Hey Guys,
I thought I might chime in here, and help with a couple things. We've been working with Escape Gear for quite few years now. I honestly haven't seen a better quality cover on the market. The real trick is getting them. Each set of covers is individually hand made when ordered, whether through Equipt or directly. We hope that ordering through us is of benefit to the US customers, as we are a local (in relative terms) provider that can help with customer's needs/concerns or issues more quickly that an individual working with a company literally on the other side of the planet. The pricing is the same either way, so it's up to each customer to do what works for them. We're good with that. Our experience with Escape Gear and their timing is that it takes roughly 5-6 weeks to get an order from purchase to arrival. That is 2 weeks to make, 2-3 weeks to make it through the international shipping process, and a week extra for good measure. It holds true on most standard orders. Special orders, say for a second row only, or adjustments for child seat cut outs or monitor changes, will significantly extend the time line for production. Those orders are handled differently at the factory. Those become essential custom orders in their production. We've seen extensions of 1-2 months for one off runs. So it is what it is. OK, last bit of insight. Manufacturing in South Africa shuts down annually, from December 15 to January 15, or close to those dates. That is the case for every industry. We deal with this with Eezi-Awn, National Luna, and Escape Gear. The close the doors for the holiday. So if you ordered something in Nov/Dec and it didn't get out before they closed, they will get to it in mid January for you.
TLC2013, I am not sure what the heck is up with your order not arriving yet. That is way too long. Our outstanding orders are cleared up through November/early December. If you want us to check on that for you, as a courtesy, we would be happy to do so. Please reach me directly through Equipt channels, and we'll do what we can. Send your order number and information to
Sales@Equipt1.com, and write in the email that I told you to write about this.
The Charcoal Tuff Canvas is going in my 2013 200 very soon. For a black interior, it is the way to go. The color is very complimentary to the interior black surfaces. I have them in hand, and will post as soon as I can. The light khaki and grey cotton canvas is awesome. Wears very well. The grey is a light to medium grey, so great for the lighter grey interiors. The charcoal tuff canvas is that. It is a polyester/cotton blend, and is more durable. It is like the difference between a all cotton T-shirt and a poly/cotton blend T-shirt. The blend is slightly less soft, but wears longer. The same goes here. The reasoning behind the Tuff name, is that it is. There exists a machine whose job it is to rub fabrics. The amount of rubbing back and forth lets the manufacturer calculate how durable a fabric is. Escape Gear tried this on the blend material and stopped after 300,000 rubs with no significant wear. That's Tuff.
I have been to the factory in Cape Town multiple times. I have seen their production, and compared the cotton and blend materials side by side. I honestly could not really tell much difference in the materials. Both are very soft, and visually you cannot tell them apart other than color. If you are on the fence, go with the Tuff Canvas.
Great products can take time to produce. Yes, it is a few weeks. But they are worth it. Cheep and fast is just that.
Cheers,
