Triplette

[Zooloo]

I am looking at buying a bunch of equipment and supplies for a club and was recommended Triplette. What type of service and quality do they provide? I know they have been around for a long time and have talked to them. They seem to have a very friendly and helpful customer service group. How about the quality of products and shipping?

[noodle]

they have a pretty good reputation for customer service.
the quality of stuff varies, as not every vender has the top quality thing in everything. triplette's kind of been on the wane as walter has lost interest in sport fencing.

[S. Hunter]

I really have no problems buying uniforms and such from them, but I truly despise their blades. I'd reccomend them for any uniforms/masks/knickers/socks/shoes though. Best vender for that, IMO.

[noodle]

whats your gripe with their blades?

[MyraTrue]

Noodle:

my gripe with Triplette, and that of other people I have fenced with is that the wiring jobs are not particularly good coming from Triplette. If you don't mind doing the wiring job yourself, I don't have anything against their blades or parts. But I've seen WAY too many blades break a wire the first day, or pop out, etc.

But in general, Triplette is good customer service and decent prices and materials for clubs.

[prototoast]

They are of questionable quality, but good service. They're sort of like the little kid who really wants to do something well but isn't always good at it. I use some of their stuff. Generally speaking, the blades they sell are quite durable, though not always the nicest balanced. There uniforms don't fit well and aren't very comfortable, but they're durable. Their masks aren't as durable, but they're cheap.

[S. Hunter]

They are of questionable quality, but good service. They're sort of like the little kid who really wants to do something well but isn't always good at it. I use some of their stuff. Generally speaking, the blades they sell are quite durable, though not always the nicest balanced. There uniforms don't fit well and aren't very comfortable, but they're durable. Their masks aren't as durable, but they're cheap.

Funny thing - I think that their uniforms are more comfortable than any Uhlmann that I've worn, fit more like normally sized clothes, and fit PERFECTLY if you give exact measurements, and their masks have lasted me almost forever. The wiring on their blades isn't great, but they also get the 'leftover' blades from BF, and you can notice it if you compare them to a better quality batch.

[noodle]

pretty much everything i've heard so far is reasonably true.
i was just wondering if there was a specific problem that someone had with their blades.

[rsy]

Originally Posted by MyraTrue

my gripe with Triplette, and that of other people I have fenced with is that the wiring jobs are not particularly good coming from Triplette.

I agree with MyraTrue. Triplette's wiring jobs are sloppy with glue all over, the blade wire sticking out and unreasonably short lives. A malfunction within a day or two is not unusual. Their prices on the unwired blades can be good, however, so if you buy bare blades & wire them yourself, you can get a good deal and avoid the problems. I have never purchased much else from them other than blades.

-r

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Originally Posted by rsy

I agree with MyraTrue. Triplette's wiring jobs are sloppy with glue all over, the blade wire sticking out and unreasonably short lives. A malfunction within a day or two is not unusual. Their prices on the unwired blades can be good, however, so if you buy bare blades & wire them yourself, you can get a good deal and avoid the problems. I have never purchased much else from them other than blades.

-r

I dont trust their wire or cords. Overall, triplette is best for when you want cheap gear. Its good for a fencer who doesnt want to do the distance.\

Also, their blades are the runts of the litter, so I wouldnt purchase blades from them, not even maraging.

[gojujay]

I've ordered 2 blades from them with no problems whatsoever. They were the house brand foils, very stiff. Bodycords, nary a problem fencing foil 2-3 times a week. Uniforms are a good fit for me, but like any manufacturer, your mileage may vary.

[CvilleFencer]

I also have a gripe with the fit and finish of their uniforms even "custom" cut ones and the wiring and general durability of their blades, even the BF maraging ones. Their boxes are also fairly crappy, especially for saber and sometimes they can be misleading (FIE Standards instead of FIE approved and so forth) on some of their gear. I know some good fencers who buy all their FIE blades from them but I have had nothing but back luck. Also for what you get I think their prices on their masks and equipment are a bit high. Also their web ordering is non-existant. The do very well on the phone however.

