spika gun bags both absolutely brilliant the padding with in the bag is that good it could take a fall they go in my Ute with tools bouncing all over them I’ll dig out a photo or model

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Originally Posted by BenTheBuilder

That’s a real downer man. Is it not a scope with lifetime warranty? If it was a vortex they would be replacing it for you ��

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If it was a Vortex you would have replaced it by then anyway :)

https://spika.co.nz/product/spika-pr...%e2%80%91-50in

The padding is unreal and the outer fabric is nice and thick

I buy so much stuff off Ali express now as that’s where is all comes from anyway.

My Spika gun bag did exactly the same. Lucky no rifle damage for me.
Just more Chinese junk really.

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Originally Posted by Mintie

Nah it's not covered. Lately I've been replacing all my scopes with Leupold and Burris for exactly this reason.

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I was under the impression that Loopy warranties wouldn't cover these sorts of accidents. I had a similar mishap when my sling broke on me in the bush. Luckily the scope still works fine, but Leupold's website stated that warranties would not cover accidents or rough treatment.

Yes I wouldn't expect impact to be covered but it's still nice to know they have a decent warranty in place

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Originally Posted by Kelton

Iv got 2 spika gun bags both absolutely brilliant the padding with in the bag is that good it could take a fall they go in my Ute with tools bouncing all over them I’ll dig out a photo or model

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Yes the padding seemed pretty decent, another reason why I went with it, but I guess a heavy rifle falling from shoulder height and landing on the front of the scope was enough to still do the damage!

Yea and I suppose carried by the strap they’re going to pivot at a great rate of knots like the ass end of a forklift and rocket at the ground scope first bugger mate! The other bag iv got here is a squires borrowed off a mate must be at least 15years old good heavy construction

I feel your pain...Pretty sad to see nice gear damaged through an incident like that.

I have two of these - Thought they were decent quality - the "leather" on the carry handle broke on one bag - Thankfully, just as I was placing the rifle in the boot of a car. Checked the other bag & it was just about to break also.

https://protactical.com.au/media/com...hs351casl2.jpg

https://protactical.com.au/browse-pr...-canvas-tan-47

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Originally Posted by iambatman

I was under the impression that Loopy warranties wouldn't cover these sorts of accidents. I had a similar mishap when my sling broke on me in the bush. Luckily the scope still works fine, but Leupold's website stated that warranties would not cover accidents or rough treatment.

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pretty sure they will still fix it at way less than new purchase price all the same....

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

pretty sure they will still fix it at way less than new purchase price all the same....

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Whilst I'm sure that someone will post their recent replacement of a bent scope story, in the last few years Leupold have become less generous with free replacements if an optic has obviously been damaged by the user.
Likewise Burris. There is a recent thread on the forum where the OP sent his Burris back to Burris. Burris determined the scope was bent and therefore not covered by their warranty. Burris offered a replacement deal with much reduced price.

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Originally Posted by zimmer

Whilst I'm sure that someone will post their recent replacement of a bent scope story, in the last few years Leupold have become less generous with free replacements if an optic has obviously been damaged by the user.
Likewise Burris. There is a recent thread on the forum where the OP sent his Burris back to Burris. Burris determined the scope was bent and therefore not covered by their warranty. Burris offered a replacement deal with much reduced price.

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I think consumers expect to much from a warranty and forget about insurance

Stink as bro but 2 words when you replace, hard case

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Originally Posted by Mintie

Late last year I purchased a "Deluxe" rifle bag from Spika, I specifically wanted one with a shoulder strap as I have a bunch of bags without straps already. I used that bag maybe 20 times only carrying it from my ute inside to the safe, nothing stressful.

Then one day I heard the sickening thud of my rifle in the bag hitting the concrete hard, unfortunately the front bell of the scope took the brunt of the hit and is now bent downwards, scope buggered and unusable. The stitching of the fabric tab that holds the strap in place had come apart while it was over my shoulder.

The scope is worth about the same as my insurance excess so not worth claiming for. I emailed Spika and while they were fairly quick to offer me a replacement bag I declined and told them I didn't want to trust my gear in another one of thier bags, they made no apology for the damage thier product caused and no offer to compensate me for it.

Guess it's my hard lesson to learn, not to trust Spika products again.

