My Bibler experience

I wanted to share my experiences in buying and using my first Bibler. I know no one asked for it, but previous posts in these groups helped me decide on whether to purchase a Bibler so I wanted to add my experiences to everyone else's.

I decided to go with the Bibler Fitzroy as a replacement for my NF VE-25. The NF had proved itself invaluable but I was getting tired of hauling a 12 pound tent and I found the fly nearly impossible to put on in high winds or bad weather unless you had about 4 people to help hold it down. My first outing with the Fitzroy was on Mt. Rainier at Camp Muir. The poles went in fairly easily, although it takes some getting used to having to climb inside the tent to put it up. As I'm trying to put one of the short awning poles in, I notice how tight it seems. I double check that all the poles are in the correct position. I just need another 1/4 inch, I figure. I try the awning pole again, just as it's about ready to pop in, I hear a horrible ripping sound. All the stitching around the awning pole had just ripped out, leaving a gaping hole above my door. I physically felt ill. Not only was my wife going to give me hell for buying a $750.00 tent that just failed on my first outing, but after hearing horror stories dealing with Bibler customer service, I figured I was screwed. We had to cancel the rest of the climbing trip.

When I returned home, I typed up a letter to Bibler explaining what happened and shipped it back to them. I was expecting they would either refuse to fix it or they would simply patch it up and charge me a fee. Much to my surprise, about 2 weeks later, I received a brand-new tent.

So my experience was that Bibler has excellent customer service. Perhaps it wasn't that way previously and perhaps not all people are treated the same, but they took care of me. BTW, even though the instructions don't say so, ALWAYS put in the awning pole before putting up the Fitzroy. The fabric is simply stretched too tight after putting it up to install the awning pole without having to put a lot of stress on the seams. You'll be glad you did.

I noticed the first few times I put up my Bibler I-tent, the poles seemed very, very tight. Now they seem about right, still quite a snug fit. Perhaps this is to allow for fabric stretching during the first few uses. Does anyone know if this is a designed in 'feature' for these tents?

I can relate some Bibler experience too. First let me say that I had a North Face Mountain 24 for many years. It was an incredibly tough tent. It was once picked up by the wind while empty and tossed around rocks for a few hours. We found it with a few hole and some bent poles. Fixed by my mum with some special tape. Later we were for 80 hours in a polar storm in winter in sweden. THe wind blew at 130km/h for 3 days. The tent was squashed one foot high with us inside for all that time. I was sure the tent was gonna rip any time but came out fine. It eventually burnt in the infamous wedding car fire.

Back to Bibler. As a replacement I decided to try Bibler, although unknown in Europe. I ordered in a hurry on Internet a Torre (2 person, large, 4 poles) before we left for Cho Oyu. We never used it there, which may be a good thing since one of our neighbors had his Bibler stolen at Camp 2. We then moved to the US and only ever used it for car camping. It's actually quite big and heavy. The fabric is great, the speed to put it up is great. The zipper wore out and needed replacement after 3 months of daily use. We never were in a storm.

Reflecting on it I'd buy the super light small 2-person tent for those mountain expeditions but buy a cheap tent for car camping.

Hmmm...I smells a story...??? Guillaume...???

I am sorry but I have to be brutally honest, It takes a real knucklehead to not have practiced setting up their tent at home st least a few times to wring out the process. AND you took it to rather harsh conditions where lack of shelter could cause problems,. THINK before you go! Chris

I did practice setting it up, 3 times. Each time I set it up, however, I noted the awning pole was very tight when trying to insert it. On all 3 practice attempts, I got it set up just fine. What I probably didn't realize was that each time I set it up, I was stressing the fabric just a litte more. The 4th time, at Muir, was apparently the final straw. I'm the most careful climber in my group of friends, I'm the one who is known for calling off summit attempts if even the hair on the back of my neck stands up wrong. I resent the implication. In any case, I pack a bivy sack everywhere I go, even on Rainier. It wasn't the lack of shelter that canceled the climb, it was just that I didn't feel like sleeping in my bivy and I was so pissed about the tent failing.

Sometimes Karma is everything.

Yep, there are certainly some on this group who love to slam other posters. I agree with you, I felt I ripped off after my 'I' tent failed. I thought when I bought it I was buying what was rated one of the best tents on the planet. The 8 year old moss tent I replaced it with has never let me down since.

No way!

Uhhhh...??? Wasn't that supposed to read:

Ratzzz...(Just curious...)

Its getting Regoddamndiculous around here. Poor Bibler didn't know what

I've used Bibler tents for the last 20 years or so...starting with a two door I tent, then a Satellite, and a couple Eldorados...both two door as well as one door models..

They've held up better than most, and the service with both the old Bibler company as well as the current Black Diamond folks has been outstanding...

Thx.