My 1st KUIU order/experience rather odd...

[TommyK]

Bought my son a badlands bino harness for Christmas and we both liked it so I thought I better get myself one too, they're pretty handy! I figured I'd get a different look/brand than him so I settled on Kuiu after a little research and reading reviews etc... and I really like the look of Kuiu's vias camo. Well all that harness research led me to realizing I needed a new daypack and so I ordered their new Venture Divide 2000. The last thing I needed was another backpack but I really like the look of this one. Then I figured I'm this deep in I might as well try some Kuiu clothing as well lol, I like the look of the vias...sort of looks like old school camo from days past. I love Sitka and have several pieces and I like to mix camo patterns together so I'll give Kuiu a try to mix things up. Anyway... I ordered from Kuiu the VD2000 backpack, pro bino harness with a rangefinder pouch, lanyard, and accessory pocket. I added to my order a pack accessory pouch for the backpack and a pair of pants and a shirt that were both on sale. Anyway, my package finally showed up this past Friday after being weather delayed in the UPS system. Not Kuiu's fault, probably not UPS's fault either...just winter storms. Shipping from Kuiu was slower than I prefer though besides the weather, but they did mention that somewhere in the process that due to the time of year and large volume of orders extra time may be expected so there's that. The backpack and bino harness are both very nice quality. Honestly a little better quality (especially the backpack) than I was expecting. The backpack is small, but I loaded it up this weekend with clothing and gear for an ice fishing trip and took it with me to SD. That little thing expanded way more than I expected and holds a LOT more than I figured it would. Very nice pack and being able to remove the waist strap is very handy and was how I justified a new pack to myself lol because my other packs are all fixed. I have a backpack problem, I admit it...never enough. So the backpack VD2000 gets an A+ review from me so far. We'll see how it holds up durability wise but the stitching and quality look and feel top shelf. The bino harness is nice quality but my Vortex Razor 12x50's do move around quite a bit side to side. I did get the larger size harness from Kuiu even though I did read somewhere that the smaller version would fit my specific binos. I opted for the larger because I might use the bino harness for other uses as well, and I have more than one set of binos I may use with it. My binos fit perfectly height wise but lots of play otherwise, I think they might bounce around a little? I haven't used them yet so cannot review them and I plan to shape the harness and play with the fit more soon. I do like the harness and the way it fits on my chest and the lid functions. However the accessory pocket for the bino harness supposedly attaches to the bottom via velcro and a couple tie off points is a bad design. I highly doubt I'll use it on my harness. I'll likely keep the pouch for little items and just toss it into a backpack. The velcro idea is an absolute joke. How that got thru the design team to the final stage of production is beyond me. Not one hunter in that group of people thought velcro would be a bad idea? It not only doesn't fit the bino harness very well but it's guaranteed to make noise at the worst time possible during a hunt. It's velcro for crying out loud! Anybody here come up with a better solution for that accessory pocket? I'm thinking it might work to permanently sew it on but I don't really want to go down that path. So I'm looking for a fix there because I like the pocket location for sunglasses and/or rangefinder if I decide to go minimal on the harness and leave the range finder pouch off. Which leads me to the purpose of this longer than intended post. My order from Kuiu came in one big box, everything thrown in it loosely with no packing materials of any kind. It's not breakable or fragile gear so no big deal...but just seemed off coming from a company that has a high quality/expensive gear type of reputation. The biggest problem however, three items missing from my order. The rangefinder accessory pouch for my bino harness and the clothing. No pouch, no pants and no shirt in my box, but everything was listed on the packing slip. They strangely tossed in an unusual amount of the small gelica packs in the box, like a weird amount. Like someone just grabbed a big handful and tossed em in. I mention this because it just adds to the strangeness of the entire shipment, it just feels almost like I got a box of counterfeit gear or rather bought from a small unorganized ebay store. Perhaps the missing items are coming in a separate package, but I don't think so. Only one package/box was ever associated with this order via tracking and shipping info, and I contacted them right away on Friday and the guy in customer service asked that I email them pictures of the packaging to their customer service team. The box wasn't damaged or anything and doesn't appear to me that it had been opened? I was hoping to get some kind of reply back today but nothing yet. Has anybody here had a bad experience with Kuiu? I'm totally expecting a call telling me that they found the items lying under some other stuff in shipping and they place all the blame on an employee and they'll ship the remaining items with an apology and a free sticker or something for my troubles. Otherwise I'm guessing some other lucky fellow opened his order from Kuiu and received a few bonus items with no explanation lol. Not sure what to make of all this tbh... Very strange first impression of Kuiu for me. A backpack that far exceeded my expectations in both size and quality... but came in a box of missing items strangely packaged?

