Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

I started dealing with Bender from KookaBay last year regarding his air mattresses. Not only has he always been quick to reply to my questions, he's always able to accommodate any special requests I have, and has always gone the extra mile to ensure my satisfaction as a customer. Turn-around time is pretty good, and his products are made extremely well.

Edited by T.L. on 12/06/2010 10:44:44 MST.

Rating: 5 / 5

I ended up buying benders prototype pad over a year ago and took it to big bend where over the course of 4 nights the seam between the center baffles come apart. Upon returning I sent it back to him willing to pay for a repair.

Bender ended up fixing the pad and offered me another pad as well for free. Now I have his original 30D rectangular pad, and a 78" 50D mummy pad as well. All I had to pay was shipping one way. This is some of the best customer service I've ever received.

Rating: 3 / 5

I was happy with my first purchase from KookaBay. It was a pillow and it arrived quickly. However, when I attempted to spec out a winter pad Bender was very slow to respond and I had to ping him a few times and remind him I was still waiting to hear back on my questions. Unfortunately the answers provided were never complete. After a few rounds of follow up went unanswered I gave up attempts to contact him. This took about 2 months total.

Rating: 2 / 5

Edit - If I could, I would do two seperate ratings here. The pad would rate a 4, but customer sevice and response time would be a 1. I'll give it an average of 2.5. I got the pad and overall it's quality was very nice. I think I needed to be more specific when ordering on the R-Value. Bender made one that had a r-value of 5 and weight of 19 ozs., and was heavier than I really needed, but I was new to his ordering process and should have been more specific on the need for a lower r-ralue and lighter weight. I ended up selling it off and getting a Synmat UL7 and haven't looked back. If you don't mind the wait and paying a lot for a pad it's not too bad, but there are lighter and cheaper options out there.

Edit-It looks like Benders' lack of of customer service maybe did him in on his business. Good luck trying to track him down for any info. I think he left several customers 'holding the bag' on their orders as well before disappearing.

Edited by rp3957 on 05/25/2012 18:02:59 MDT.

Rating: 5 / 5

I inquired about a custom pad with Bender in early January. He took a couple days to get back to me, and we had a back and forth email conversation for about a week. He let me know he was about 6-8 weeks out in production. I have a trip scheduled in late February and asked him if I could get it by then, and he said he would make that happen. I received my pad early this week, and it looks great. I have only tested it inside, but it is comfortable and looks to be made of high quality. The dimensions were not exact, but Bender explained that well enough to me via email. Overall working with Bender was a pleasure. Sure it is a little slower then dealing with a big company, but this is a side business/hobby for him so you have to cut him some slack.