Venture Heat - Buyer Beware

[bvanant]

Same situation, my controller stopped charging and they have no spare parts. I have a good vest (XL) and two batteries and a charger if anyone is interested in making an offer.

 

[Marty_C]

Same situation, my controller stopped charging and they have no spare parts. I have a good vest (XL) and two batteries and a charger if anyone is interested in making an offer.

 

[Marty_C]

Seems that California passed a law last year (where Venture Heat is located) that mandates manufacturers stand behind their product
(replacement parts, repairs etc) for 3 years if under $100 and 7 years if over $100.
It's a shame that the problem is so bad that they actually needed to enact a law to protect consumers.

California Passes Right to Repair Law: New Rules for Electronics…

California's new Right to Repair Act mandates manufacturers to provide access to repair guides, parts and tools for seven years.

www.reinhartlaw.com

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Did anyone ever get in contact with add heat about a group buy or spare parts?

I only think about this in the winter, lol.

 

[Marty_C]

Did anyone ever get in contact with add heat about a group buy or spare parts?

I only think about this in the winter, lol.

I did contact them, they replied kind of generically and then never replied again to further emails.

 

[Tucsonwilly]

My friend bought the Venture Heat Heated Dive Vest (2 batteries, about $850) about 2 years ago. He loved it. Unfortunately he passed away last year. I inherited the vest. Following their instructions and speaking with tech support we could not get the remote to pair with the vest. The vest is outside of their 1 year warranty.

This is the response that their technical support emailed back to me when I requested repair service for a charge outside of the warranty period.

Sending it in not under warranty we only would tell you if it salvageable or not.

Other then that there wouldn't be anything for us to do since we do not have a repairs department so we are unable to fix products on our end. We also do not have access to those parts/components here in the US, since the items are manufactured overseas.

So in plain english, out of warranty vests are totally rendered useless if something goes wrong.

I did try and contact the CEO and received no response.
I also left a message on their Facebook page, also no response to date.

It is unfortunate that there are companies that take this very short sighted approach to making money but I felt potential future buyers be aware of the lack of support for a product you might want to buy.

I realize I am responding to an old post, but Venture Heat is a disaster. I also tried to get new batteries for my vest and have been told that they do not have any, nor do they have any other parts, nor do they care. I received the "we do not have a repairs department" twice within 24 hours. The minute something is wrong with the vest, you have thrown away whatever you paid for it. Unless you want to buy a new one every year, I suggest you buy something other than Venture Heat.

 

[Oldbear]

….Unless you want to buy a new one every year, I suggest you buy something other than Venture Heat.

I have a friend looking to buy his wife a heated vest. What other brands/vendors are there?

 

[davehicks]

I only know of Venture Heat as a viable option. My suggestion is to buy one and treat it like a delicate silk garment. Even though the manual says you can wash it, only ever soak it in a fresh water sink. My two thermolutions are well over 5 years old and still going strong. My friends with Venture Heat are all very happy with them.

 

[Marty_C]

I have a friend looking to buy his wife a heated vest. What other brands/vendors are there?

I wish I knew of another- please let me know if you find one from another company that is recommended.

 

[Marty_C]

I only know of Venture Heat as a viable option. My suggestion is to buy one and treat it like a delicate silk garment. Even though the manual says you can wash it, only ever soak it in a fresh water sink. My two thermolutions are well over 5 years old and still going strong. My friends with Venture Heat are all very happy with them.

My friend who had the Venture Heat vest loved it- said it was a "game changer". My problem is supporting a company that has virtually zero support for their customers. BTW, VentureHeat, I believe, is a middle man to the manufacture in Asia. I believe that California, where Venture Heat is located, was or is in the process of creating a bill that mandates suppliers of equipment maintain parts and repairs and support for products sold there. I hope so as so far I think they have the best product for the Scuba application right now.