Just picked it up from REI after ordering it and having it shipped to the store.

Once I got home, I realized that AMK substituted some stuff in the kit. I didn't get the fishing stuff, needle or safety pins. In their place was a pair of the tweezers from one of their first aid kits, the tweezers like the Sliver Grippers.

I really don't miss the fishing gun but the needle and safety pins I was looking forward to. I'll pull out the tweezers and get the other stuff for the kit.

While me and the wife were at REI, I did get to pick up a Victorinox knife and space pen set for $8! Once we got through the check out line, a huge storm hit and you could barely see the parking lot. The power flipped off a few times then went out for about 20 minutes. Figure if you have to be stuck somewhere, REI probably isn't a bad place. The employees put on the display headlamps (got to see some in action for a future purchase) and took care of the situation with a smile.

I added the small knife that came with the space pen and I'll add a Photon from the collection here at the house (the switch blocked somehow) and a lighter I guess.

Of course now the wife wants one too. I'll be broke soon but we'll both be outfitted.

laters

They substituted items?!?!?!

Hey Doug, what's up with the substitutions?
I guess that I will hold off ordering mine through REI.

Doug's in the process of moving homes. This is interesting news.

It did say on the package liner that items can be substituted or changed without notice.

sorry to start anything...

The issue with using a Photon in the kit isn't the switch latching on (that's very unlikely) but rather, the light getting squeezed under the weight of something, and draining its batteries that way. The light you want is the Countycomm $1 light which has a slide switch and NO squeeze-momentary function. Unfortunately, the white-led version is out of stock for now (expected back in October) but the blue and red versions are available. You can always swap the LED for another color (easy to do). lsdiodes.com is a good source of LED's with low shipping charges.

I know someone else had posted about duct taping a quarter over the button to keep it from being pressed. I've got a ton of Photon lights around the house and work so I figured use what I already have.

I can even machine something cool to keep it from being pressed.

thanks for the headups!

I keep a small Princeton Tec photon style light in my kit. I just slid a thin piece of lightweight card stock between the contacts and the batteries which prevents it from turning on...then when I need it I can just can just pull the the card stock out and its ready to go...I have had no problems with this method...

Whew!

When I called CountyComm a couple weeks ago they said they had no idea, and that they wouldn't get any until a corporate contact did. Glad to see that there's an ETA now.

Brad,

I believe someone once posted about glueing an "O" ring around the button to keep it from being pressed.

It is a quick cheap solution.

Bountyhunter

Considering the nature of the product and the fact that Doug Ritter has put his seal of approval on the product (after a great deal of research), I think allowing substitutions is bordering on unethical. The substitutions may not have affected the overall effectiveness of the kit; then again, they might, and unless the substitutions were made with Doug's prior approval, it strikes me they're abusing his endorsement.

Since Chris sounded like he didn't know about the substitutions, I doubt Doug does.

There might be something in a contract between them (AMK and Doug) that we don't know about too.

Not pointing fingers at all. I'll pick up a few other things to add to the kit on payday anyways.

laters

I'll have to give that one a try. Heaven knows I have a butt load of orings around me at work.

thanks!

IMO that's no "minor" substitution. There's a world of difference between a pair of tweezers and fishing hooks, swivel, sinker, safety pins and a heavy duty needle. I ordered one of Doug's kits a long time ago from the link on the ETS website. It came exactly as described. I actually still use many of its original contents (fishing hooks, sinker and needle to name a few) in my current home-made PSK.

Hi There,

Chris at AMK here...

This was a packing error not a substutution. We narrowed it down to one batch of kits that was made on a specific day by a new packer and, because of an anomoly, not QC'd properly. The shipping department missed it because the vial that we use for the tweezers is the same as the fishing kit we use for the PSP.

We did call all the dealers who received the product and asked them to check their stock for the error in question. They only found five kits with this problem (out of 37 made that day by that packer). meaning that she used the correct fishing kit for most of the kits she did. Some dealers may have missed a few still so there may be a few still out there.

