My Himel Experience (v2)

[Fonzie]

I was just about to buy a Himel jacket, good thing I read this....might look at other options

Why not? No one here is saying his jackets aren’t good, the general consensus is that the quality is very good (price aside, and price is always relative anyway) in the great majority of cases.
We aren’t trying to discredit the company, just discussing particular experiences with some esteemed members of this forum.
Anyone can have a bad day at work and the measure of a true professional it’s not not making any mistakes, but how they deal with such mistakes when they arise.
HB jackets aren’t what I personally perceive as value for money, but they’re undeniably beautiful and they seem to fit like a glove.
I wouldn’t let these particular reviews put you off if you like any of his models, you might get the jacket of your dreams.

Edit: Typo.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Shame that members on a forum had to put a company on the spot to bring out their 'caring'. Then they repeatedly brag about how they are now finally reaching out.....

 

[jonesy86]

The stitching on my Heron looks pretty darn good to me, and what a cool design.

 

[MrProper]

The curse of forums/internet/social media is that the more he engages, the more he opens himself up to additional criticism from anyone looking to antagonize him.

Justify yourself and find a thousand excuses often seems implausible and opens up a lot of space for further speculation.
A "yes, shit went and shouldn't have happened like that. my mistake. let me do it well" gives less room for attacks.
Error culture/no blame culture. Is the same in every job and in every industry.
Social media only makes it public.

 

[red devil]

Shame that members on a forum had to put a company on the spot to bring out their 'caring'. Then they repeatedly brag about how they are now finally reaching out.....

It is a shame that I was taken all day and could only catch up today. There is nothing much to add as this resumes it perfectly.

 

[sweetfights]

I never was one to pay attention to stitching. This thread got me interested and since I have owned three Himel's, I just checked my brown oil tanned Kensington. The stitching looks good to my eyes.

 

[sweetfights]

Himel Kensington. Purchased 2020.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Showing these finely sewn Himel jackets just illustrates what a customer should expect when ordering. What a real disappointment when getting a wavy uneven poorly stitched example that was allowed to ship out.

 

[Jin431]

Those are beautifully made jackets @sweetfights. Congratulations on having these. Stark contrast to what our other members received.


My take on this is that I think we are all in agreement that HB can make superb jackets but like everything else shit does happen from time to time. Its in how one react to those moments that make a big difference in how people perceive the service they receive.

 

[Cyber Lip]

I was just about to buy a Himel jacket, good thing I read this....might look at other options

Yeah sure, I'll bet you were LOL

 

[HoosierDaddy]

If you have had enough of this discussion, just don't click on this thread. Simple enough

 

[Fonzie]

I can sense some thread pruning real soon...


Bartender Comment: I'm afraid so!

Fonzie, my apologies for hijacking your post, but this is a good place to put this and leave a stop on it so you and the other guys who want to carry on with the On Topic discussion can do so without the side-distraction.

The robust on-topic discussion here is one thing; behaving like children quite another. TFL has lots of threads on many different things. No-one has to be or is expected to be interested in them all. If you don't want to discuss the thread topic, there's another thread sure to be out there that will interest you. Move along.

 

[TheDonEffect]

First and foremost, the jackets posted clearly have workmanship errors, bordering on glaringly obvious. I don't see what posting perfect examples has to do with the jackets with errors, or apologizing for that matter. The errors are indisputable.

It's like if someone were to post their new perfect jacket, and someone then posts but mine came out bad, it's like this thread isn't about that. But this thread is.

Something most have not considered is that in the case of Carlos for instance was that he wasn't aware or cognoscente of the workmanship issues. Heck, the jacket was beloved here on this forum, and featured on HB's website.

However, I do understand that perhaps the apologists are coming to the aid of HB because there's a small business being "attacked" and fans are coming to the aid.

But this is no smeer campaign, this is a consumer voicing their concerns, and within this, context is everything.

This is not a $400 jacket, which is still alot of money, this is super premium product, sold by a company who hangs their hat on being super premium, the same company that champions things likes 9 stitches per inch, and commanding their premium price tag.

For me, as I have mentioned in other threads, I'm not shocked by errors, they happen, and I'm pretty easy going regarding it. So the errors don't necessarily concern me.

I often said what separates good vendors from bad isn't perfection, it's when, not if, when problems arise, how do they address it. You learn in those times what you paid for.

So regarding context, considering how Carlos' jacket did so much good, I wouldn't go as far as say it was early adopter, but I mean cmon it's featured on the website, and considering that the issues with the jacket were egregious, and considering how they position their products in the marketplace, remember 9 stitches per inch, well you lay in the bed you make.

Frankly, I'm disappointed with the response. HB participating in the forum isn't some privilege, it's marketing pure and simple. If I was shelling out that sort of dough, keep in mind you're in the 90th percentile in terms of price at this point, with a ton of great competition mind you, and I get that .01% mistake, I'd like to know that I'll be taken care of.

There's simply no excuse, new sewer, not present during the business, etc. I don't want to know all these things. I'd like to think that Dave is making my exact jacket, after all why then am I paying all this money? The responses were cringe worthy, because all I read is that I'm not making the jackets, and I may not even be here to quality control them, and the people I leave in charge can't catch that issue. I expect people who do QC should be able to see things a leman will never see. And again context, these are not 1k jackets. I don't get what thousands of other satisfied customers have to do with my flawed jacket.

In summary, given all the context, HB should've just stepped to the point, graciously and succinctly apologize and offer a replacement, and be done. And instead of two soon to be locked threads, we would be praising HB for really standing behind their product. This is business 101. If you build your business as being the best quality, then you gotta protect that more than anything else.