If you are buying club gear I would strongly suggest you give Amanda at Blue Gauntlet a call. Their masks and uniforms are very nice and they offer a much better discount than TCA on club orders. They are a bit slow on returns but they ship fast and are reasonably accurate (everyone makes mistakes). I would avoid the house brand blades (except for steam foils) and body cords but they sell good gear (Prieur, Vniti, Uhlmann) at very good prices and their French foil points are my favorite (for French points anyway).

You might also want to think about The Fencing Post. Good discount (20%), great customer service and very high quality gear at good prices also makes them a better pick than TCA IMHO.

Best of luck!

[MyraTrue]

I agree with Cville on this one- go with either the Fencing Post of with Blue Gauntlet. If this is a club order, I'd suggest BG, because their prices are lower. I mean, I love Uhlmann, and prefere what the Fencing Post sells, but BG is more club priced, and once fencers are to the point they want "something better" they should be buying their own gear, not using club materials.

And while I'd love to send buisness to the Fencing Post, I know that our club also orders from BG and gets 20% off on orders. I don't remember if its a club discount, or something to do with the Euro to Dollar conversion (we've talked about both now and then), but you should be able to get a discount and some good products at both places.

[Namir]

I have never had an issue with Triplette. I love their Jackets, I have never had an issue with the wireing on the blades. But Blue guantlett is horrible!
Even on small simple orders they seem to find a way to screw somthing up... wrong equipment, lack of equipment, bad customer service, and I've had issues with getting them to simply send me my gear!
I gotta say I love tripplet although I have never placed a club order.

As far as discounts go, Blade has a good discount, I would rather by from Blade the BG.

DFP=H... whats wrong with their chords?
They are easy to fix when the break and are in-expensive.
They are simply Priure body chords.

[neevel]

Originally Posted by Namir

whats wrong with their chords?
They are easy to fix when the break and are in-expensive.
They are simply Priure body chords.

They're a copy the Prieur design, but made by Triplette. One issue: for the 3-prong ends they cut the 3-conductor cable straight across, so that when they peel apart the conductors they all have the same 'reach' from the point where they branch off. Trouble is, the distance to the C-pin from where the cord fits through the plastic boot is longer, so that connection is under extra strain and tends to break or pull loose.

-Dave

[Windsor]

I think the general theme is that your mileage may very....A LOT. I've had great experiences with Triplette and their gear, and their customer service is good as well. For club stuff I would rather have Triplette than BG. Some of the club gear at my old club was really old but still in good working condition.

For me it'd boil down to price since my experiences with both Triplette and BG gear has been pretty good.

[Archdaledoc]

Having started fencing recently, my equipment is from a local vender, Triplette. Our local high school league uses Triplette electronic scoring machines, foils, blades and most of the fencers wear Triplette gear. I am amazed to read all of the bad experiences people have had. Our electronic gear has worked with only occasional blade or cord failures, despite heavy use. Walter and his staff have always been courteous, responsive and timely. Our club discount has been good and if we need equipment for a specific person, Walter delivers it to the tournament. Clearly some of the benefits to Triplette are due to living in North Carolina, but the equipment itself has been great too.

Why go anywhere else?

[cowpaste]

You're probably getting better experiences because you live so close. When you live close, errors are cheap to fix, and communication is stronger.

[JEC]

I second Cvillefencer. For somebody who requires shipping (read lives away) from one of these vendors, they will find that Customer Service matters. In my opinion, and in the last survey of Fencing.Net members, by far the two best US vendors were (actually tied in votes):

Blue Gauntlet (NJ - Amanda)
Fencing Post (CA - Saul)

[Zara_athlen]

Two days ago i ordered two dinamo blades wired with german points from tripplete. I'll test em when they get here and tell you guys if the wire pops out

I must say that the customer service on the phone was very good.