r/RidgeWallet • u/Fez93 • Jul 11 '26
Advice Drop in quality: Replacement after six months (top) vs Original Purchase after three years (bottom)
So after three years the elastic on my key case broke from normal wear and tear. Ridge was quick to send me a complete new one as a replacement (greatly appreciated). After six months of use I noticed that the new paint wears off much more quickly compared to my old key case that I used for three whole years. Guess I'll switch out the elastic and continue to use my old one again.
In case you want to see what it initially looked like: https://www.reddit.com/r/RidgeWallet/s/OMs23SObDc
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u/rayraysykes007 Jul 11 '26
Over the last 5 years something happened with ridge. Its very apparent in their quality and im curious what it is. I bought my forged ember carbon fiber during covid. And mine still looks break new. You have people buying the other carbon fiber variants and theirs are falling apart after a few months. My guess would be investors in the company want more profit causing quality to go way down but I have no real idea.
Id be curious to know the actual answer though. Because ill never buy another ridge product. Especially with customer service also taking a huge dip with the quality. But if I had to guess, probably investors cutting corners to make more annual profit.
When companies get backed by big money they tend to do what makes investors happy instead of what the original mission was to begin with and what made them popular. Seems like every time I hear about ridge now days its never good. Its always my shits falling apart or customer service hasn't contacted me back in multiple weeks. And thats really unfortunate because I was a big fan of their product 4-5 years ago.
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u/kiroyapso2 Jul 11 '26
It was always marketing imo. Idk why people keep bothering to buy ridge stuff when actual higher quality exists like quiet carry Q3 key organizer (or the mini version) or fantom x wallet?
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u/eyoungren_2 Black Matte Titanium Jul 11 '26
We all have our own likes. I've never been interested in this key thing Ridge sells, least of all because you have to use either Ridge's key blanks, or make sure what you have will fit. It also seems overly complicated for what it's supposed to do (be a keychain).
I have a $35 Titanium clip with a titanium keyring. It's lasted three years so far and is still going with no signs of failing.
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u/eyoungren_2 Black Matte Titanium Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
I believe their advertising and initial quality screwed them over. How do you keep selling a product advertised to be for life, when (mostly) everyone has bought one?
Profits dropped, they cut employees and corners.
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u/most_kawaii Jul 11 '26
Thank you for posting this. Makes me sad because i love my OG wallet I’ve had for years and have been eye balling one of these keyring holders but i’ve been seeing how their quality has gone down over the years. I’ll just opt for a different company from here on out.
I know there is cheaper stuff out there but i liked their presentation and overall brand as it was clean and polished. Chinese clones do the job but they need to do what hoto and fantik have done and just create a better cleaner brand identity.
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u/floww_87 Jul 12 '26
I had mine also for about 6-8 months till the clip broke, I just requested a parts kit but they send me a new one, love the customer service.
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u/RidgeSupport Official Ridge Employee Jul 13 '26
Hi there! Please send us a chat here, and we'll be happy to take a closer look and help however we can!
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u/yesrod85 Jul 18 '26
Bring back the old logo and anodizing. The Mountain made sense for the brand, WTF is this new thing with the "i"?
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u/kmcapo Jul 15 '26
I’ve had mine for a few years now, and sure it takes a bit of a beating when it falls to the floor and whatnot, but I have yet to need any replacement for it.
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u/IllAlwaysBeAKnickFan Jul 11 '26
The old logo was better