Rooster Hikers

[Sean]

Just a quick heads up about Rooster Hikers.

I have bought a few pairs of them over the years but of late they seem to be very shoddy quality. My last ones have only been used for about half a season and already they are falling apart. The neoprene on top of the thighs has effectively disintegrated and the shoulder straps lost their elasticity a while ago.

I am going down the club later for a sail so will get some pictures of how they have degraded so other sailors can be informed at least. Not sure what I will wear instead of Rooster but it must be durable and not fall apart so quickly.

I also recently bought a Rooster 8.1 rig from Intensity and will review that when it arrives here in Australia. I am hoping it is of far higher quality than Rooster hikers though.

 

[martyn]

I've some of the Rooster pro hikers, they still looks as good as new after 18 months(Sailing every other week)

Maybe you use yours a lot more than me, but I'm more than happy with them

 

[LuckyJack]

Have Rooster annoyed you is some way? Noticed this is the second anti Rooster post in quick succession.
Personaly I haven't anything that is Rooster however allot of the Laser sailors at my club do and it all seems just fine.

 

[Sean]

I own 2 pairs of hikers and have thrown out 2 so have used them for a while so have had some experience with this gear.

I own a number of rooster tops and pfds and will soon own a Rooster 8.1 rig so it is not like I am down on all Rooster gear is it.

Possibly I do wear them out a lot faster than some more casual sailors , but of late I have not sailed a great deal.

My last pair which were new at beginning of February are already worn out. Fact.

The pair before that lasted a whole season before they fell apart. Fact.

They are rinsed and dried after every session on the water.

It is possible I just got a badly made pair and it is an anomaly. Hypothesis.

I am glad yours are lasting well.

I do have an issue that Rooster refuses to sell their goods internationally. They take advantage of trading with China but when it comes time to trade themselves in a global economy they seem reluctant to do so and will in fact cancel orders from outside the UK if you place one.



I do think this needs to be removed from their website as a priority as it is clearly false.

I have no particular axe to grind and have probably bought more gear from Rooster in the past than most people and once I could not recommend their gear highly enough.

I am glad your hikers are lasting and it is unfortunate for me that I clearly got a bad pair.

If you are of a particularly conservative nature pass by this next paragraph.
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We all know that even though Chinese workers have every incentive to produce good products, such incentives as grinding poverty and less than humane working conditions , the occasional bad product must slip through. Apple anyone? But at the end of the day why should we care that we are exporting our nations jobs and our childrens futures to a slave nation ruled by an autocratic plutocracy as long as we can make a buck.
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I do feel like a sucker for on my own coin being prepared to promote Roosters 8.1 rig in Sydney and buying one so my club mates and a few others in my district who expressed an interest could try one, but nevertheless I will still be fair when I review it. To those people who have shown an interest in obtaining more information about it and seeing some more pictures of one in use, when it arrives I will share that with you.

I might even take it up to the Brass Monkey Regatta at Toukley on June 11th and give it a run against a handicap fleet since the Laser fleet seems to have deserted that event. Last year I was virtually the only Laser there and for the first time in my life was placed into a fleet of mixed monos to race on handicap which I fortunately won much to the disgust of the Saber and Impulse skippers who had great handicaps but did not much like light air sailing.


I would like to see others try and stand on their Rooster tillers as I stated in the other thread you referred to. I do know that my older rooster tiller snapped when my weight was applied. I was done with it anyway so no great loss although if it had not snapped and nearly carved my leg open in the process I would have salvaged it for a spare.Maybe the newer ones with the cleats rather than the tiedown are improved?

Good luck with your sailing no matter what gear you use.

 

[Sean]

I've some of the Rooster pro hikers, they still looks as good as new after 18 months(Sailing every other week)

Maybe you use yours a lot more than me, but I'm more than happy with them

I think you bought your hikers at the end of April 2010 Martyn. Lets say they arrived in a week or so that makes them nearly exactly 12 months old.

http://www.laserforum.org/showthread.php?t=32702

You have used them a total of 26 times approximately so I would certainly hope they are as good as new!

For me it seems like last year was just yesterday, for you it seems like a year and half ago. You remind me a little of the character Dunbar in Catch 22 and more luck to you. 18 months ago to me was sometimes around late yesterday afternoon.

-------------------------------------------------------------
"I woke up yesterday and I was 18, my life stretched out before me like an endless pleasure. Even my miseries were full of some mysterious joy.

I woke up today and I was 45, an old man stared back at me as I shaved the grim stubble from my shadowed face.

Tomorrow if I wake at all I will be one tired breath away from the eternal night and my time here will have passed by in a fog of a lost dreams."

W. DeLance 1813
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Good luck with your hikers I am glad you chose the right size in the end.

