Helmet harness staining face?

[snaffled]

I bought a One K Defender last year for International Helmet Awareness Day (July?) I love the helmet and have been using it 4-5x per week for about a year now so it is not still being broken in. Just in the last couple months the harness has been leaving black stains on my face where it touches my jaw.

It was kind of funny at first because ppl were asking me if I got punched in the face (twice, in the same place on both side of my face:confused:) At first I could just wipe the mark off with a cloth and water after I rode but now I’m having a hard time washing it off with soap first then taking a shower and scrubbing with a luffa!

Anyone else ever experienced this with a helmet of any brand? Worth complaining to the company about? I could see if I had just bought the helmet, but I don’t think the dye on the harness should be transferring to my skin a year later.

[Minerva]

I bought the same helmet (OneK Defender in suede) at the same time last year and have not had any issues with mine, even though it is very hot here in the summer (105-112+ degrees) and I obviously sweat in mine. I would contact them and see what they say about it.

[Jo]

Same thing is happening to my barn owner, in the same time frame, with the same helmet. She contacted One K and was told she was SOL.

[snaffled]

That’s disappointing to hear Jo! I’m going to contact them too. They’ll probably tell me I’m SOL too but they should know their product is doing this to more then one person! I showered when I got home after riding last night and again this morning and I’m sitting here at work with a faded black mark on my jaw!

[Raine]

Mine is doing the same thing. Almost everyone at my barn is wearing a 1K, but mine is probably newer. I think it’s odd that it’s just the one spot vs. the whole harness. Years ago I had a CO where the harness bled so badly that it ruined a couple of my shirts. CO did replace the helmet. Disappointing if 1K manufacturer will not fix this sort of customer service issue.

[Littleluck55]

[QUOTE=Raine;8733484]
Mine is doing the same thing. Almost everyone at my barn is wearing a 1K, but mine is probably newer. I think it’s odd that it’s just the one spot vs. the whole harness. Years ago I had a CO where the harness bled so badly that it ruined a couple of my shirts. CO did replace the helmet. Disappointing if 1K manufacturer will not fix this sort of customer service issue.[/QUOTE]

My daughter uses a CO and it leaves marks after every ride now. How old was your helmet when CO replaced it. I didn’t even think about contacting them.

[Rain]

Same here! I also have a One K. I think my helmet is around 1.5 years old, and it did NOT do this last summer! But now I’m getting black marks on both sides of my face. Really annoying. I loosened the chin strap a bit, but I can’t loosen it TOO much or the helmet may be too loose if I get dumped. Think I might call One K and complain.

[snaffled]

[QUOTE=Rain;8733731]
I loosened the chin strap a bit, but I can’t loosen it TOO much or the helmet may be too loose if I get dumped.[/QUOTE]

I did the same thing! Still getting the marks, and you’re right, can’t loosen it too much or whats the point?!?

I did email One K today and got a fairly prompt response, unfortunately it was very disappointing:

Hello,

We are sorry you’re having issues with your helmet.

Please contact the store of purchase - they will be able to advise you as to the best protocols to deal with your particular problem, and can initiate the process on your behalf.

Kind regards,

This was my response:

Hi *****,
Did you read my email? I feel like you just sent me a generic response referring me to deal with the store that I originally purchased the helmet from. How would they be able to help me? They did not manufacture the helmet, One K did. I’m asking for help with a product that One K made, the store I bought it from simply sold it to me.

I’m not asking for a refund or exchange, which is all the retailer would be able to do for me. I’m asking for advice with a problem I’m having with a product that your company manufactured. Please re-read my email so you know what the issue is and can give me some actual advice. This was not a small purchase for me. I can assure you I won’t be buying another helmet from One K if the best advice you can give me when I come to you with a problem is: "Please contact the store of purchase "

I look forward to your advice,

[snaffled]

I would urge anybody else who is having this issue to email them as well, maybe if enough of us do it they might actually pay attention!

[Personal_Champ]

If you contacted ERS, they tell you to contact the store because they are the USA distributor, not the manufacturer. I doubt you contacted One K directly as I’m pretty sure they’re in Korea.

