Question on Rbk 8k stick warranty

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

A couple of my friends were at the Hockey Monkey retail store in New Jersey. One of them bought an 8k stick. He just sent me an email asking if I knew what was covered by the warranty. I did a search for warranty here, but didn't really see it specifically addressed. Sorry if this is a repeat topic. I'll paste what he sent me. Does this sound like it should be returnable under warranty...

Have you ever dealt with returning a broken stick that was under the 30 day manufacturer warranty? The new 8K stick that I bought at HockeyMonkey is already starting to fray pretty bad at the toe of the blade. There's about a quarter inch chip taken out of the blade and the fibers are coming out and I can see the white interior blade material. I've only used it in two games so far. I'm wondering if Reebok will do anything since it's not technically "broken". But I think after a few more games the blade may start to completely split.

[DolomaticDangles 13]

30 day warranty. You'll have to check Reebok's site for more info on where to send it, etc, but yes the warranty should cover that

[SouthpawTRK 1]

The warranty program that companies provide are usually "limited"; it's up to their warranty department to look at the defective product in question. If they feel that it's an actual defect, then a replacement would be sent out (providing it's within the stated time frame and sometimes with an original proof of purchase). If it's not, then the company would send back the product to the owner. Basically, the warranty is not a guarantee, but rather a consideration by the company.

[Stoop 1]

There was a recent thread about this, but it turned into a somewhat-heated question of what companies "should" do. As for what they will do, your friend should just ask. The words of the actual written warranty would probably let Reebok refuse replacement, but anyone want to take bets on them doing so?

[ponder 0]

He should definitely try to get it warrantied. This is actually a really common problem with Reebok stick, literally everyone I know who had a stick from the sickick II line had this happen to their blades, the toe fell apart FAST, not sure if they fixed it or not with the newer sickick III line.

[Chadd 916]

My guess is it probably wouldn't be replaced, but you never know. Blade wear, premature as it may be, isn't usually what is considered a manufacturing defect.

[sharks25 9]

this sounds exactly like my stick, which the other thread is about. I dont think it will be warrantied because the inspectors for the company nearly neb=ver consider chips and cracks as defects.

[Chadd 916]

I dont think it will be warrantied because the inspectors for the company nearly neb=ver consider chips and cracks as defects.

They aren't manufacturing defects. A manufacturing defect would result in a broken stick on the first shot or two.

[DolomaticDangles 13]

They aren't manufacturing defects. A manufacturing defect would result in a broken stick on the first shot or two.

I still don't think this is accurate. What if there wasn't enough resin in the blade when the stick was manufactured. What if some of the carbon in one stick is somehow weaker than in another stick. Not every stick with a defect is going to break on the first shot or two. If his toe is splitting within 30 days, and other models of the same stick don't do that, who's to say it's not a defect? Obviously there are many other variables, but IMO there is no black and white list as to whats a defect and what's not.

Edit: just a thought...If I have 20 sticks, and I slash them all X amount of times with the same amount of force, and out of those 20, three break, while the rest continue to absorb the slashes, those 3 appear to be defects since the majority of the sticks have stood up to the slashes. I think that whether it's a defect or not has to be relative to the durability of the majority if the sticks. Ex. If a company designs a 200g stick, and they pretty much all break within two weeks, the stick is expected to have low durability because of the weight,therefore it's not a defect because the consumer is expecting low durability for performance benefits

[Chadd 916]

I still don't think this is accurate. What if there wasn't enough resin in the blade when the stick was manufactured. What if some of the carbon in one stick is somehow weaker than in another stick. Not every stick with a defect is going to break on the first shot or two. If his toe is splitting within 30 days, and other models of the same stick don't do that, who's to say it's not a defect? Obviously there are many other variables, but IMO there is no black and white list as to whats a defect and what's not.

Edit: just a thought...If I have 20 sticks, and I slash them all X amount of times with the same amount of force, and out of those 20, three break, while the rest continue to absorb the slashes, those 3 appear to be defects since the majority of the sticks have stood up to the slashes. I think that whether it's a defect or not has to be relative to the durability of the majority if the sticks. Ex. If a company designs a 200g stick, and they pretty much all break within two weeks, the stick is expected to have low durability because of the weight,therefore it's not a defect because the consumer is expecting low durability for performance benefits

You really have no idea what manufacturing defect means. Please continue to make up your own arguments that prove you wrong, it saves me the time and effort.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Quick follow up question, if Reebok reject the warranty return and send him back the stick...

He should be able to put a tapered blade in the bottom.

But what if he flips it and puts a standard blade in the other end. Does the 8k have a low kickpoint that will mess up the shot if flipped, or is it not a noticeable thing?

[sharks25 9]

I would just try to chop and put in a tapered blade. The kickpoint would probably mess with your shooting if you flipped it.

[yrhmblnr8r 69]

I would just try to chop and put in a tapered blade. The kickpoint would probably mess with your shooting if you flipped it.

No point in chopping just yet. Add some epoxy to seal the toe and/or put a piece of tape over the frayed part.

As long as the blade still feels okay on shots/passes, milk it as long as you can.

Assuming no warranty replacement is forthcoming, of course.

