who are your favorite online places to shop with?? Mine:

#1 Gossamer Gear: the absolute BEST I have ever delt with..great website..great product availability..SAME DAY response to customer service inquiries.

#2 Six Moon Designs:great website..great customer service..QUALITY QUALITY gear..

#3 Speer Hammocks: great customer service, great product, Wonderful Website-full of hammock camping info.

#4 AntiGravity Gear: for those of us who want storebought alcohol stoves and cozys..great customer service, great products..Ships Very Fast.

[Note: Nothing below in any particular order]



Retailers:
Campmor
ProLite Gear
BaseGear
Backcountry
BrightGuy (headlamps & lighting - sometimes the lowest prices - great company to do business with)


Why?
- Speedy Shipping
- Fast follow-up to emails
- No problems with order
- Great Customer service (though rarely need to use it)
- All only charge CC when item(s) actually ship(s) even if some items are BO'd***

***Except maybe PLG if i recall correctly, but i could be forgetting - still a great company to do business with (one of my favorites) - they have special ordered for me w/o charging me in advance. With possibly one exception over the last couple of years, all items listed were in stock and shipped within 1 or 2 days. No worries doing business with PLG. [if anyone can correct me if i'm mistaken on when PLG charges one's CC, please Post here with correct info.]


Manufacturers:
Gossamer Gear
SixMoonDesigns
HenryShires
ULA
MiniBullDesigns
Montbell (big, but still act like they're a responsive cottage industry)
LuxuryLite
Oware


Why?
- Speedy Shipping (in most or all cases depends upon the Mfr and whether item is in stock at time of order - never any EXTENDED waits - all deliver when and as promised and no excuses).
- Fast follow-up to emails
- Great Customer service (though rarely need to use it)
- Great Quality (which is why Cust. Srv. is rarely required)
- No problems with order (which is why Cust Srv. is rarely req'd)


There are other fine Manufacturers out there that i have done business with (e.g. to name just two, MountainLaurelDesigns which only lacks in "Speedy Shipping" due to "growing pains" and FanaticFringe), but those listed above stand out in my personal experience.


Retailer+Mfr:
I'm going to mention BPL/BMW here, since within the last year they have really turned their Cust Srv around in my experience, though a couple of yrs ago they needed work in this dept. Fast shipping of *IN STOCK* items. Fairly responsive to Cust. Srv requests within the last year. Bend over backwards to correct problems, in my personal experience. Great products.

PJ states it well... Here are my favorites:

Gossamer Gear – Excellent customer response, shipped within 24-48 hours in all instances
Six Moon Designs – Shipped within 24-48 hours, excellent responses
Oware – Great to work with on customization, timely shipping
AntiGravity Gear – Excellent customer service, timely shipping
Nunatak – Good working with customization (you do have to wait for your product, but quality is superb)
BPL – enough said
Campmor – Usually ships within 24-48 hours of order, large selection, “Hot Deals” (need to view frequently and buy quickly to find/get best deals)
REI – Outstanding customer service, no shipping fee if picked up at local store

Edited by mikes on 09/29/2006 09:44:25 MDT.

BACKPACKS:

Fanatic Fringe
Z Packs

Both times, I asked for certain changes to their packs -- both delivered quality packs quickly and at very reasonable cost!

Edited by ben2world on 09/29/2006 09:58:43 MDT.

TENTS:

Henry Shires
Six Moon Designs

(Surely by now, everyone knows about these two great gearmakers already).

Not comprehensive, by all means----
Big Retailers/Manufacturers:
Patagonia
Montbell
Black Diamond

On-line retailers:
Backcountry.Com
Bentgate
Prolite Gear

The Wee Cottage Folk:
Henry Shires/TarpTent
Gossamer Gear
ULA (where's Brian?)
MLD (when Ron allows ordering again)
CiloGear (I suspect---he's a pleasure to correspond with)
Nunatak

All of the above are ethical, flexible concerns who want you to be happy---sometimes at their expense.

Edited by kdesign on 09/29/2006 10:36:46 MDT.

We Bens diverged in our initial response to the Z-pack products. Have you had a chance to snap any pictures that you could share with us? I was intrigued by the prices and weights, but the construction looked less impressive. Some better pictures might clear this right up.

Retailers:
REI
Sierra Trading Post
Altrec
(and others)

Cottage Folk:
Henry Shires/Tarpent
Brian Frankle/ULA Equipment

(These are the only two I've dealt with but both have been responsive and helpful before, during, and after the sale)

These are some great people. I've also had real good luck with WildThings and ULA.

BPL has been prompt and courteous in all cases.

Gossamer Gear has been VERY helpful for this MYOG guy, even answering questions that were in some cases clearly not sales inquiries :D.

Ben:

The Z pack is a simple pack. Nothing real special, but if your gear is light and you are willing to baby the silnylon a bit, then it carries just as well as most any other simple, frameless packs -- and you get to enjoy its amazingly light weight!

Joe Valesko added the following to my pack:

Standard (44" belt) - 5.7 oz
2 side compression straps - .3
2 bottom compression straps - .6
2 silnylon hip belt pockets - .6

Weight as delivered - 7.2 oz.
Home made sternum strap - .2

Revised total - 7.4 oz.

I added the bottom compression straps because I prefer hanging my tent on the outside.

If you have any questions about the particulars of the pack, feel free to email me at btangemail AT yahoo . com

OK, back to EZ gear makers...

Cheers,
The Other Ben.

Edited by ben2world on 09/29/2006 12:36:10 MDT.