Night Vision TNVC is awesome --CS par none.

[Strykervet]

So they've done me really well. They've gone out of their way to help at every turn. No sales tactics, informative, good prices. But today they really went too far.

I got an Airframe helmet, I love it, but one screw for the VAS shroud penetrated the shell and is flush with it now along with a crater around it. Not good. Crye pushed me off to Ops Core, Ops Core did what they could and are having their engineer contact me. Told me to call Crye back. I did, and Crye now wanted to involve the dealer. Because "there are fakes galore and we need to know if it's real before we offer to repair or replace" etc., etc. Mind you I had to threaten them with bad publicity before they were willing to help that far.

So I call TNVC.

Be damned if they didn't put a new one in the mail TODAY. They want the old one back of course, and I took them up on it because they said they'd get theirs from Crye (I didn't think it fair them getting screwed either, I was willing to keep it in that instance and just smear Crye). That's CS above and beyond if you ask me, as this is obviously Crye's mess up. TNVC said they'd "run block for me".

So I thought I had good things to say about TNVC, but now I can honestly say if my NV gear doesn't come from them, it doesn't come from anywhere. Not in my house anyway. STELLAR CS, and when I asked if they wanted me to put in a good word for them, they "didn't want me to feel like I had to do anything" that "if I wanted to, I'm free to express my opinions of them good or bad".

These guys are truly 100% honest and on your side, and I can't say enough good about them, I really can't. There may be other great companies out there, but I've never been so well taken care of over a purchase by any company anytime in my life. Thought I'd throw this out there.

Eric, extra thanks here, Vic and Charles, thanks again. You guys set the standard in this industry IMO, and I feel if I order anything from you it'll work or it'll be replaced quickly by something that does with little to no hassle. That's how I like it.

 

[TheGerman]

Pretty much my experience in dealing with both, but separately.

TNVC is easy to work with and anything I've wanted to change or exchange went without a hassle.

Calling Crye to ask the simplest of questions before purchasing some of their gear educated me quickly to the fact that no matter how far up the phone tree you went, they had no fucking clue about any of their stuff.

 

[markspring1978]

Agreed, Eric helped me out with a purchase a couple of weeks ago, couldn't have been more helpful. I changed my mind on some stuff and Jamie was great to deal with on exchanges.

Good crew!

 

[Victor-TNVC]

Thanks for the kind words guys, I will let the crew know. Most of them are at the Oregon Sniper shoot this weekend where we're putting on a special NV shoot for our Brothers in arms. One of our staff members (an Army Vet who was in the Mogadishu conflict) is there as well answering questions and showing off some cool gear. We tease him due to the way Hollyweird portrayed him as that "gunshot deaf" guy running and gunning through the town. Those of you who have been coming to Shot Show probably have met him, his name is Mike and he and the rest of the TNVC staff are really a bunch of special Vet and LE guys (hero's in my book), who I feel are the absolute best in the education of NV and shooting.

As for the Crye helmet, my guess it was a delamination of some sort that can happen with composite structures. Most voids like this get caught in the NDI portion of the build process but on a rare occasion a single unit like this may get through. Either way, glad we could assist and I am curious to see this helmet when it arrives back here where I will personally inspect it and talk with Crye.

Vic

 

[Pat M]

Was at the Oregon State Sniper Challenge and TNVC put on a great demo of there products, never got to look through much before then. Was super impressed by the gear and want to thank all the guys for letting us have a complete hands-on demo, including sending rounds down range in pitch dark. And suprised at how affordable the units are now, at least 1/2 the price & size compared to the old days (90's) and 4x the quality.

I know Jake was stoked to get one of your NV units.

 

[JC Steel]

Oh yeah Mr. Jake was..........I tested it out a little last night and oh my goodness the stars are bright......

 

[Pat M]

Was it hard driving & looking for yotes all the way home ?

 

[Slapchop]

They helped me out and without any questions asked. Top notch company.

 

[Strykervet]

I got the new one yesterday. I took off the cover and the rails and boxed up the helmet the same way you sent it and it's going back in the same boxes today, right now.

I circled the offending area with a red circle. It may not look like much now, but go ahead and mount a VAS shroud to it and you'll see what I mean. Two screws will look fine, sitting on top, but the top one will be recessed to the point the top of the screw sits flush with the helmet itself. Around that screw (a nickel to quarter size area) is deformed sort of like a crater; when the screw crushed it, the area around it was shoved away it seems. Delamination, yeah, perhaps that's what happened there. Feel around with your finger or thumb and you'll feel the crater.

Crye's engineer never got back to me as expected. So I'm gonna go get some washers that are suitable for this at ACE, hopefully the rubber laminated type if they come that small (I don't want to risk a repeat). I need to get more velcro so I can mount the cover back on anyway (and I wanted larger pieces than what came with the cover anyway, so here's my chance).

Thanks again TNVC, big thanks to Eric, and make sure Crye takes this back. It isn't your fault at all, and it isn't the shroud maker's fault either. They seem like they want no responsibility in this whatsoever, and that isn't right. Were it not for you guys, I'd be stuck with it. Like I said in my email just recently, I won't be buying anything from anyone else unless I can't get it from you guys, and particularly a big purchase.

You run a business the way I like to think I'd run one.

 

[Victor-TNVC]

Copy on all Strykervet. I will inspect this helmet thoroughly when I get it. My guess still holds there is a delam of some sort. Thank you.

Vic

 

[Strykervet]

Hey, I'd like to add that I went down to ACE and they had the appropriate washer. The screw is a 4-40 if I'm not mistaken, and a #4 washer works great. It needs to be bigger than the head for sure. They don't make laminated rubber washers that size, so I took, at the clerk's suggestion, a rubber fender washer and cut three rubber discs the same size as the washers. I punched a hole in the center with an X-acto knife so the screw would fit really tight. I used one washer, then the rubber disc, then another washer, then the nut to hold it down snug while I trimmed the excess rubber between the two washers with a razor blade.

Then I installed the screws with the washer on first, followed by the rubber disc that contacts the shell. This allowed me to tighten the shroud on good and snug, but without crushing the shell. Instead of the shell crushing, the washer spreads out the force and the rubber disc will crush and "leak" out the sides before damage occurs. It should also be mentioned that the holes aren't much smaller than the head of the screw, so I would figure a washer to be part of the design along with torque specs (but again, Crye wants no part of discussing this, still haven't heard from them).

Another thing I learned is that when doing this with the rubber and metal washer, you'll notice the screw for the Wilcox tether isn't long enough if you use one of those. You'll need a .75" screw (they come with .5"). Then you'll need to trim .1 or less off after you thread it through with a dremel or file. Presto. No problems, it fits tight, it doesn't damage the shell.

The Vecro tape was $2 and it was more than enough to affix the cover on how I wanted it. Better than the dots they come with, actually.

Overall I'm pleased with it again, but this is something that any new owner should be aware of. I had high praise for this helmet at first, but in retrospect I'd have waited on the Ops Core for ballistic protection or one of their bumps for other, lighter use. Their CS was very good too (although not quite TNVC, they kind of take the cake). This helmet just seemed the best of both worlds, but you better be careful mounting that shroud, and you won't hear about washers or rubber discs from anyone but me it seems --I couldn't find info on it anywhere.