The substitution clause is something we have to put on all the kits we make and sell. As you can imagine, suppliers of the hundreds of products we may include in a kit change their packaging, or spec's fairly often. This allows us to make changes--usually upgrades or enhancements I might add--without reprinting expensive hang tags or header cards. One change that may be coming for example in the PSP is to the pencil. Pictured is a thin golf pencil Doug found. The company that made that pencil decided to discontinue that product after the photos were shot. We bought all they had left but we will have to put in a bit thicker pencil as a replacement when those run out.

Please feel free to contact Adventure Medical Kits with any questions you might have about the kits. We are really proud of our association with ETS as well as the work we have put in making the PSP the best it can be. We want to hear any ideas you might have to continue to best serve your needs.

Best Regards,

Chris Gubera
President
Adventure Medical Kits
Chris@adventuremedcialkits.com
800-324-3517 P
510-261-7414 P
510-261-7419 F

PS Brad, check your pm's....I want to get a gift pack coming your way. Sorry about the hassle....

A prompt and detailed reply from the president of the company... that's what I call impressive customer service! AMK will certainly continue to get all the business I can throw at them.

Thanks for the reply Chris!!

As I said in my pm reply to you, I didn't start this to flame anyone, just let everyone know that some parts had been substituted. Figured you guys ran out of something and used something else for the kit.

No harm on my end, but thanks for helping me out with new parts for it!

That is great customer service!
Thanks for the clarification, went to the local REI last night, no PSKs in stock.
Mail order looks like the way to go.

Absolutely. Considering the original post was at 5:00 on a Sunday, to have a reply like this by 9:00 am the following Tuesday is impressive indeed.

It's not clear from AMK's response how long ago the error was discovered; if they only found out about it when Brad posted to the forum on Sunday night, that's even more impressive, because it meant they tracked down the source of the error, identified the extent of the error, and called all the dealers to correct the problem in one business day.

Definitely this is a company that cares about its reputation and customer service. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I agree with the other replies that compliment your responsiveness. I'm always impressed by the high level of contributions by all to theis forum.

BTW, regarding the pencil issue. I have a small pencil the length of a golf score keeping pencil, for lack of a better description, but is only twice the thickness of the lead. It looks to be a little thinner and shorter than the one pictured in your kit. I happened upon this pencil many years ago when it came with a promotional Coka Cola playing card set (2 decks, pencil & score pad) in a decoritive metal box. Perhaps specialty manufactures may be a source for a replacement.

Brad,

I see that Chris from AMK has jumped on this in my absence. I apologize for my tardiness in responding, but we have been moving and I am just now able to get online to post. As Chris explained, this is not a issue of substitution, rather an inadvertent error on their part in assembly early on, well over a month ago. AMK thought they got all that were in the system, but it is obvious they missed at least two now that we have become aware of in the past couple days. AMK has assured me that they are calling every REI stocking the PSP to ensure no more are in circulation and will track down any others that might have come from any store that sold them. AMK also initiated changes to their quality control system after this in order to prevent any future such occurrences.

Please be assured that AMK is not going to arbitrarily substitute anything in the PSP without my approval.

Thanks very much for your understanding and I apologize for the hassle. As Sue keeps reminding me, stuff is going to happen from time to time, we can only work harder to minimize the problems that inevitably will occur in any production process. I find it extremely frustrating, but I am pleased that AMK is as concerned about getting it right as am I, which confirms my judgment to go with them in the first place.

You have correctly identified the issue and the best current solution.

Thanks for the reply Doug.

I told Chris in the PM reply that no worries on what has happened. I've had several of AMK's kits over the years and they've all been well assembled.

I did see the the disclaimer on the packaging so I just figured they swapped something out.

Chris is sending me the missing parts now. I couldn't be happier with how this has turned out. Just me luck that I got one of the handful of kits that were mispacked.

thanks for the help!

Just got a package from Chris at AMK. All I can say is Thank you Chris! I even called him directly to say thanks. Definitely got the hook up on stuff.

Just need to get some pennies saved to get couple more of his kits.

thanks again guys!