Kult of Athena and Revival.us Review
Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 6:55 pm
I'm new to SCA fighting and have been working to get my armor together. Some I've made, some I've purchased. Here's a review of two of the businesses I've ordered from.
Kult of Athena ( kultofathena.com )
I ordered a GDFB basinet with klappvisor by phone and received a box via UPS the next morning but inside the box was a GDFB sallet. It is a surprisingly nice helmet and bevor but not what I ordered. I called and told them about the mistake and they offered to issue a return label and ship the right helmet as soon as UPS picked up the package.
I was having a bad morning and didn't like that idea very much and said so. The poor guy had to listen to me winge about that process taking a couple of extra days to get the right helmet. In exasperation he asked what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted him to ship the correct helmet that day and not wait for me to receive the call tag and and the UPS pickup. I was priming for a fight but he said "OK".
The correct helmet came the next day.
If Kult of Athena sells anything you want by all means order it from them. They understand the meaning of customer service. The GDFB basinet however, is pretty low quality but I understood that before ordering it. What can you expect from a $125 helmet?
Revival.us
I called and ordered a "14 Century Gambeson" in size XL. I asked that it be shipped to my work address and not my billing address. I was told it would ship FedEx ground and take about three days to arrive. I was also told I'd get an email confirmation with a tracking ID.
Two days later I hadn't noticed a charge against the card I used and hadn't received an email. I called to see if the order had actually been placed. The guy on the other end seemed put out that I was pesting him. He told me it had shipped the day before. I asked him if he could send me the tracking
number and confirmed my email address. By the evening I still hadn't seen the charge on the card or received an email. When I left for work the next morning there was a package from FedEx on my doorstep from revival. Huh, OK. I had asked for it to be shipped to my work address but whatever, I had it.
I had ordered a size XL which the website claimed would fit up to a 52" chest. No it won't. I have a 48" chest and it's 2" short of closing. I called revival and told them I'd like to swap it for a larger size. I told the guy on the phone why it didn't fit and asked why it is claimed to on the website. At this point the grumpy guy got grumpier and said "they fit other people, people have different measurements". Funny, I thought a chest measurement was a chest measurement. Are there different ways of doing it? I decided to ask them to ship me the inhuman monster size XXXL, 58" chest (figuring I could tailor it if it really was that much bigger) and asked how I should return the one I've got. I was directed to ship it back to them with a note in the box. The guy nearly hung up the phone at that point. He clearly wanted to be elsewhere or doing something else but I said whoa, we hadn't rigged the details of the exchange.
He started mumbling into the phone in response to anything I said. I heard "warehouse", "shipping", "already" and a bunch of stuff I couldn't make out. I have no idea what's going on. After a long silence I said "OK, bye" and hung up. I have no idea if another gambeson is on the way.
I decided to just add some material to the one I've got and ship the replacement back if one arrived. I cut the side seam to add a panel and the batting inside was polyester. Confirmed with a burn test. I looked at the label and it says "100% Cotton". I looked at the website and it says "100% cotton". No it ain't. I'm going to cook in this thing if I try to use it. I've cut the gambeson so it's mine but it is useless to me and I'm out $179. Also, the button holes would have needed reinforcement to prevent tearing and the fabric buttons need to be sewn on better. One fell off with a light tug.
A bad experience I would not repeat.
Kult of Athena ( kultofathena.com )
I ordered a GDFB basinet with klappvisor by phone and received a box via UPS the next morning but inside the box was a GDFB sallet. It is a surprisingly nice helmet and bevor but not what I ordered. I called and told them about the mistake and they offered to issue a return label and ship the right helmet as soon as UPS picked up the package.
I was having a bad morning and didn't like that idea very much and said so. The poor guy had to listen to me winge about that process taking a couple of extra days to get the right helmet. In exasperation he asked what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted him to ship the correct helmet that day and not wait for me to receive the call tag and and the UPS pickup. I was priming for a fight but he said "OK".
The correct helmet came the next day.
If Kult of Athena sells anything you want by all means order it from them. They understand the meaning of customer service. The GDFB basinet however, is pretty low quality but I understood that before ordering it. What can you expect from a $125 helmet?
Revival.us
I called and ordered a "14 Century Gambeson" in size XL. I asked that it be shipped to my work address and not my billing address. I was told it would ship FedEx ground and take about three days to arrive. I was also told I'd get an email confirmation with a tracking ID.
Two days later I hadn't noticed a charge against the card I used and hadn't received an email. I called to see if the order had actually been placed. The guy on the other end seemed put out that I was pesting him. He told me it had shipped the day before. I asked him if he could send me the tracking
number and confirmed my email address. By the evening I still hadn't seen the charge on the card or received an email. When I left for work the next morning there was a package from FedEx on my doorstep from revival. Huh, OK. I had asked for it to be shipped to my work address but whatever, I had it.
I had ordered a size XL which the website claimed would fit up to a 52" chest. No it won't. I have a 48" chest and it's 2" short of closing. I called revival and told them I'd like to swap it for a larger size. I told the guy on the phone why it didn't fit and asked why it is claimed to on the website. At this point the grumpy guy got grumpier and said "they fit other people, people have different measurements". Funny, I thought a chest measurement was a chest measurement. Are there different ways of doing it? I decided to ask them to ship me the inhuman monster size XXXL, 58" chest (figuring I could tailor it if it really was that much bigger) and asked how I should return the one I've got. I was directed to ship it back to them with a note in the box. The guy nearly hung up the phone at that point. He clearly wanted to be elsewhere or doing something else but I said whoa, we hadn't rigged the details of the exchange.
He started mumbling into the phone in response to anything I said. I heard "warehouse", "shipping", "already" and a bunch of stuff I couldn't make out. I have no idea what's going on. After a long silence I said "OK, bye" and hung up. I have no idea if another gambeson is on the way.
I decided to just add some material to the one I've got and ship the replacement back if one arrived. I cut the side seam to add a panel and the batting inside was polyester. Confirmed with a burn test. I looked at the label and it says "100% Cotton". I looked at the website and it says "100% cotton". No it ain't. I'm going to cook in this thing if I try to use it. I've cut the gambeson so it's mine but it is useless to me and I'm out $179. Also, the button holes would have needed reinforcement to prevent tearing and the fabric buttons need to be sewn on better. One fell off with a light tug.
A bad experience I would not repeat.
