Quaker Gear

[HuntPA]

We have been looking into getting new gear for some of our members. We have a standing order to get 3 new sets a year, but we have not for the past several. Part of this was due to people already having good gear, and more recently, the Globe rep not being responsive. In going through air pack selection, we found other vendors to be more responsive.

In particular, the Quaker rep has stopped by a couple times. We finally brought him in with comparable gear to what we now have. We all felt that the cut and weight were superior to our current Globe gear. With all else being equal, we are going to purchase Quaker gear. It will be a couple weeks before we get the order together, so I wanted to ask if anyone had personal experience with Quaker gear and had any negative feedback. We would ask our neighboring departments, but we would be the first local department with this gear.

[Plainsvol]

we don't like ours, we switched to Globe. It is about 8-9 years old, bulky and hard to move with.

[GVFD5]

We recieved an AFG grant this last year and got 8 new sets of gear with that. We tried on about 10 different sets of gear. I don't think quaker was one of those though, so I am no help there. We tried Quest, jamesville, Globe, Sperian, and many others. Globe blew everyone else out of the water. There was NO comparison to mobiity, weight, or cut. I have had the gear for a few months now and I can honestly say I have not had a set that has been more comfortable. That is just my two cents and again, I havn't tried Quaker so i can't compare the two but I can tell you that Globe is GREAT!

Good Luck,

Stay Safe

FD5

[JTFIRE80]

I'll be nice:

Many departments around here used to have Quaker.....Many departments around here no longer have Quaker.

[backsteprescue123]

What model Globe gear do you have? (I don't work for the company but haven't found anything they make that I don't like )

We currently have Janesville and during our last round of purchasing we evaluated some other manufacturers and Globe by far seemed to be the superior product..... only TWO MORE WEEKS until the Globe gear comes in!

[hwoods]

And...........

Globe here too....... For quite a few years...... We're happy......

[CaptOldTimer]

None that I know of down here.

We used ALB and Bristol and Janesville, plus others. Low bid deal for years. Now Globe is making another appearance again.

[Ctuttle3d]

we have veridian (think thats how its spelled) we had mixed and matched sets before.... we have had our veridian for almost a year now and everyone in our department is very happy..... its very comfortable and pretty light and with the bail out harness between the outer layer and the inner liner there is minimal snag hazzards....

[GTRider245]

Two words: Morning Pride.

[backsteprescue123]

Two words: Morning Pride.

Granted, I haven't worn it very much.... or a newer set (besides at FDIC) I wasnt exactly blown away by the Morning Pride gear.

[HuntPA]

We were told that the gear has been redesigned with better cuts in the last 2-3 years. The stuff that we tried on seemed to fit better than the same size, same material Globe that we are currently using. I had actually heard the complaints about the older Quaker gear. Just curious if anyone has any experience with the newer Quaker gear.

[islandfire03]

I tried on some at last years necs. and the demo set had loose threads and stitching that was coming undone. If thats what they bring to a chiefs show as demos, I can only wonder what quality the regular production stuff will be like.
It was a little bulky and stiff when squatting or bending.

We ended up with new Globe from our grant and are very happy.

[blaster668]

We have used Globe for a very long time but started to have the same issues as you. The fit on the Globe gear just seemed to get worse and worse every year too. We recently started buying Sperian Ultra-motion and have been 100% satisfied. Plus it is made in Frankin, PA which is only about 5 miles away. In fact, I just ordered a set on Monday. I will PM you the reps info since you are in NW PA as well.

[peak85]

In 2008 my department got demo sets of gear from 4 different gear manufacturers, all with the same spec. (Janesville, Morning Pride, Innotex, and Securitex)
They all gave us special pricing with the exception of Morning Pride, which also was the most expensive, around $900.00 more per set (keep in mind all specs were the same). We put are more aggressive and trained firefighters in this gear for about 1 year. The Morning Pride and Janesville had major stitching issues within the first couple of months that required them to be sent back for repairs. The Innotex and Securitex held up very well. The deciding factor was narrowed to Securitex and Innotex and came down to comfort. We chose Innotex and currently have around 70 sets in service for the past year. If you are looking for a good set of gear which is reasonably priced make sure to check it out.
My department never even heard of this company until we ran into them at the Harrisburg fire Expo.
It’s worth making the call. www.innotex.ca

[LVFD301]

I know of at least three departments that went to Quaker over the past 3-4 years, and each of them will never buy them again. Their complaints centered on the gear just literally falling apart at the seams.

We use Globe.