Consumer Beware: Ballistik Leathers

Give him Brian Van's direct cell number lol

 

I had a custom suit made by Ballistik before anyone here in Texas was wearing them. This was shortly after they started, I believe. The first one arrived and it was a disaster in terms of fitment. Tim, Jace and Dean got right on it, took it back and had another one made that fit great. I just received my 2nd Ballistik suit, this one a Kangaroo, and granted they exceeded their original production time quote by a couple of weeks it showed up and fit perfectly. My wife just recently bought one and there were fitment issues as well. There were no arguments and another suit is in production now.

Jace Wilhemi, Tim Hunt and Dean Dufrene are all stand up guys (I dont know any other distributors) and it's unfortunate that they happen to be the middlemen for a company that seems to be struggling with quality control.

My wife does some tshirt sublimation, decal stuff on the side and we found a place in China that sublimates pit shirts like what you might see around the AMA paddock or club paddocks. It has been a fucking nightmare dealing with these people. We have sent them designs, sizing and have received items that weren't remotely close to what we expected. In the US, you bring the crap back to the place you bought it and they either refund you the money or remake them. These chinamen wont give you the money back! I'd bet the Pakistanis aren't much different. They try to negotiate a price on remaking them! Even though the right sleeve might be pink when you asked for blue. They don't care. And XL might fight one time and then the next time it fits like a small.

I'd imagine these are the same issues that Ballistik is having. They've found some sweat shop factory in Pakistan or something who doesn't give a shit about quality or accuracy and it's a big damn hassle and time consuming process to return it, have it remade, etc.

We finally said fuck it and stopped selling the pit shirts. If the customer insisted on it then we let them know a small might fit like a large, your red might be pink and the blue might be purple and we can't get our money back if it's all screwed up... still wanna buy it? Surprisingly some do because they'd rather spend the $40 and take their chances than $75 or so for a more reputable stateside company.

If i ever got to the point where my business had to post date 2 checks that equal $1000 I'd surely rethink WTF I was doing it all for.

Longest post on WERA ever! But just wanted to say that Jace, Tim and Dean are all great dudes. And you probably would have received another suit, eventually, but don't blame you for getting fed up.. I probably would have too.

 

I got linked up with Ballistik through Tim Hunt at Apex. He thought I might be interested in having a sublimated custom suit and after a conversation, I was in. Jace called me and we went over what I wanted in a design. Then they sent me an off the rack to try out and Jace spent 2 hours on the phone with me and a tape measure to make sure the final product would fit correctly (I'm close to OTR, but I wanted a better fit). I was given a 6-10 week build time to product (including custom gloves) to be in hand.

Fast forward 12 weeks and I still didn't have product, but I'm paid in full. The suit actually missed my first race of the season. The flip side; Tim stepped up and shipped me an OTR to use and was happy to let me keep it until my custom showed up. He accepted full responsibility and was emailing and texting me daily to update me on what was happening. The suit then missed my second event of the year, and I was starting to get agitated. Tim and Jace both stepped up and went to bat with me to the owner about a partial refund and I still had the loaner suit. I had a conversation with the then-owner who threw out all sorts of control and distribution excuses. Ironically, that's what I do for a living and the conversation painted a pretty clear picture that Tim and Jace were actually doing just about everything in their power to help my (and apparently a bunch of other) issues get resolved. Promises were made by the then-owner, and none were delivered.

Right before Memorial Day my suit and gloves arrived. To say that they fit like a custom suit was an understatement. They felt like protective pajamas. I wore the hell out of them for 2 more rounds, where I crashed the living shit out of them trying to out brake a talented young gun rider in T1 @VIR. Suit looked trashed, gloves didn't look much better. Doc said I should have broken a leg, maybe a shoulder and wrist and I walked (limped) away with a boo-boo on my knee. After the weekend a call to Tim and Jace (who informed me that the old owner was no longer in the picture) had my suit in a box and across the country to a shop in Washington state. The lady who does the authorized repairs was super-backlogged, so she shipped it to Jace who (in a week) got my suit and gloves repaired with Ballistik parts and Jace actually hand painted the sublimated logos back on the suit. Shipped them back to me to make Summit in a 2 weeks. Oh, and while the suit was being repaired, Tim told me to KEEP the cow suit I had from before and I used it at NJMP 2 weekends ago. He made me a smoking deal on it in light of the absurdity of all the problems I had with the previous owner and apologized for the way things worked out.

