Hey Mods, I got my ZION. This is going to be a critical review but kind.
I've paid $269.99 for my Zion plus $49.99 for a lifetime warranty on January 2016. For that money, I should not expect cosmetic flaws. Yea yea , Ryan works hard and has sacrificed, yada yada.
I'm not a RBT hater,. He's sacrificed a lot. I' have supported him against all his haters. But my email exchange with Ryan was disappointing.
Many of you might say this is little thing . Maybe I should accept this flaw. Thats not the point. I can't look at it without reminding myself on the amount of money I paid. Please no lectures. I waited a long time. Everybody has different standards
I'm sure it's a killer vape. If I use it, can't return it. Sucks after this long wait . I appreciate that Ryan has offered to refund (No exchange).
Been reading these posts for a while. Shout out to
@Shit Snacks ,
@IAmKrazy2, others for their high regards for the vape . I have 2 Milaanas, a Mistvape Touch (gorgeous}, and a Tubo (kick-ass), Vapman ( righteous Swiss quality) and a Trihouse Daisy that is still my daily driver for killer hits.
I'm outa here.
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Here is my e-mail exchange with Ryan today. I post this because he wants this information shared:
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ME; Hey Ryan,
First, thank you for the delivery. I wasn't expecting it so quickly considering other are waiting longer than me.
I know that you have sacrificed much for this business and I hope that it can start paying off big time for you. I know this venture has placed a heavy financial strain on your family
A hand-made vape should not be cheap; I understand that. But that being said, I'm disappointed in the fit of one of the wood sections My opinion is that a $250-plus vape should not have this kind of Quality Control problem. Obviously it passed inspection, but I'm disappointed cause shit like this matters.
RYAN:
I understand your disappointment with finish. Unfortunately, Zion bodies where machined in a CNC and only 200 where made in a one time run. Less than 150 made it through the process as with dozens of steps the loss of parts was high. This loss of product has caused us to push what is acceptable in quality in order to salvage enough units to cover those that are ordered. We have improved our processes as much as we can with Zion being a limited run. In the future with Splinter the quality will be at a higher level as we are learning and growing along the way.
I hope you can over look the small cosmetic defects and see that although the exterior isn't perfect, the High Surface Area technology delivers some pretty nice vapor. With that said, provided that the device is not used, you can send it back for a refund. Let me know what you decide and I will hold off on issuing a refund for your lifetime warranty.
If you had another solution in mind let me know. As you stated, my time and money is extremely limited.
I will issue a notice to future customers to make them aware of the minor finish issues that could be an issue with their Zion so that they can opt to refund prior to being disappointed.
ME:
Okay Ryan. Give me a day or two to consider the refund. Bummer! Not the response I would of wished. I was one of your vocal supporters on FC. I do not want to blow up our business relationship.
After a year plus of following your instagram posts; after buying 2 Milaana's with obvious cosmetic flaws, I was expecting more. When I paid you for the zion, I was led to believe it was your flagship product. Wrong.
Your asking me if I have "another solution in mind" and to "let me (you) know" .
I wan't a working Zion that has no wood flaws.
RYAN:
Again, all the Zions have flaws of various types and degrees of severity due to the hand made nature and low volume processing. I will email remaining pre-orders to let them know of the possible cosmetic defects in advance and offer a refund to avoid disappointment and shipping cost moving forward.
I sense that you are unhappy with the variation of our admittedly crude past and current manufacturing methods. Zion and Milaana are limited production runs that's purpose is to introduce the High Surface Area technology to learn from early adopters and experts how the technology performs as well as the flaws that are evident. All of the learning is coming together in the Splinter product. We believe Splinter will have the demand to develop a volume that will support contract manufacturing there buy elevating our qualilty through strategic partnerships. As Splinter starts we will have a list of new problems and challenges that arise that will need to be addressed. Hopefully in time Splinter will enable RBT to become a "real company" in time as sales of Milaana are low and the work load of Zion is high. Zion is the flag ship for vapor quality and the start of hopefully something lasting.
I do appreciate your feedback and the business is moving in a direction to improve product quality with the recent outsourcing of the Zion electronics to a top notch manufacturing house.
I understand if you choose to return your Zion and hope that you come back for a Splinter once we are in full production and have some units under our belts to dial in the quality.
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ripped from this thread I will separately make the one point that belongs here. My very early Zion beta is still working today like the day I got it. I think that is a good sign for all of us...
![:\](/i/s/hmm.gif "Hmm :\")
