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  1. #1
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    Angry Outdoor Vitals, a BAD experience.

    I've bought this two items, an Outdoor Vitals Ultralight Hammock and a Outdoor Vitals StormLOFT™ Down MummyPod™ Sleeping Bag 15F

    ...and I'm not at all impressed.

    Lower price compared to the other USA manufacturers is now clear, OV products are of lower quality then the others. For example, hammock that I bought for cca 60$ plus shipping and VAT, can be bought directly from Chinese manufacturers, for 30$ with free shipping. I say that because when you buy OV products, you will see MADE IN CHINA label, so, believe me, that product have a lot cheaper value than what you pay for! Also the carabiners are exactly the ones that you can buy on Ali Express for about 6$ for two of them. The plastic used on a Woopie slings is already broken on both ends, and the bag that you keep your hammock in already came apart from it and I use this item for 4 months! I can just imagine what will happen in the future. This will be acceptable for a hammock for 30$, but not at all for this one. My older Chinese hammock that I bought first and is still in use for about 4 years now, don't have these problems with it, and it costed me 10$!

    The MummyPod 15F sleeping bag is not coming apart yet but I've used it this winter it was about +1 degrees C, that's about 33 F and I was not at all warm in this bag. There was wind, so lets add a few degrees less, but If your product says that I will be comfy in 15F, that is -9C, I really expect to be a lot warmer then I was using it. Also in a lot warmer weather, you will always have cold spots on your legs, because the MummyPod system cannot be closed completely on the end.

    Also bad reviews are not being published on their website, so no transparency there and taking their part of responsibility as a seller.

    This is not a serious outdoor manufacturer at all by my experience. They are polite in a our e-mail conversion, but are really not helping at all, to summarize, avoid Outdoor Vitals guys, there are a lot better options out there!

  2. #2
    alifeoutdoors's Avatar
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    Bingo.

    They came on strong with a huge hype/youTube campaign and that's what it was, hype.
    Once you're lost in twilight's blue, you don't find your way, the way finds you.

  3. #3
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    That hype needs to be addressed properly, that's why I'm writing this post.

  4. #4
    alifeoutdoors's Avatar
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    I worked in the outdoor industry for about a decade. I understood where they were coming from, the markup on these products is enormous, and the message they put forth was very positive, hey let's get more people outdoors by offering quality outdoor gear at a lower cost so its a more affordable hobby. However they don't practice what they preach or provide what they said they were providing, the same quality product for a lower margin to them. They just offered inferior product for a lower price. They outsourced to China instead of Vietnam where most of the main stream companies have their products manufactured. As you've mentioned you can do this cheap mass produced product on Amazon, Ali Express or whatnot at any time. Sorry you had to have a real world experience but thanks for sharing it with the community.
    Once you're lost in twilight's blue, you don't find your way, the way finds you.

  5. #5
    Senior Member TrailSlug's Avatar
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    You should have come here first and we could have suggested some quality cottage vendor gear.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
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    Jun 2012
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    Albany, ny
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    No surprise in any of this. They do not hide the fact its made in china, although they do advertise its a USA based company very heavily. I would have expected their bags to be rated for lower limit rather then comfort. Most cheaper gear is rated as such - a 20 degree bag will keep you alive at 20, but is only really comfortable to about 35 or 40...

    The hammocks, and their general recommendations for them, are not conducive for a comfortable lay. Unless your spine bends like a banana. I lost most interest in the company after seeing this.

    I did get in on the synthetic jacket kickstarter, and Im still hoping for a reasonable product - was cheap enough for the weight it has. Hoping for quality somewhere lower the cottage/northface and the like but higher then ali or regular Chinese type goods. But the delivery date keeps getting pushed back. First jan, then march, april... now May sometime. Tis the norm with kickstarter projects I guess.

  7. #7
    Senior Member
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    Buy once, cry once. You can't go wrong with our HF cottage vendors. Reputation is everything.

  8. #8
    Senior Member
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    I bought from them. 2 sleeping bags and an under quilt. Yes they are low quality, and low price to reflect that. I can’t say I was disappointed because I pretty much knew what I was buying. For me at that time it was a sound decision. I was trying to see if I could sleep on my back in a hammock full time. Theirs products served their purpose for me.

  9. #9
    FLTurtle's Avatar
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    Dec 2018
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    I bought one of their top quilts after they ran into an issue with it (baffle size) and reduced the price to $50. It worked ok, just bulkier and heavier than a down quilt. I used it with night temps down in the mid 40s and had no problems. It's now in a gear box as a backup/loaner quilt. However, since then none of their products stand out to me. Some are even pricier than the cottage vendors.

    https://outdoorvitals.com/products/l...cking-topquilt

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by 11x View Post
    I bought from them. 2 sleeping bags and an under quilt. Yes they are low quality, and low price to reflect that. I can’t say I was disappointed because I pretty much knew what I was buying. For me at that time it was a sound decision. I was trying to see if I could sleep on my back in a hammock full time. Theirs products served their purpose for me.
    This price is not cheap, cheap is 10 or 30 bucks but their price + VAT + shipping and all the import and postal fees is not a small number. The problem is what the other people above are saying, OV advertise their products in a one way, and they are selling just a regular cheap gear that you could buy directly from China, that's the problem!

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