Mending the Mantis

We referenced our water and wind woes with the Mantis in a couple of our blogs. With the support of TAXA Outdoors, we think we have corrected the issue. ​

In our first nights in the Mantis in Luray, VA, the wind separated the tent roof from the Mantis. We temporarily repaired this with Gorilla Tape. During the same trip in Ohio, the Mantis sprung multiple leaks and we resorted to camping with the top down. ​

We sent photos to TAXA, who identified a recall that was not resolved correctly. We were given the option of taking the Mantis to a dealer they highly recommend, or completing the repairs ourselves. As the recommended dealer was a five hour drive, we chose option ‘B’. The TAXA team had me confirm that two additional recalls were fixed correctly before shipping us the parts to fix the roof and prevent future water and wind woes. They also send a video and print instructions. ​

You might find it tacky that they asked us to correct their recall. We disagree. We decided we’d prefer to spend a nice day working on the Mantis and get it fixed during a weekend as opposed to delivering to a dealer for repairs that might keep us from the campground for weeks. ​

The interactions with TAXA are always positive, although often slow and somewhat incomplete. For example, we are missing the bungees for the roof and were promised replacements. We have never received these, but we did receive the water and wind woes repair kit. ​

We spent a sunny Saturday drilling out rivets, replacing the roof base, replacing new rivets, and sealing it all up. The work, which seems perfect so far, took less time than the drive to the approved dealer would have taken. ​

We still love our Mantis nearly as much as we loved the Cricket and believe TAXA does make great products. They are standing behind their product for us and we would not hesitate to recommend their products. We believe they are well built, innovative, and very practically designed for a family. In fact we’ve signed up to be TAXA ambassadors; so if you buy a TAXA product after read our blog, tell them cricketcamping.com sent you in!