Kult of Athena – a Review

[Sir Rodney]

This review shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone in the SCA, WMA, HEMA, Living History, or Ren Fair communities.  KOA rocks!

I ordered the GDFB large kettle hat (AB0388) on black Friday (11-28-14) very late in the evening.  It arrived 6 days later on 12-4-14.  I found this amazing considering the holiday weekend and the fact that it’s generally a crazy time of year.

Communication: 5/5 I received both confirmation and shipping emails.

Price: 5/5 This was an in-stock and mass produced piece at a great price.

Quality: 5/5 The hat was exactly as advertised in every respect and was repackaged by KOA very well.

Timing: 5/5 As mentioned above.

For a generic kettle hat to wear around camp and to the battle field as a sunhat, I couldn’t be more pleased.   

I couldn’t pass it up after seeing the hat in action on this forum recently!

[I’ve also posted this review on the AA.]

[Sir Wolf]

[Ian]

Always had a great experience dealing with KoA.  Even if something got screwed up they've always rectified it.

[Sir Nate]

Always had a great experience dealing with KoA.  Even if something got screwed up they've always rectified it.

Agreed, I've never had issue with them.

[Sir James A]

Always good to hear other people having a good experience with vendors. I've bought from them 6 or 8 times, always good with communication and saying what's actually in stock. One of my preferred people!

[Sir Edward]

Yep, KOA has always been good to me too. Never a bad experience.

[SerTimtheJailer]

You really can't beat there prices, when I'm looking for something thats the first place I check.

[Lord Dane]

Agreed. Never a bad experience and always best prices. Get great deals on top quality products. 

[Aiden of Oreland]

One time I had asked about the inconsistencies of sizes for a gambeson and they straight up told me that it can't really be determined because it's made on dirt floors in India. I was really surprised at how honest they were! They are usually great and quick about responding back to questions. Out of the 3 or 5 items I purchased they were as nice as I expected!

[Sampf]

This gives me hope that this will be a good helm when it gets here

http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=SNH2248&name=14th+Century+Bascinet+with+Visor
 

[Thorsteinn]

I actually have had issue with them. Their "Battle Ready" rating is only for swords. When you tell them that the spear head failed in the first session they say back it's not a sword and battle ready doesn't mean the same thing across all platforms even if they say it does. They said I should have known that a $35 spearhead wouldn't do squat. I pointed out if it was so bad then why did it have the same rating an Albion had and they said "cause".

I know Hal Siegel would not have done such, and doesn't.

Caveat emptor.

[Ian]

Just for clarification, Kult of Athena does not make anything.  Technically they offer some basic sharpening services and will make very rudimentary leather sheathes for some of their products...  They are just a re-seller for various other companies that produce a whole range of medieval and weapon related goods.  They're kind of the go-to distributor in North America for this kind of stuff because they're in general very reliable and provide good customer service (there are of course always exceptions, but they do have an A+ rating on the BBB).  They're the exact opposite of Medieval Collectibles / Collectables (yes, they have a version of their website with the name intentionally spelled wrong) who provides awful customer service and is never up front with what they have in stock and what quality anything is, and will play games with you if you demand a refund.

[Sir William]

Seconded on the MC/MC-ables (and DKA, or Dark Knight Armoury, another sub of MC) - and I think it depends on what you want to return.  Something that sells well?  No problem.  An obscure item that has sat on shelves for months (or years) until you happened to buy it?  Good luck; I think their company line is not to accept anything in return if they can help it.  It might be smaller than we think; run out of someone's home...I seem to recall some emails going back and forth that gave the impression it wasn't a brick and mortar store.  Ah well...I don't buy anything from them since my last contact w/them a year or so ago.  Plenty of other places to acquire more or less the same goods.  KoA has better customer service, but it depends on who you talk to- they're not altogether 'up' on their inventory.

Lord Rodney, you astonish me Sir.  You know the rule- pics, or it didn't happen!  Let's see that hat! 

[Sir Rodney]

Lord Rodney, you astonish me Sir.  You know the rule- pics, or it didn't happen!  Let's see that hat! 

Yes, yes, I know.  All of my pictures are dated, especially my avatar.   

I need some glamour shots instead of the usual “exhausted, disheveled and wounded after a day of fighting”.

[Sir William]

Those're the best shots, my Lord- the proof, as it were that you're not just some well-armored fop.