Mountain Boy Sledworks Bambino Grande Pull Sled
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Equipment information: Manufacturer: Mountain Boy Sledworks Brand: Mountain Boy Sledworks Model: BG-0601-11 Color: Natural Product features:
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Price List for Mountain Boy Sledworks Bambino Grande Pull Sled
| New | New Usually ships in 24 hours | $104.99 |
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Sports reviews of Mountain Boy Sledworks Bambino Grande Pull Sled
Customer Review: "Handcrafted" must have gotten a new meaning since the last time I checked
Sport shop rating: 1 Stars
Received the sled in time, hid the package from the kids, and played Santa on Christmas night. Big mistake. The sled came cracked at the front plank, just where the rope holes are. The plank is cracked, it might or might hold, not that I care as I'm returning it.
The really infuriating part is that this crack has been there from the very begining, or is part of some lousy manufacturing process. The paint and varnish got into it, which to me means it was there already by the time the sled was still unpainted. It looks like someone went there with a circular saw while watching "Big Sister" at the same time.
Which brings me to the "...Oh, so beautifully handcrafted !!!" part. I don't know if anything has changed since the last reviews, but this thing is far from perfect.
I could give it a "decent" grade, if not for the sloppy crack/saw job. But nothing more:
- The screws which hold the side rails look plain ugly and are too visible, proudly displayed as "will not rust" on the tag or not.
- The bottom plate is held to the wooden part of the sled directly with screws which seem to pull it in every direction, instead of centering them with shims.
- These same screws holding the plastic bottom are screwed unevenly enough to put it under tension and to leave little gaps between bottom and wooden plank. And this - at the front, where it is most exposed to snow ingestion. Imagine a large, flat tupperware box you would be pulling on the snow, with the lid not tightly closed. This is exactly what you're getting. Snow will get in, and melt once you put the sled to dry. Whether it will manage to dry or not is another story.
Yes, it's no big deal, but such little things make all the difference between "beautifully handcrafted" and "hand assembled". There is a clear difference between the two.
On a comparison scale, this thing is in no way better assembled and for sure not better thought than an average Ikea chair. Actually, it might be a bit worse.
So we come to the important part: You might have better luck if you go for one of the more expensive models, which are assembled in the US at Mountain Boy's facility. But the Bambino Grande is apparently assembled in China, being at the bottom of the ladder in MB's range. How MB deals with quality control from there is their business.
On a brighter note:
- Amazon seems to be handling the replacement beautifully so far.
- The person I got at Mountain Boy assured me that since last year, the whole bottom of the sled is a new one, and there are no stability problems any more (something mentioned in earlier reviews).
*** UPDATE: Strike that second bright note. The thing tips any chance it gets. I wonder how it was doing before they changed the plastic bottom :)