Alpkit Avis 917

Brilliant online conversation with Ash today.

My cloudbase had developed a puncture - sent me a how to resolve and then talked me through fabulous lightweight and durable options for sleep mat, ultra one man tents etc from personal experience.

Much appreciated - even told me how I could get the matt recycled if I needed.

Thanks Ash - well impressed.

Stefan

Hopeless!
Bought a bike from them which took ages to come kept promising but then not delivering. Ordered mudguards late August they sent the wrong ones sent these back and still not received the new ones a month on……

The customer service from Alpkit is better than any I have experienced before. The team are super knowledgeable and are using the products themselves day-to-day so they offer the best and most reliable advice.

I bought a down jacket a few months back, wore it a handful of times and needed to wash it. However the down would not go back into place on the back panel, it was faulty. After years of having Rab and Montange down jackets which washed well, I was really disappointed with the coat. The customer service about this was poor, they suggested I “sat and watched TV for an hour or two to put the down back in place!!”
Don’t buy the down jackets if you want to wash them as they end up devoid of warmth.

Kind and professional customer service, very fast processing of my order and delivery, and overall a very satisfying result and product! I ordered a custom full frame bag and am extremely happy with the result - in addition to all the above points, they are also much more affordable than most other custom bags I've researched! Can very much recommend Alpkit!

Unexpected problems arose with customs and taxes, and Alpkit Team was very helpful and understanding beyond my expectations. Everything was solved out, and now I fully enjoy the tent.

We ordered three pairs of trousers to check the fit. They arrived within two working days. They are true to size. Free returns and refund made for returned pair within 24 hours. What's not to like? Many thanks.

Good & efficient service,& a quick response. Thanks

Excellent repair service! I had several small tears in a lightweight OMM jacket after a bike fall, rendering it unwearable. It sat for a good couple of years before I did anything about it and I really regret taking so long. Alpkit did a great repair job and the whole process was quick and easy from start to finish. Great value for money too. Definitely recommend. Thank you Alex & Polly for a job well done!

Great product, great company. Their products are well made and sustainable, their prices are reasonable for what you get, but most of all their warranty and customer service is unmatched.

Bought a spare headtorch on line for delivery.
Item as described. Fantastic value, fantastic customer support

Been a loyal customer since circa 2008, and have put loads of people onto them, but after this latest experience, I’ll be avoiding them. I ordered a Sonder bike with various optional extras. I’d considered it for ages and was looking forward to getting one. The bike took a lot longer to arrive than initially stated. Bike arrived with a handlebar/stem bolt missing, tyres fitted the wrong way (rotation is meant to go on one way), poor indexing, the chain silencer was peeling off, one bottle cage of two fitted, and the rear wheel was creaking when riding. Sent it back and received with the silencer replaced but also peeling off, rear tyre on the wrong direction again, and numerous scratches and scuffs on the frame (it was spotless when I returned it). I equaled about the issues but it’s been over two weeks with no response. The staff in the Betws store were brilliant but the workshop is clearly shocking. Maybe they sold lots of bikes in the big sale and cut corners to knock them out. Also seem to be cutting corners with their famous customer service.

Update 10 Sep - the indexing was poor but fixed by the Betws store before being sent back so won’t have been there on return, the new silencer was peeling off on arrival (looks like it’s fitted badly - I took a photo before riding it and sent this to CS via email but can forward to another email address if needed) and I agree a heel strike will likely make it peel off more, the rear tyre is still on the wrong way (the arrow is pointing away from where the wheel rotates), the frame is scratched and scuffed which wasn’t there when I dropped it off at the store. I don’t mind a bike getting scuffed up, I’d just prefer to do it myself through riding it. From what I hear, there have been numerous issues with bikes leaving the workshop. I’ve only had two experiences with the workshop - both have been poor. I’ve had an email from CS (assume promoted by the review, which I thank you for). I don’t want to send the bike back again and will have a think about what I want to do. I was very excited about the bike, encouraged my wife to buy a mat ch ing one, and was considering another Sonder for a future trip, but this experience and genuinely put a dampener on a brand I trusted and was loyal to.