 

[martyn]

I stand corrected, yes it was last April, Maybe because the winter dragged on a bit and makes it seem so much further back, it was pretty cold, but didn't stop us sailing in minus 10'c

Ot it could be the onset of senile dementia, things I did when I was 18 seem like yesterday, but I can't rememember what I did half an hour ago.

 

[Sean]

Just ordered 2 pairs of hikers.

Gill Pro Hikers and some Neil Pryde Race 5000 Hikers.

Only $40 more for 2 hikers ex. delivery than I would have had to pay for a single pair of Rooster Pros and matching pads in Australia. Bought a new sail as well to help offset the cost of delivery.

Both Chinese made no doubt, but good luck finding any that aren't these days. Do our nations actually manufacture anything of value anymore?

Look forward to using them and seeing what they are like.

 

[laser11]

I do have an issue that Rooster refuses to sell their goods internationally. They take advantage of trading with China but when it comes time to trade themselves in a global economy they seem reluctant to do so and will in fact cancel orders from outside the UK if you place one.

View attachment 7365

I do think this needs to be removed from their website as a priority as it is clearly false.

I just ordered the Shin Tech Long Johns and Racing Shorts from Rooster UK, and they shipped it Fedex Express and it came in 3 days. I don't know about whether they ship to other places worldwide, but they do to Canada.

I am quite happy with all my Rooster stuff so far.

 

[Sailorchick]

Just ordered 2 pairs of hikers.

Gill Pro Hikers and some Neil Pryde Race 5000 Hikers.


Look forward to using them and seeing what they are like.

Let us know what the Neil Pryde ones are like. I've just got a Neil Pryde race skin this winter which I love so am interested to see what the rest of the kit is like.

I was speaking to a friend who has them (also sponsored by them so I take it with a pinch of salt) and he did warn that you have to use them a few times to wear them in - almost too grippy at first use, but they only take a couple of sails to wear to the right level. He's never used the rooster pros (I have them now) to compare against though.

 

[jeffers]

I have a set of Rooster Pros that are 3 years old. They are starting to show their age but they have had a lot of use.

If yours were less than a year old I would suggest you speak to Rooster, they are always happy to get feedback both good and bad on their products. Who knows before you started bashing them they may have even sent you a new set as a 'gesture of goodwill' in case you got a bad pair...

I always find it is far better to give a product manufacturer a chance to resolve an issue I have with them before going out and denouncing them to others....

 

[sailin in Eire]

i got a pair of rooster hikers a couple of months back so i can't coment on quaility yet so far so good anyway.

they where regular fed ex'd to me in Ireland within a week.

i also have a rooster foot strap and top cover and the quality of them is very good and the hikers have wrkd out very well so far.

as a matter of interest did u wear shorts over your hikers at as over time clothes get worn away by laser decks

 

[Sean]

I have a set of Rooster Pros that are 3 years old. They are starting to show their age but they have had a lot of use.

If yours were less than a year old I would suggest you speak to Rooster, they are always happy to get feedback both good and bad on their products. Who knows before you started bashing them they may have even sent you a new set as a 'gesture of goodwill' in case you got a bad pair...

I always find it is far better to give a product manufacturer a chance to resolve an issue I have with them before going out and denouncing them to others....

G'day Jeffers,

These were first worn around end of January this year, 2011. Maybe I got a pair with some neoprene that was slightly faulty. They have disintegrated on the front and the back just has normal wear. I haven't used them a huge amount as I would usually use a really old pair and save these for weekend racing or regattas.

They are in decent condition except for this wear on the front of thighs.

Not much point in speaking to them regarding this as they have an Australian agent who would handle this issue I presume. Steve did offer to send me a free dvd but I think that was mainly to compensate me for the money I lost and the inconvenience of canceling an order that I placed with them days after the fact. I did not accept his offer of a DVD by the way.

I have already stated it may well have been a one off defect in the material used for a certain batch of hikers as I have not had problems with other pairs I have owned. That is why I was going to order another pair as my previous pair lasted over a year and indeed I did order and pay for a pair until the order was canceled and my money refunded.

I do think that online stores should either state clearly that they will not ship to certain countries in clear terms and conditions before the transaction is completed and your money is taken or alternatively prevent those buyers that are from countries where the colour of their money is unacceptable from placing orders by blocking the sale completely.

If you are blocked from making a purchase, no worries. The buyer can just move on to another seller and buy an alternative product, but taking the money and then days later sending an email that your whole order has been canceled and your money will be refunded shortly is not acceptable to me.

 

[LuckyJack]

Your not meant to hike on your front, belly down, I know you folk down under like to do things differently but..........

Either that or you have quads like Arnie and they are too small for you..

 

[lasereng]

as much as i like rooster i have to say the quality of the classics is now pretty poor. as i can't see beyond the classics i have now bought 3 pairs over 2 seasons!! riiight mug i know but i have rooster blinkers.

it's now got to the point where i'm wearing something under the hikers through fear i might end up exposing myself!!