 

[Marc mndt]

First and foremost, the jackets posted clearly have workmanship errors, bordering on glaringly obvious. I don't see what posting perfect examples has to do with the jackets with errors, or apologizing for that matter. The errors are indisputable.

It's like if someone were to post their new perfect jacket, and someone then posts but mine came out bad, it's like this thread isn't about that. But this thread is.

Something most have not considered is that in the case of Carlos for instance was that he wasn't aware or cognoscente of the workmanship issues. Heck, the jacket was beloved here on this forum, and featured on HB's website.

However, I do understand that perhaps the apologists are coming to the aid of HB because there's a small business being "attacked" and fans are coming to the aid.

But this is no smeer campaign, this is a consumer voicing their concerns, and within this, context is everything.

This is not a $400 jacket, which is still alot of money, this is super premium product, sold by a company who hangs their hat on being super premium, the same company that champions things likes 9 stitches per inch, and commanding their premium price tag.

For me, as I have mentioned in other threads, I'm not shocked by errors, they happen, and I'm pretty easy going regarding it. So the errors don't necessarily concern me.

I often said what separates good vendors from bad isn't perfection, it's when, not if, when problems arise, how do they address it. You learn in those times what you paid for.

So regarding context, considering how Carlos' jacket did so much good, I wouldn't go as far as say it was early adopter, but I mean cmon it's featured on the website, and considering that the issues with the jacket were egregious, and considering how they position their products in the marketplace, remember 9 stitches per inch, well you lay in the bed you make.

Frankly, I'm disappointed with the response. HB participating in the forum isn't some privilege, it's marketing pure and simple. If I was shelling out that sort of dough, keep in mind you're in the 90th percentile in terms of price at this point, with a ton of great competition mind you, and I get that .01% mistake, I'd like to know that I'll be taken care of.

There's simply no excuse, new sewer, not present during the business, etc. I don't want to know all these things. I'd like to think that Dave is making my exact jacket, after all why then am I paying all this money? The responses were cringe worthy, because all I read is that I'm not making the jackets, and I may not even be here to quality control them, and the people I leave in charge can't catch that issue. I expect people who do QC should be able to see things a leman will never see. And again context, these are not 1k jackets. I don't get what thousands of other satisfied customers have to do with my flawed jacket.

In summary, given all the context, HB should've just stepped to the point, graciously and succinctly apologize and offer a replacement, and be done. And instead of two soon to be locked threads, we would be praising HB for really standing behind their product. This is business 101. If you build your business as being the best quality, then you gotta protect that more than anything else.

+1

 

[dudewuttheheck]

This thread was going great until @Downunder G Man started talking. I have no shame in saying that. G man, it is obvious that you are in the wrong. You were not even involved in this thread and then you came here and derailed it for no good reason. I think you should take the hint and just bow out now. Learn to read a room.


On a note more related to the actual topic, I will reiterate that my Himel jackets were actually pretty well made jackets. Dave can indeed make excellent jackets. Also worth pointing out is how well he nailed the measurements on both jackets that I ordered. That doesn't excuse what happened with some of the jackets we've seen here, but when he gets it right, he gets it really right.

I think the takeaway is that when you order a Himel jacket, you need to be really up front about any issues that you do have with your jacket. If you are not fully satisfied, insist that a remake be done and show examples as to why it's necessary. You'll likely get it taken care of.

 

[Marc mndt]

Let's not feed the troll any more.

 

[MrProper]

How long can you flog a dead horse ?

The carousel rotates as long as someone still wants to ride. Since it's up to everyone to get out or stay inside, I don't see any problem with that. Unless the storage space runs out, then yes ;-)

To stay with the topic ... I take the following with me from this thread: No matter what reputation a manufacturer has, it doesn't hurt to include what is personally important to you when you order. I do that for almost every customized order.
So if I wanted to buy a jacket from Himel, I would say that the measurements are important to me and that exact seams are important. And I would like to have photos after QC and before shipping, please. I'm pretty sure I'll get exactly what I want then. I think the fallacy is to give a leap of faith, because of good marketing you imagine all is safe. From experience, however, it is the case that mistakes are more the rule than the exception and there is always a lot of interpretation involved as to what is good and what is bad. In other words, the more precise the specification and the requirement, the lower the risk of getting something wrong.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Let's not feed the troll any more.

Yeah you're right. Here are some pics of my old Himel jackets to show that mine were pretty solid. Freewheelers level? Nope, but still solid.

These two pics here were the problem areas on this jacket. Not horrible IMO. Freewheelers level? No, but given the customization abilities, I was satisfied.

I think my Grizzly was even better. Still not FW level of neatness, but very good.

 

[Mark R]

I would still go back to the person that made the jacket ( I take it one person does all the stitching). It sounds like they were new and not at the level needed for a jacket at this price point and as such still in effect an apprentice. To me they should not have being working on a full price jacket but a lower price apprentice piece, I believe Aero do this kind of thing. When I started I spent weeks making small wooden dowels, god that was boring but you worked your way up.

 

[Mark R]

Yeah you're right. Here are some pics of my old Himel jackets to show that mine were pretty solid. Freewheelers level? Nope, but still solid.

These two pics here were the problem areas on this jacket. Not horrible IMO. Freewheelers level? No, but given the customization abilities, I was satisfied.

I think my Grizzly was even better. Still not FW level of neatness, but very good.

I must admit I would never even notice these stitching issues, My eyes are no longer good enough without a close look with a pair of glasses. However the original jacket in the thread was poor even to my eyes.