Update 25 October - I said I wouldn’t shop with them again but with members rewards, a 15% discount code, and a new lightweight stove launched, I thought I’d give them a go but when I add multiple items to the cart circa £100 is randomly added. The items don’t even add up anywhere near that amount when full price. Tried on two different browsers and my laptop with the same issue. No customer services available at weekend. Member code will end this weekend. Should have learned my lesson from the bike order and not bothered.

The following is the best summary I could come up with in the time I have at my disposal. There's a lengthy support thread at your site with the issues I encountered, along with descriptions, and photographic documentation:

Ordered a set of handlebars, Sonder Spitfire, that was listed on Alpkit's site as having backsweep as well as having images displaying the backsweep. Waited several weeks, received a very beat up box (shipper's to blame). Bars looked okay, but I sent photos and a description to Alpkit customer service for documentation purposes.

I also noticed that the bars appeared to have a straight top and no backsweep, so I asked about that and included photos. The customer service representative was unsure where I was finding the info that stated it has backsweep, I pointed him to Alpkit's own website and provided screenshots. To his credit, he admitted that the images and specs listed were incorrect, and he stated he asked whomever is responsible within the company to correct it (which still hasn't been fully corrected).

The rep was good with responses with my pre-sales questions, as well to my initial reports about the not as advertised bars. Unfortunately at this point the Alpkit rep took longer and longer to reply to my inquiries. I sent the bars back, at my expense and using my own shipping materials, though I was told I would be reimbursed for the shipping.

Even after the bars were received, it took lengthy periods to get any sort of reply let alone a refund, well beyond the 7 to 10 days for processing as stated on the company site. Eventually I had to write yet another email, thanking them for the initial help, but express my dissatisfaction at the return processing time and poor communication. Finally I got a response with the initial purchase cost refunded. I was also told at that time the portion that was owed for the return shipping would be handled next.

No surprise, yet another week or more has gone by with no response and no return shipping refund. Additionally I wrote a couple of emails this week to which I received no response.

Dear Alpkit, I've had my time wasted beyond sense and have not received reimbursements for all expenses incurred. At the very minimum I'm owed the return shipping expenses, but should also be reimbursed for the foreign transaction fee that was charged to my credit card due to the initial purchase, for the shipping materials I used, and honestly if you're a company of good standing you should be offering additional funds as compensation given how much work I've had to go to in order to solve this. This was my first purchase from Alpkit, and it's my last. In my most recent support email I communicated that I would be submitting a poor review if things weren't resolved, so support is well aware this would happen and yet did nothing.

I ordered the bars on July 3rd, today is August 29th.

Update 1:
As of today, September 1st, I received a refund for the return shipping and for the foreign transaction fee but no more. No reimbursement for having used my own shipping materials nor compensation for the fact that this whole thing took so long and a lot of my time.

The customer service at Alpkit is fantastic - a special thanks/shout-out to Brendan who helped me after I was having a few issues with my Bru-kit (which I am obsessed with! It was just a minor issue and he sent me a replacement ignitor free of charge). I've bought other items from them since and have been very impressed with the quality.

Loved the kit very affordable. So incredibly helpful when I ordered the wrong size and noticed after check out. The sorted and switched it to the right size before it was shipped.

I buy from Alpkit fairly regularly and their products, price and service are really good. I like what they're doing with the foundation and reuse / recycling too.

I had a great experience with Alpkit’s customer service. I was looking for a cooking attachment that wasn’t even listed on their website, but the team went out of their way to help me. Nothing was too much trouble, and their support was refreshing to experience. Very helpful and friendly throughout!
Big thanks to Brendan.

I have always found Alpkit to be well designed, well manufactured and good value. Yesterday I made a blunder with an order and was able to intercept it and get a refund within 25 minutes of Live Chat going on line

I needed a spare compression sack for my Alpkit Skyhigh 500 sleeping bag. Even though they do not sell these separately, they had a look round the warehouse to if there was spare one. Next day they located one, and despatched the following day. Well done Naomi!!! And thank you.

Even though Alpkit were unable to do my repair, they were able to make other suggestions for how I might fix it myself and even signposted me to someone else who provided the specialist service I required. Now that is EXCELLENT customer service.