UNIT 1Reviews of unit1gear.com

Backed the AURA project on Kickstarter and after some delays I have now had the helmet + lights for two weeks and the backpack for a couple of days. All in all they have been a joy to use so far on my commutes to work. Helmet (size L) has a good fit for me and has hold up well in both rain and sun so far. I can recommend using a visor when it rains if you wear glasses like me. The smart lights and remote are quick and easy to attach to and take off the bike mounts when needed and turn+brake signals work fine. I have only had the backpack for a couple of days so I cannot say much about it yet, but it is comfortable and seem to have good quality on zippers and materials. I feel the power button on the helmet require a bit more force to use than I like, but after I found out that I could turn on/off all lights with the remote that is no longer a problem. If you have time, I can recommend watching some of the short tutorial videos found on the unit1gear site for the products you are interested in - most of them are very helpful.

I can't understand all the bad reviews! The fact is that a brand new project of this size has hurdles that need to be overcome. And the U1 team has mastered them brilliantly. But perhaps only people who know project management understand that. I can only say thank you for this project and this masterpiece of technology and convenience. In my opinion, there is nothing comparable on the market that even comes close.

I was unfortunate enough to receive three faulty Nav Remotes (and I thought it was because of the bad shipping company or my knowledge). But it was just some bad luck and a faulty badge of Remotes. Unit1 stayed in contact and wanted to make sure I was a satisfied customer and had a good functioning product. I really like their products and the way they are as a whole company. Hope to see more awesome products of Unit1 and keeping up the good work!

I’m a proud owner of the Faro helmet and when I heard about the Smart Light system I jumped at backing it. I was not disappointed! I ride to work almost everyday in a not so bike friendly city. The infrastructure just isn’t here in my city and I’ve almost been hit a few times by drivers. The lighting system with turn signals makes me feel safe in communicating my movements and the ease of use is next level stuff! The only trouble I had was a malfunctioning navigation remote that needed to be replaced but Unit 1 support did a great job helping me. It took a bit of back and forth to diagnose the problem and troubleshoot the solution to get the new remote shipped to me. I know these are growing pains from a small company but that’s what I love. A small company doing innovative things that add value to my life. It was so worth the wait to get my system working. The Faro helmet, nav remote, with smart lights (front/rear) are really amazing. Now I’m trying to justify getting the Aura helmet too! Love Unit 1!

As a happy Customer of their Faro helmet. When i saw they are introducing a new helmet, the Aura. I was more then happy to back it. Patiently waited till it was time to shipped. Was very surprise that i have to pay shipping cost while it was free shipping for my first helmet. Now if you preorder the Aura, it is FREE shipping?!?!

Pros first - the helmet looked great upon opening and seemed good quality. However, it didn't fit my head at all, could not get it on, so completely the wrong shape. So I had returned it. Cons - 1. I had to remind UNIT 1 twice about my refund via email. Eventually they refunded me, minus £10. I am not sure why as the website doesn't say that. I left it as I just wanted the main refund back. 2. 3 months after I returned the item. I got charged £82 by Fedex for VAT. Which is half the price of the item. I never received any notification I was due this charge, until a debt collecting company ordered me to pay it. 3. Now, I have emailed them twice, over a week ago, asking for all the shipping details. I cant get back any money from HMRC without this. On top of that, I can only potentially get £41 of the £82 back. 4. Their communication, in terms of the refund, and this issue with VAT is very poor. So at the moment, I am £92 out of pocket, even though I returned the £160 helmet. And I am not able to get in touch with the company.

— I’ve added an update at the bottom — After carefully researching helmets and understanding their shipping and returns policies, I was very excited to buy this helmet. It felt like a low-risk purchase and returns seemed easy and with no fuss. When I needed to return it because of size issues, I assumed it would be a straightforward process like most returns are these days, i.e., I initiate a return and send it back to the Netherlands and order a different size one online. Instead, it’s a messy, time-sucking process with no resolution after trying since 29 March. Here’s what has happened: 1. I tried to return it online, but there was an issue where it wasn’t acknowledged as being delivered. No way to proceed with the return initially. 2. I contacted customer support and Diego fixed this relatively quickly and told me to try again, which I did. 3. I was able to initiate the return, but there was mention of $19.90 ‘handling fee’, which is not stated anywhere on their site in connection with returns or anywhere that I have seen. I wrote back to Diego to ask about this fee. 4. The response I got from him did not answer the question and instead told me that I needed to pay for return shipping. No comment on my questions about the handling fee. 5. I went ahead with the return process anyway and, again, the handling came up, as well as as a notice that I should ship back on my own AND that I should contact support for a label. I began to wonder again whether the handling fee was actually the shipping fee, just sloppily worded. Confusing, unclear and contradictory messages. 6. I wrote again on the 5th of April asking about the handling and the label. No reply. 7. I wrote on the 9th asking for a reply to my previous email. No reply. 8. I received a Fedex bill for £57.84 in VAT and fees, despite Unit1’s site saying there would be none. I would never have bought this from them if they hadn’t advertised 0% tax for the UK. Shameful misleading of customers. 9. I wrote on the 11th asking for a reply, telling them about the tax charge. No reply yet and I don’t expect one. They have squandered any goodwill I had to begin with. Unless I hear from them by Monday, I will pursue a chargeback with my credit card company. I am also sharing this experience online so that other potential UK customers can be warned not to buy from them. The buying process itself is easy, but if there’s a problem there is no support whatsoever. And since they lie about taxes, the helmet will end up costing you at least another £60. Save yourself the headache and buy a different helmet. Their warranty will also mean nothing if this is what their customer service is like. It doesn’t matter if their product is good if they don’t care about their customers. UPDATE. After another letter to the company, I received a response. They were very apologetic, assured me that they would arrange the return, pay the VAT bill and either refund or send out a replacement. I went with the replacemenr. They also arranged a video call to apologise and see if anything can be learned from my experience that would help them improve their service. Most importantly for UK buyers, they are planning to have a UK warehouse so that there won’t be a customs issue, and returns/exchanges will be straightforward. They’re a small company and I think still finding their way in a complex system after Brexit. It doesn’t excuse the lack of response, but helps me feel more forgiving. They have made a real effort to make this right and I have added two stars for now and will update again once everything is resolved, which I now feel confident it will be. Update 18 December 2024: all was resolved to my satisfaction back in July. Added another star.

Care don’t order for delivery in the U.K. - you will be charged by fedex customs duty and VAT. That's nearly £60 on an order on top of what you have paid. These are vat zero rated but you are forced to pay it, the company have not responded to my query for over three days now.