Kuiu no-customer service

[TomT]

Thought I'd give a warning to you all out there about my first and last experience with Kuiu. 

Drew an Utah elk tag this year that took me 15 years/points to draw, so essentially once in a lifetime.  Have never owned a high quality rain jacket, so did my research and ordered a Teton rain jacket on 10/29.   Received it 12 hours before I left on the trip, so I threw it in my gear. 

Got to Utah and found they had sent me a soft shell jacket instead of the rain jacket.  So, no rain jacket on the trip.

Got home and called them.  They said they'd mail me the rain jacket and requested the soft shell get mailed back.  Told them the quality looked good and asked if they'd offer it to me for a discount for my trouble.  No deal according to them, even though the next day I got the email of a 30% off sale.   Sent a complaint to "owner/management" and there was never a response.

As of a few days ago, I still have no jacket so I called them and said forget the whole thing and asked for a refund.  They said I should get a refund in a few weeks.    So after 5 weeks, they still have my $175 and I have nothing.

Just as a note, the jacket has been in stock the entire time.

Don't do business with Kuiu!

(my 2 cents)

[sirmissalot]

Busy time of year for the retailers and especially those in the hunting industry. I've had great luck with my kuiu gear, luckily haven't had to deal with customer service much other than one phone call with a question and they were great. Sorry about your luck, give first lite a try. I've been ordering through black ovis and have had great luck with them as well.

[carpsniperg2]

First lite is good stuff. Midway has it on sale and free shipping to save you some dollars if you are interested

[Bob33]

That's too bad. I would be angry also.

It goes to show how one bad customer service experience can undo a lot of goodwill.

[Magnum_Willys]

Yea Kuiu is not a last minute Amazon order deal.  You gotta want it, plan ahead and order in spring and summer for your fall hunt.  If you wait until the last minute you will likely be disappointed.  Thats just the nature of mfg. direct purchasing.   Right now on my import apparel biz I'm ordering for July and August as June closed back in October!

[coachcw]

I love there stuff , but i had a similar experience

[Dhoey07]

That's too bad. I'm 4 for 4 when ordering from them so far 

[TomT]

Well, apparently Kuiu checks forums regularly, because I got a call from them first thing this morning and seems like they're trying to make it right. 

I'll update if it ends up working out.

[dscubame]

I am seeing a trend about Kuiu and its not a positive one.  I stick with First Lite and Sitka.  Where there have been consistent negative Kuiu threads that is not the case with First Lite, Sitka, and others.

[Wolfdog2314]

Love every single piece of my Kuiu gear and have had nothing but good experiences with their customer service. I'm sure they'll make it right at this point.

[JoeE]

I have an entire KUIU system and have been using their gear for three years now. Never waited more than two weeks to receive anything from them. I do read all the horror stories though, I guess I've been lucky. I like my first lite gear too, and will be buying more items from them. I don't plan on going away from KUIU anytime soon though.

[trophyhunt]

kuiu, firstlite and outdoor research is all I'll buy.  The customer service from firstlite is top notch.

[WAnoob]

I read stories like this as it is unfortunate.  Even though they are a great company, mistakes can happen from time to time with any company.  A mistake can make one bad review seem terrible and spread like a wild fire sometimes.  Even though there a few bad reports on Kuiu, it doesn't do a whole lot to prevent me from buying their gear this season as the majority of the reviews are great.  There will always be bad reviews and mistakes happen no matter what company and it is unfortunate but that is life sometimes.

[Reidus]

I think the majority of the bad kuiu reviews have to do with them being overwhelmed with lots of business.

They make a good product at a somewhat reasonable price and its in high demand especially with 30% off sales. I'm sure they're still trying to play catch-up.
With the amount of people buying kuiu and the  company growing there's bound to be cs issues.

[WAnoob]

I think the majority of the bad kuiu reviews have to do with them being overwhelmed with lots of business.

They make a good product at a somewhat reasonable price and its in high demand especially with 30% off sales. I'm sure they're still trying to play catch-up.
With the amount of people buying kuiu and the  company growing there's bound to be cs issues.

Exactly, when I worked customer service sometimes there are just some website or computer glitches that you cannot avoid and puts you even more behind.  Stuff just happens, and the majority of the people that got upset were of course, people who waited till the last minute to buy the items right before they needed them.

[coachcw]

I put a online order in at 8 am on there sale day , the items where in stock . there system pretty much crashed and wouldn't process my order . after calling for five hours i got through and of course what i wanted was now out of stock and they wouldn't honor the price.

[7mag.]

Kuiu makes great hunting clothing, maybe the best. Their customer service is questionable, and the way the company is run really turns me off. I will continue to use the Kuiu gear I have, but I doubt I will buy anything from them again.