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Go back to them and say that you are claiming "Consequential loss" for the 'scope the under CGAct.

Remedies for damage or other loss

Sometimes a faulty product will cause damage or loss to your customer’s other belongings or property — known as consequential loss. If this happens, you need to compensate the customer for the damage.

For example, if a faulty dishwasher floods the kitchen, the business that sold the dishwasher must pay to fix any water damage to the flooring — and give a remedy for the faulty dishwasher.

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Originally Posted by Mintie

Late last year I purchased a "Deluxe" rifle bag from Spika, I specifically wanted one with a shoulder strap as I have a bunch of bags without straps already. I used that bag maybe 20 times only carrying it from my ute inside to the safe, nothing stressful.

Then one day I heard the sickening thud of my rifle in the bag hitting the concrete hard, unfortunately the front bell of the scope took the brunt of the hit and is now bent downwards, scope buggered and unusable. The stitching of the fabric tab that holds the strap in place had come apart while it was over my shoulder.

The scope is worth about the same as my insurance excess so not worth claiming for. I emailed Spika and while they were fairly quick to offer me a replacement bag I declined and told them I didn't want to trust my gear in another one of thier bags, they made no apology for the damage thier product caused and no offer to compensate me for it.

Guess it's my hard lesson to learn, not to trust Spika products again.

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Go back to them and say that you are claiming "Consequential loss" for the 'scope the under CGAct.
If they turn you down you have the option of taking the matter to the Disputes Tribunal.

Remedies for damage or other loss

Sometimes a faulty product will cause damage or loss to your customer’s other belongings or property — known as consequential loss. If this happens, you need to compensate the customer for the damage.

For example, if a faulty dishwasher floods the kitchen, the business that sold the dishwasher must pay to fix any water damage to the flooring — and give a remedy for the faulty dishwasher.

I've had a couple of spika carbon cleaning rods. Complete rubbish. Just absolute shit. Don't bother with anything with a spika label stuck to it.

IMO.

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Go back to them and say that you are claiming "Consequential loss" for the 'scope the under CGAct.
If they turn you down you have the option of taking the matter to the Disputes Tribunal.

Remedies for damage or other loss

Sometimes a faulty product will cause damage or loss to your customer’s other belongings or property — known as consequential loss. If this happens, you need to compensate the customer for the damage.

For example, if a faulty dishwasher floods the kitchen, the business that sold the dishwasher must pay to fix any water damage to the flooring — and give a remedy for the faulty dishwasher.

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Thanks for this, I have sent them a copy of the relevant document just now and will see how they respond.

Its a poor state of affairs when a fairly simple product can't function and last. I am constantly complain about products that are not fit for purpose, and don't do what's claimed. Always helpful to hear about products and brands that I should avoid.

I will be interested to hear about their response on your claim for consequential loss.

I use one of their packs so far been great, I do check it over after each trip as I do all my gear.

Ive got a few gunbags i been given etc etc .always check fittings holding straps etc -couple that looked dicey got reinforced with stitching using 50lb brea king st rain nylon and heavy duty needle .quite often you get thing shitty nylon webbing sewn on to hold D rings -Ireplace that with heavy bits made from my stock of recycled webbing leather etcetc .zippers are a bastard,though my son works in shoe /boot /key /zipper repairs so anything complicated is handed over to him to show me.

Every product is manufactured to a price point. It may be made for the bulk market, or the high end market, or a specific demographic market. But it is made to a price point either by the manufacturer/wholesaler, or requested by a wholesale/retail company. Spika is not a high end product regardless of the price paid, its pretty much mass produced gear for the lower end of the market demographic. It has a very short planned obsolesence, whereas a real high end product will have a much longer planned obsolesence and be priced accordingly. Unfortunately the bulk of the market isnt prepared to pay the price for quality manufactured products and so many manufacturers dont want to compete in the high end/quality market.

That D attachment point could have been stitched on so easily, that it outlived the life of the whole gunbag. Sadly it wasnt.

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Originally Posted by Husky1600#2

That D attachment point could have been stitched on so easily, that it outlived the life of the whole gunbag. Sadly it wasnt.

