@Westdesign03 - That’s largely true in my experience, too.
But I work at a supplier of propulsion systems to commercial and military aircraft manufacturers… and in the name of product safety we follow rigorous processes & protocols to make such disclosures directly to the affected customers whenever defects, design or durability issues, use cases, or poor maintenance practices are assessed as jeopardizing crew or passenger safety.
I realize that I’m comparing a highly regulated aviation industry to an unregulated (or nearly so) hunting equipment industry, but my point is…open communication about product shortcomings and product improvements is good for business and, if done well, actually promotes sales! (vs. choosing not to openly communicate, which can harm sales.)
If the Tethrd team openly communicates the “what” and “why” about the changes to the attachment design and manufacture, and they have compelling analysis and/or testing that supports the notion that the Gen2 changes fix the problems with the Gen1 attachment, I’d be mighty tempted to put my money on the table NOW - without waiting a season to hear from early-adopters about product performance and durability.
But Tethrd is in the enviable position of having demand that outstrips their ability to supply climbing sticks, so I doubt they’ll open up and “speak plain” about the details of the changes they made in the Gen2’s attachment design and manufacture.