[thinkingman]

If you want to buy First Lite or Badlands gear, use Evooutdoors.com.
They are a site sponsor and family run in Pt Orchard, WA.
Nice people and VERY competitive pricing.
Re KUIU, it's like a dog bite...The first issue it was an accident, the second is an anomaly, more than that is a trend.

[WAnoob]

Love badlands packs, never tried their clothing.  We have about 2 or 3 of their day packs about 8 years old with no problems what so ever with plenty of weight on them.

Anyone have experience with the badlands clothing? I like the looks of the intake jacket http://www.badlandspacks.com/gear/apparel/intake-ventilated-hunting-jacket

[Karl Blanchard]

I had a QC issue with a pair of my FL Kanab 2.0 pants this year and I had a replacement pair at my door step so fast it was silly.  Fantastic company. 

I ordered a pair of Kuiu Attack pants a couple months ago because some big bald elk killer keeps saying how great they are.  Maybe I will get them by turkey season

[Reidus]

The Attack pants are some of the most comfortable pants i've worn. Not the most durable. I have one pair with a couple rips.

[trophyhunt]

If you want to buy First Lite or Badlands gear, use Evooutdoors.com.
They are a site sponsor and family run in Pt Orchard, WA.
Nice people and VERY competitive pricing.
Re KUIU, it's like a dog bite...The first issue it was an accident, the second is an anomaly, more than that is a trend.

i second evooutdoors, very nice people!

[7mag.]

I had a QC issue with a pair of my FL Kanab 2.0 pants this year and I had a replacement pair at my door step so fast it was silly.  Fantastic company. 

I ordered a pair of Kuiu Attack pants a couple months ago because some big bald elk killer keeps saying how great they are.  Maybe I will get them by turkey season

I love my Attack Pants, but I just got a pair of Firstlite Corrugate Guide pants, and I think they may be better than the Attacks. I haven't worn them in the field yet, so time will tell.

[hughjorgan]

I had a QC issue with a pair of my FL Kanab 2.0 pants this year and I had a replacement pair at my door step so fast it was silly.  Fantastic company. 

I ordered a pair of Kuiu Attack pants a couple months ago because some big bald elk killer keeps saying how great they are.  Maybe I will get them by turkey season

I love my Attack Pants, but I just got a pair of Firstlite Corrugate Guide pants, and I think they may be better than the Attacks. I haven't worn them in the field yet, so time will tell.

The first lite corrugate pants are nice, have wore them in 80 degree weather down into the teens with a base layer. Very comfortable. Hoping they will last longer than my kanabs.

[GurrCentral]

Sorry to hear about your issues with Kuiu.. I have a bunch of their items and love them all, especially the attacks. I've had all my orders to my doorstep within a week.  Just have to be quick on ordering with their sales....

[blackveltbowhunter]

I put a online order in at 8 am on there sale day , the items where in stock . there system pretty much crashed and wouldn't process my order . after calling for five hours i got through and of course what i wanted was now out of stock and they wouldn't honor the price.

My hunting partner had the exact same thing happen to him.  He was hoping to get a set of chugach.  IMO if you have planned well in advance and are very confident in your sizing it will work out for you. If your not confident in your size, or are less than several weeks prior to needing the item it seems to be a dice roll in the satisfaction department.

[thinkingman]

Love badlands packs, never tried their clothing.  We have about 2 or 3 of their day packs about 8 years old with no problems what so ever with plenty of weight on them.

Anyone have experience with the badlands clothing? I like the looks of the intake jacket http://www.badlandspacks.com/gear/apparel/intake-ventilated-hunting-jacket

I ordered an Intake jacket hoping a size med would fit and had to return it. I'm a large.
The jacket screams quality.
Not quite a softshel and not quite a hard shell. More like a hard shell with a brushed finish. Seems like water would roll off for years.
I wish Badlands made clothing in something other than Realtree AP.

[link]

I have quite a bit of their stuff and love it. I know what kind of customer service and delivery delays they have and I just order accordingly. I'm not going to wait until the last couple of weeks before i need it to order it. It really isn't that big of deal. In fact, I think I'll place an order here in the next couple weeks to make sure I have it for next season!

[TomT]

Well, in fairness to Kuiu, they did finally make it right.  The lesson I guess is if you want to use their products, order them well ahead of time during the off season. 

It took them almost 2 months to deliver a jacket that they had in stock the whole time and did not respond to my complaints until one of them saw this post.

Of course, I've never used the product (a rain jacket) as the hunting season is now over.

[cwuhunter]

I have an icon pro pack that ripped, but because I am not the original owner they will not fix it (warranty it) I am ok with that and offered to pay for them to fix it, but I have not received a response. I am fed up with Kuiu and will be switching to kifaru as soon as I can get this pack fixed and sell it.


So anyone in the market for an icon pro suspension with an ultra 3000 bag?