 

[87TT]

I wouldn't bet on a happy outcome. My experience with their customer service is hit and miss. I don't buy there anymore.

 

[Venom One]

I've ordered a fair amount of stuff from Kuiu and never had an issue with orders or returns. Hope you/they get it sorted out.

 

[CHMD]

Venom One above already wrote what I was going to say.

 

[elkguide]

My last Kuiu order came in three days and was spot on. That has always been my experience with Kuiu.

Oh and welcome to the forum,

 

[Wilderness Spirit]

Never had a problem with Kuiu as far as ordering, shipping or packaging. No experience with their customer service though.

 

[Warmsy]

Paragraphs are the hot new thing.

 

[Honyock]

I've had zero issues with Kuiu.

 

[wnelson14]

I’ve had zero issues, I do live in Ca and damn near get the package the next day once shipped. All my recent purchases have come in a Kuiu logo plastic shipping bag, not sure if that’s possible with the backpack (although I got a duffle and a jacket in a shipping bag) but thought I would share

 

[USMC2602]

I’ve had zero issues with KUIU.

My most recent experience was that I lost one of the straps off of my TAKU 9000 on the return trip from Alaska. I called their customer service, explained what I needed, and a new set arrived in the mail today, free of charge. Hard to beat that in my estimation.

 

[68Plexi]

Paragraphs are the hot new thing.

Bought too much KUIU over the past 10 years. Still yet to have anything other than great service from them. I’m sure some have, probably true of every company, just not my experience.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dtrkyman]

I didn't bother to read that, just here for the comments! No issue with KUIU either, call them.

 

[slowelk]

I’ve noticed kuiu is pretty liberal with the silica gel packets. Great CS, and no complaints about packaging though.

 

[TommyK]

Paragraphs are the hot new thin

Paragraphs are the hot new thing.

No, they're not a hot new thing. I bet paragraphs have probably been around as long as pedantic people?

 

[rclouse79]

I didn't bother to read that, just here for the comments! No issue with KUIU either, call them.

I started, but after scrolling down and seeing it was the never ending story I aborted. I will keep it short, Kuiu sucks.

 

[TommyK]

I'm a reasonable person, and help run a small business myself. No matter what happened with my order I will give Kuiu the benefit of the doubt and certainly won't let it stop me from buying from them again. They have a great reputation for a reason. I didn't mean to post such a long thread; sometimes I get carried away and just keep typing without realizing how long my post has gotten until it's too late. I was just curious if my experience was unique or if anybody else had a similar experience? Obviously they get it right most of the time or they wouldn't be one of the best in the industry. I may be new to posting on this forum, but I've come here for a very long time reading/researching. I find a lot of good opinions here, so I thought I'd ask.

 

[Agross]

Call em back .
I’ve ordered from them once and ended up returning the items. Return couldn’t have been easier or faster. Like surprisingly fast.

 

[SoloWilderness]

Just give them a call, I've been buying stuff from them since they started, never had a bad experience with their customer service, it's usually top notch. They should take care of you, no problem.

The velcro works fine on the bino accessory pouch, I run mine on an older bino harness and added my own heavy duty velcro to keep it in position. Throw a couple little stitches in each corner if you want to hold it snug, it's a piece of cake. Carry my emergency kit in there, it's a perfect spot for it, always on your person that way.

 

[Tod osier]

I just don't understand it when people that are willing to write a novel, yet not call someone at the company.

 

[TommyK]

Just give them a call, I've been buying stuff from them since they started, never had a bad experience with their customer service, it's usually top notch. They should take care of you, no problem.

The velcro works fine on the bino accessory pouch, I run mine on an older bino harness and added my own heavy duty velcro to keep it in position. Throw a couple little stitches in each corner if you want to hold it snug, it's a piece of cake. Carry my emergency kit in there, it's a perfect spot for it, always on your person that way.

I emailed them pics of it all like they requested right away last Friday. They replied that due to high volume response time could take up to 3 business days. I'll give them that and probably an additional day for them to contact me before I call them. I agree that a couple of stitches in each corner will likely take care of the velcro pouch. I do like the pocket on the bottom like that so I'll make it work somehow. The velcro on it is pretty strong, but still easy to make noise when unzipping or bumping it etc...