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That's the crux of most complaints I think. As consumers we are aware that we get a certain quality level related to the price we pay for goods, but.. when simple things that could easily be done are just overlooked or ignored, it can render a useable product into a useless one.
Recently I have cursed shelving brackets that were out of square for no other reason that lazy quality control, a pair of fleece pants that wore through arse and crotch with only months of indoor use, a digital clock radio that can't keep time, and others.
You take goods back to the store and politely complain, get pretend apologies from people who don't care, and add another brand or item to your blacklist of things you'll never buy again.
Sometimes its easy to feel like you're getting taken for a ride.
/rant

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Originally Posted by -BW-

Recently I have cursed shelving brackets that were out of square for no other reason that lazy quality control

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Shelving brackets are a classic. At my local M10 I always grab a square off the rack and go thru the brackets. Usually will check around 10 to get 2 goodies.

At the end of the day it is a soft case

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Originally Posted by Kelton

At the end of the day it is a soft case

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A soft case whose sole purpose on this earth is to protect my rifle. Poor workmanship on this "deluxe" product has caused damage to my gear. It's not like I was throwing it around onto the deck of my ute and bashing it down the road expecting it to be protected, it was being used as designed slung over my shoulder and the stitching just went ping.

Hard cases have a time and a place, and I have a few to use for that purpose, but soft cases are much better for just in and out of the ute and stashing behind seats etc.

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Originally Posted by Mintie

A soft case whose sole purpose on this earth is to protect my rifle. Poor workmanship on this "deluxe" product has caused damage to my gear. It's not like I was throwing it around onto the deck of my ute and bashing it down the road expecting it to be protected, it was being used as designed slung over my shoulder and the stitching just went ping.

Hard cases have a time and a place, and I have a few to use for that purpose, but soft cases are much better for just in and out of the ute and stashing behind seats etc.

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Do you check the oil and water in your car? Or run it out of oil and blame the manufacturer at x amount of years ? Why not check your gun bag over like your barrel or suppresor so many variables mines got a square stitch with a cross threw the middle doubled onto the same material and then threw 2 layers of material whos to say you didn’t give it a heave hoe one day (or a mate) to get it unstuck out of the car it just isn’t that bigger deal save your heart ache and claim insurance this is my exact issue with warranty vs insurance it’s exactly what insurance is for if people choose not to have it well more for them

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Originally Posted by Kelton

Do you check the oil and water in your car? Or run it out of oil and blame the manufacturer at x amount of years ? Why not check your gun bag over like your barrel or suppresor so many variables mines got a square stitch with a cross threw the middle doubled onto the same material and then threw 2 layers of material whos to say you didn’t give it a heave hoe one day (or a mate) to get it unstuck out of the car it just isn’t that bigger deal save your heart ache and claim insurance this is my exact issue with warranty vs insurance it’s exactly what insurance is for if people choose not to have it well more for them

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The value of the scope is about the same as my insurance excess so that's not viable.

This bag was only months old when this happened, had only been used maybe 20 times. If I bought a brand new car and it ran itself out of oil in 20 trips I would absolutely be expecting the manufacturer to replace it.

Yeah nah.

I don't think it is outside of the expectation for a gun bag with a strap to be of reasonable quality - unless it is marketed as "bargain basement" or particularly cheap.

That looks like pretty average quality, the webbing isn't cut square and it looks like a single line of stitching, is the stitching exposed on the inside of the bag?

Not much guts in that stitching Mintie.Should beable to carry 5kgs of rifle divided by 2 ends of strap connections.Good luck with yr claim with spiker.

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Originally Posted by Mintie

The value of the scope is about the same as my insurance excess so that's not viable.

This bag was only months old when this happened, had only been used maybe 20 times. If I bought a brand new car and it ran itself out of oil in 20 trips I would absolutely be expecting the manufacturer to replace it.

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Yea I see iv just being dealing with a warranty claim and in my circumstance it would have being way easier if they were damaged for insurance sake but sadly not software issue so back and forth with the manufacturer and the issue isn’t continuously happening so chances are when their doing the testing their working just darn painful

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Originally Posted by Ross Nolan

Yeah nah.

I don't think it is outside of the expectation for a gun bag with a strap to be of reasonable quality - unless it is marketed as "bargain basement" or particularly cheap.

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Price is definitely not necessarily an indicator of quality or workmanship, you can pay a lot of money for example a custom gun from a so called professional and end up with the same result ............. a total piece of shit despite all the promises.