SOFREP Crate Club - Premium Membership Review - Caveot Emptor

[Enigma Nostra]

Hey everyone,

If you have been around the net recently, there have been a lot of special interest mail order clubs popping up. Some are for gamers or geeks, some are for people who are really into shaving or microbrews. All sorts of stuff. Well I stumbled across one for tactical gear, and figured I would take a gamble on it to check it out. For this particular group, I have to say, I was massively disappointed.

Upfront Info :
MSRP for 1 shipment of Premium was $399.99, discount codes easily obtainable for 10-15% off. Shipping was extra, and ran about 28$.
OTD price after discounts and shipping: $367.99
Policy is NO REFUNDS

I got the box, after UPS messing up and delivering it to the wrong address.

The info from the company had touted that the premium crate

" We ship bundled packages out with custom products like handmade knives, concealed carry packs, and other rare, custom gear with a preference towards made in the USA."

With that in mind, the contents were as follows

Gerber Ghost Strike Fixed Blade Knife
Gerber Ghost Strike Punch Knife
Gerber Gator Machete Jr.
Lawson Hammock Blue Ridge Camping Hammock
Treehugger Hammock Straps
SecurePro Lockpick Set
Asp Pocket CR Keychains Flashlight
A poster with some fighting techniques on it.

This seemed a little light to me given the price tag.

So I tallied it all up, and I came up with a MSRP of ~469. Ok, so based on MSRP, maybe saved a hundred bucks, but got a grab bag of gear. Problem is, this is the Internet age, and MSRP doesn't mean much anymore. So I went to Amazon, and a couple other sites for things such as the lock picks, and came up with a fair market value of ~313. Most of the items had free shipping, but even if we assume about $20 more for some random shipping charges, you still end up with a street value of about 330-340. And that's not even bargin hunting, that's just quick prices. So about $25 upcharge for this service.

I contacted customer support, and was underwhelmed with their initial response. I am going to continue talking to them about this, because I do think this is a fun idea in general, but I am disappointedwith the lack of value.

I was informed by Lea on the support team that the added value is that the gear is picked by, and stuff that is used by, their team of ex special forces guys. Which hey, I guess hats a value for some people, but it's pretty nebulous to me. Many crates out there are focusing on the value of their crate in total being much higher than the purchase price.


Overall, I hope to continue discussing this with them and get the program better, but I would have to avoid people to stay clear as is. Hanging out on a decent forum, such as this one, will just as easily get you a list of useful tested gear and such. A fun experiment, but I suggest you don't waste your money. Instead buy a bottle of your drink of choice, get a little messed up, and go shopping on Amazon, and you too can have a box of random stuff delivered to your door, and have spent the money just as wisely as this crate club.

[Arkane]

Wow, that is a serious upcharge, and some of the stuff I frankly find hard to believe some ex-SOF guys would use (Gerber Jr.machete, seriously?). Unfortunately I saw there is a no refund policy. I don't like the idea of playing Russian roulette with gear so I like to do some heavy research before I spend my money. When it comes to gear this is usually the first place I start with my research: https://www.itstactical.com/

[Enigma Nostra]

I also use ITS tactical. I had a little spare from a job that went really well, and decided to gamble a bit. You takes yer chances, you gets what ya gets. But at the same time, I expected a lot better. Gerber is "Ok", but its not benchmade for sure.

[Enigma Nostra]

Update:

So I spent the last few months communicating with the company. I eventually managed to secure my refund, after many many many stalling efforts on their part, offers of other non conforming products, etc. I finally got my refund, 4 months after the order. I ended up paying return shipping, just because at that point I chalked it to a stupid tax on my part. But it took a lot, and I would still highly suggest people avoid.

-E