Running a business isn't easy. Running a distributorship where folks have to be explained the value of a custom product and trust that their understanding of that product will meet their expectations when delivered is a tough business to be in. Especially when owners are really bad at managing assets and leveraging responsibility out of a supplier. Tim and Jace really seem to have gotten the ship pointed in the right direction, and after my experience, I would give them another shot at a custom suit should I need one. Too bad this is my last year racing.

Now to quell the "well you're supported by them, you're just doing PR", you're right, I am. But please believe that after the mess I still endured that if I felt that Tim (my distributor) and Jace (my designer and repair dude) were jacking me around I'd be happy to pile on the shit experiences others may have had prior to the ownership change, regardless of the "help" I got. It isn't "help" if you pay for something that never arrives, is junk, is unsafe, or isn't stood behind when that product need fixing or replacement. Anyone that knows me and my gear knows that I'm happy to pay for proper equipment and that won't change.

Thanks for reading all the way through. This is all just my opinion, others will have theirs.

 

I don't know the other guys, but I do know of Jace. He's a good guy that stands behind his stuff. Hopefully they get everything figured out soon.

 

Bored&Stroked.....I'm like you, I only know one of them, Tim Hunt, and he is a good dude that will take care of you.

When I first read the title of this thread I remember thinking, "oh crap, that's the stuff Tim is now selling, hope this turns out ok, I know he will try his best".

As a business owner, it sounds like he is doing what I do, treat the customer the way you would expect and want to be treated. Everything isn't always perfect, but it is how you deal with it that shows your true character.

 

Have you dealt with them directly? Or know people that have?

I ordered the D-Air suit but haven't heard anything from them. I got the order number, payment confirmation etc, but havent heard anything directly from the store.

I have emailed them through the "Contact us" on the website, and sent a direct email from my email address to theirs, with no response.

I am trying to find out when it will ship, how long it will take it to get here, etc.

 

That's about right. I haven't personally ordered, but know three people who did directly, as well as probably four or five more on forums. They all said there is very little communication, and when you do get anything they barely speak english. The majority got their items within 2-3 weeks, with a couple taking upwards of 6. Just kinda how it seems to go. They also have a FB page I believe. Can't seem to find it now, but I know I was on it last year and it's full of the same general complaints about lack of communication. Never heard of anyone not getting their stuff though.

I just texted a buddy who got his there to ask for any specifics, I'll update this post when he responds.

 

most of that time is probably spent at US Customs..

 

Probably right. Friend just said they really seem to not speak english, which is understandable considering their location. He's actually ordered two more items since the jacket I knew about and same thing. Order confirmation really quickly, then the item shows up in 2-3 weeks. He didn't even bother asking any shipping questions after the first order.

 

that place actually has some pretty damn good prices on Arai helmets too. :up: (and yes, i converted the $)

 

Excellent, thanks for that.

I tried to contact them first and even gave them a full day. But then I went ahead and ordered it. I didn't want to wait around for an email response, which would just delay the timeframe for it arriving.

So im glad to hear that; it makes me feel better. I can deal with a lack of comms as long as it shows up.

 

Yeah the pricing isn't too bad. And I read it gets a lil cheaper if you sign up for their newsletter. But I didn't do it, I don't want them spamming my email all the time.

You just have to figure shipping. You wont get an actual shipping cost to the US until you actually go to place the order and put your location, then it will update. The shipping on the suit was something like 90 Euros. I don't know what the conversion is. I found a currency conversion site but the internet was slow and it was taking way too damn long to load so I just ordered it.

 

Yea, I clicked add to cart, and got the discounted price for being outside the european union as well as shipping. Then I just cut/paste the final price into google and got the price converted into $. I bookmarked the site and will probably get something there soon.

 

Ahh shit, cut and paste in google. Why didnt i think of that.

 

That is absolutely not true. I had discussed this with a racer who ordered his while deployed. He just got back and was using his new suit for the first time. He called Kelcey today to inquire about some repairs (new suit jinx..lol) and I got an email a bit later stating they have never quit making roadrace suits, nor do they intend to stop making roadrace suits.

Really glad too, I need a new suit myself.

 

New management announced:

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news...pparel-relaunches-brand-under-new-management/

 

Ballistik desperately needs an editor for their press releases.

-jim

 

The strange thing is when I see the company name spelled wrong (Ballistik instead of Ballistic) it make me think of Ruff Ryderz and other lame ass bike gangs

 

I'm available. Heh.

Also, it says "Under new management"... but there is no mention of what that means. Who/what/why/etc?

 

I will spare you all the details, but I got hosed big time by the guy who makes their suits. I told them and they laughed it off. Todd@Heroic can verify it all.

Be careful who you deal with. You dont hear this stuff about me or Todd.