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My new tent's rainfly had a 'quick release' buckle that took me 45 minutes to figure out
I was setting up my brand new Mountain Summit 2-person tent in my living room for a practice run. The main part was easy, but then I got to the rainfly. It had these special plastic buckles that were supposed to click together in one second. I pushed and pushed, but nothing happened. I read the little diagram five times. I even watched a video on my phone. My partner walked by and said, 'You're still on that?' Turns out, you have to line up a tiny arrow on the male end with a dot on the female end, then press in a very specific spot. I felt so silly. Has anyone else had a simple piece of gear turn into a major puzzle?
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henryreed6mo ago
Understand how that goes completely. Some of this new camping gear has way too many parts that are supposed to be smart. The instructions are never clear, and you just end up feeling frustrated with a piece of plastic. I spent half an hour once on a new camp chair that folded in a weird way. It's not silly, it's bad design.
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barbaramurphy6mo ago
Forty-five minutes for a buckle?
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charlesowens4mo ago
What gets me is the mental tax. That's forty-five minutes of vacation time gone, staring at a piece of nylon. You're not just setting up a tent, you're solving a puzzle the designer forgot to explain. It turns a simple task into a test, and you start the trip already annoyed. That's the real cost of a bad buckle.
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