Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Helmets and Gear Jafrum leather...DONT DO IT!!

Hey guys ,a warning to anyone considering buying anything from these people....DONT!
I bought myself a pair of lined chaps from them. 3 weeks later the zipper broke,stuff happens,no biggie. I get the return label emailed to me right away and send them back on 12/23/11. Then I wait and wait and wait.

Call them,nobody knows anything,exchange being processed is all they know.I call a total of 5 times (up to now). Just got off the phone with them today 1/16/12. After being on hold for 25 mins and disconnected twice,they advised me that my replacement pair would be shipped tomorrow. We shall see if that's correct.

The real shame is that the chaps themselves are decent quality for the price,zippers break,it happens. The customer service however is the worst I have encountered in years,I didn't think company's with this type of poor service survived in this economy. Yes its the holidays and the volume of exchanges has to be higher than usual but that's not my problem,they need to staff accordingly.

Consider this a warning if you are thinking of spending your hard earned $$ with these people.

the stuff from them I have seen is cheap junk mostly but bot bad for what you pay. It is low grade leather made in Pakastan mostly unless that has changed since I dealt with them.The bags we bought held up OK and were functional but the finish wasn't very good and the leather was very stiff low grade leather with not a great surface same with a leather jacket I bought from them. The jacket has held up but I rarely wear it since I have a great one from Guide Gear that cost $75! The only real complaint I have is the leather was rough kind of like a cross between suede and smooth leather. The black came off the bags when I tried to condition and water proof them. I soaked them in liquid black shoe polish and treated and they have been OK since.

I've only bought helmets from them and have never had a problem with exchanges.

Dog, most Harley leather jackets are made in Pakistan and the likes. The made in USA comes from the addition of Hardware, lining and logos.

FYI, it's a general rule that water proofing anything but "hard" finished leather is a bad idea.

I've used Jafrum and I've yet to be burned. The stuff generally is less than top shelf, but if you know that going in, and know what to expect in value, and know that value rarely exceeds the cost, your chance of some level of satisfaction increases - The old adage "you get what you pay for" certainly applies to Jafrum. But your problem seems to stem from poor service, and for that there is no excuse.

Dog, what did you expect for $50 bags?

Just kidding!

I use Sno-Seal on my boots and hunting gear, good stuff.

I didn't expect great bags but I didn't expect the black to come off. Let me be clear I didn't just get a little black on the rag I was using the black actually came off leaving the leather no longer black.

I bought one of their jackets and man did that thing ever smell. I tried airing it outside for days and days but no change. I finally said the heck with, threw it in the washing machine and ran 3 cycles with plenty of Gain detergent.

It's fine now, the smell is gone and it really didn't affect the jacket sizing at all. Still stiff as a board like it was out of the box.

I have had varied success washing leather items in Woolite, even greasy leather gloves. Don't know about squid ink toned leather from Pakistan. Do a test first.

Its hard to get American made leather products, and you will not get it cheap. Vanson, Fox creek, and Little Joe are the only ones I know of, and you can't get a jacket for under $400.
The reasons I hate to order stuff from the internet. You almost never get good service, and rarely get the product you thought you were getting.
Thats been my wound from it, you may get by unscathed.

Langlitz... Doesn't change your point on expensive US-made, just another one...

By pure coincidence all my leather has been from First Mfg. and I've been very happy with it. Not US-made, but very reasonably priced. I still wear my buffalo leather chaps from 2002 but I "grew out of" my buffalo jacket long ago. Found a gigantic jacket recently, probably a little too big, but it fits pretty good anyway and it was a killer sale price. I really wanted a Vanson but they're way too proud of their stuff. From the wholesale/retailer side they sound like douchebags, too.

The tags say made in USA on the Guide Gear.

Relax, in the short term things sucked, but you may learn to love those chaps and be very pleased at your bargain. Besides chics dig chaps.

You can probably find a fantastic deal on e-bay, craigs list, the green sheets, or in a yard sale.
Guide gear gets their stuff from Milwaukee leather which means its made in China. All you have to do to legally say made in America is install one final item like the snaps or zipper. The product was then made complete in America. Kind of crappy though.
I carry in my store First mfg, Shaf, and Hot Leather. None are made in America.
When researching the products to carry I found the best quality I could at the best prices I could. American Leather is just not affordable to the average guy. I wish it were. I wanted to carry all American made products.....so much for that.
John, I forgot about Langlitz....still expensive stuff. Great customer service with Langlitz.

That's what I hear, from Freedom.

Where ever it's made it is top quality both in craftsmanship and materials. Had it for years now and it has been used and abused, worn riding in the rain many times and still like new.