I had an issue with my helmet - not the harness bleeding, but the chrome lifting on the edge of a vent - and I also had to go through the store, which makes sense, since that’s where you bought it and any exchanges would be processed on the store account, so the store would be the most qualified to handle it.

[Raine]

[QUOTE=Littleluck55;8733569]
My daughter uses a CO and it leaves marks after every ride now. How old was your helmet when CO replaced it. I didn’t even think about contacting them.[/QUOTE]

It was definitely at least a year or two old. I had purchased it in MN, but did not have any issues until I started showing in GA…my whole perspective on heat and humidity has changed, as you might imagine!
Just searched all my email to see if I could find the correspondence with CO, but can’t find anything. It was several years ago.

ETA: look what I found! http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?266584-GR8-straps-bleed-black-when-wet&highlight=charles+owens+helmet

At that point my user name was Roisin.

[LadyB]

My CO stained my face, didn’t happen until 4 years later, they replaced it completely with a helmet that had a leather harness.

[snaffled]

[QUOTE=Personal Champ;8734958]
If you contacted ERS, they tell you to contact the store because they are the USA distributor, not the manufacturer. I doubt you contacted One K directly as I’m pretty sure they’re in Korea.[/QUOTE]

You are right! This was the response they sent me:

“As we are the registered distributor for One K in the USA, all warranty inquiries must go through the stores, which is why I referred you to them.
I did forward your email to our purchasing team so that they can in turn discuss it with the actual owner/manufacturer of One K. I am sorry if I didn’t include that information in the initial contact email, as most consumers only want to know what their next step of action is, not what is done behind the scenes in regards to issues that crop up.
However, our advice to you is to still contact the store of purchase so that they can indeed do a warranty exchange for your helmet, as that is the way we would be best able to rectify your particular issue at this time”

I sent my initial contact through their website so I thought it was going to One K directly, silly me!

I’m contacting the store I originally purchased the helmet from to see what they say. If they do offer an exchange, the timing couldn’t be worse, I’m in Canada and I ordered the helmet online from a Canadian tack store. It says on their site all exchanges must be returned via Canada Post, who are gearing up to go on strike as of this Friday:no:

It feels wrong somehow to get a brand new helmet from them after a year of use, even if it is defective! Their warranty states the helmet “shall be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of two (2) years from the date of purchase by the first consumer purchaser of the Product”

http://onekhelmets.com/catalog/view/theme/onek/assets/pdf/onek_warranty.pdf

[snaffled]

[QUOTE=LadyB;8735367]
My CO stained my face, didn’t happen until 4 years later, they replaced it completely with a helmet that had a leather harness.[/QUOTE]

I wish One K could do this! Unfortunately I think all their helmets have the faux suede lined harness.

Its reassuring to hear others have had their helmets replaced when this has happened to them. I wonder why it does happen and only seems to happen after a period of use? Sweat eats through a sealer on the dye?

[netg]

I’m having the same problem this year. Now I wish the harness were just all nylon instead of the stupid bleeding material under the jawline.

[Littleluck55]

[QUOTE=Raine;8735269]
It was definitely at least a year or two old. I had purchased it in MN, but did not have any issues until I started showing in GA…my whole perspective on heat and humidity has changed, as you might imagine!
Just searched all my email to see if I could find the correspondence with CO, but can’t find anything. It was several years ago.

ETA: look what I found! http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?266584-GR8-straps-bleed-black-when-wet&highlight=charles+owens+helmet

At that point my user name was Roisin.[/QUOTE]

Thank you so much. I contacted them on Weds and they have already replaced the helmet. What great customer service. I will never buy a different brand of helmet.

[snaffled]

Just wanted to report back that One K did replace my helmet It arrived last night, the tack store I originally purchased it from handled the whole thing for me. So if anybody else finds this happening, contact the tack store, not One K directly.

Now, hopefully I don’t have to update this thread in a year saying that the same thing is happening to my new helmet;)

[netg]

Even more reason it’s unfortunate we don’t have local tack stores and I ordered mine online. I think mine was from Tack Of The Day, too…

I’m about due for a new one anyway, so I just need International Helmet Day to come up!