[Ralphiv#13 0]

I tried using epoxy with my Se16, totally did not work. blade broke first shot after I tried that.

[jimmy 194]

Some players never drag their sticks along the boards and their toes do no delaminate or wear. Others spend a lot of time along the boards and their toes wear from all the contact. This is NOT a manufacturer defect.

[TeamHonda401 54]

The poke check is the most common cause of blade chips with my sticks. Either me shooting and having the d-man get his stick in the way, or vice versa. Either way you look at it, a blade chip isn't a manufacturer defect, it's normal wear and tear from playing the game of hockey.

[gabbagabbawill 0]

The poke check is the most common cause of blade chips with my sticks. Either me shooting and having the d-man get his stick in the way, or vice versa. Either way you look at it, a blade chip isn't a manufacturer defect, it's normal wear and tear from playing the game of hockey.

+1

This is one of those lesson learned kind of things... I believe if you cannot afford to have a $200 stick replaced when it wears out, then you shouldn't be playing with a $200 stick. How fast it wears depends on the type of player you are. I would not want to be out playing hockey worried about messing up my stick, which is why I won't play with a $200 stick.

Now, if something like this ends up being covered under warranty, I'll be surprised, but I don't think it hurts to try.

[Drewhunz 3]

Now, if something like this ends up being covered under warranty, I'll be surprised, but I don't think it hurts to try.

Although it shouldn't be, it will be replaced as no company has the balls to enforce their own stated policy.

[sharks25 9]

Too bad i was the only exception to that thought, Drew.

[Stoop 1]

Although it shouldn't be, it will be replaced as no company has the balls to enforce their own stated policy.

The stated policy is just the bare minimum that the company has promised to do. It's written to overwhelming favor the company because they have better lawyers than the consumer. To be honest, if the companies were to stick to the narrow definition of "manufacturing defect" being put forth here, the warranties would be of little to no value, as most states have something that basic by law.

The actual practice, on the otherhand, is a simply a marketplace matter. The way it was presented to me when I bought my first stick is that if it breaks during normal use in the first 30 days, the company will replace it. I don't know if the is the actual practice. It's more generous than the useless stated policy, and it's also a perfectly reasonable place for the market to settle, in my opinion. (Though "normal use" is still slippery enough that there will be disputes)

It would take "balls" to enforce the stated policy, but it's really no different from not having the "balls" to charge higher prices, or offer fewer curves, or advertise less.

[ponder 0]

Some players never drag their sticks along the boards and their toes do no delaminate or wear. Others spend a lot of time along the boards and their toes wear from all the contact. This is NOT a manufacturer defect.

Except that Rbk sticks are notoriously bad for disintegrating at the toe way faster than other sticks, literally the vast majority of teammates I've had who had Rbk sticks had them disintegrate at the toe, doesn't happen anywhere close to as often with Bauers or Eastons. Now that's not necessarily a "defect," it's not like you got a bad stick out of the batch where something went wrong in the manufacturing process, it's just that Rbk makes blades with garbage durability at the toe in general (don't know if they've fixed this recently, but it at least used to be the case). So not a manufacturing defect per se, but I wouldn't blame it on the user, it's just one of the downsides to Rbk sticks in general (at least the older ones, maybe the newer ones too).

[jimmy 194]

As someone who fixes sticks for a living, I can say all sticks delaminate about the same, RBK's are no worse than the others. I fix about 1000 sticks per year, so my sample size is pretty large. When the carbon on the toe is ground away, they all start splitting.

[ponder 0]

As someone who fixes sticks for a living, I can say all sticks delaminate about the same, RBK's are no worse than the others. I fix about 1000 sticks per year, so my sample size is pretty large. When the carbon on the toe is ground away, they all start splitting.

Maybe it was just bad luck, but I've had a good number of teammates over the last few years with 1st/2nd gen sickkicks, mostly midrange models, and most of them have had problems with the toe of their sticks. With some of these sticks we're not talking about a little bit of splitting, but the toe completely splintering and falling to pieces, to the point where even pieces of foam were falling out (cheap bastards tried to keep playing with them ). From what I've seen it seems like a legit issue, though you obviously would have seen way more sticks than me.

[Neal 41]

From what I've seen it seems like a legit issue, though you obviously would have seen way more sticks than me.

There may be some selection bias happening here too. It would never occur to me to bring a stick with a frayed toe into Jimmy (or anyone else) to be repaired. As well, I'd never bring in a mid price or lower stick because the price of the repair is to large a chunk of the cost of a new low to mid end stick. So maybe Jimmy isn't seeing the frayed toe sticks in his 1000+.

[jimmy 194]

There may be some selection bias happening here too. It would never occur to me to bring a stick with a frayed toe into Jimmy (or anyone else) to be repaired. As well, I'd never bring in a mid price or lower stick because the price of the repair is to large a chunk of the cost of a new low to mid end stick. So maybe Jimmy isn't seeing the frayed toe sticks in his 1000+.

Actually, we do a lot of toe repairs on just about every price point stick. The cost of repair is only $15 so if the stick is otherwise in good condition, many will have them repaired. Just yesterday I did 2 on S-7's and those are sub-$100 sticks. With the bad economy many are choosing to repair even if just to save $30.