Boog
Member
I had some of the issues with my Kestrel Flex described on an earlier thread (black coating rubbing off and fabric pulling away from the trim around the sides). I contacted AH, sent them a few pics and asked to have it repaired. They replaced the saddle with an updated version of the Flex! A+ customer service!
The replacement Flex has a black layer of nylon (cordura?) on the inside instead of the spray on coating. This adds a little weight and bulk, not an issue for me. It also has a wider ribbon of trim around the sides which looks like it should cure the issue of the fabric pulling away. The most interesting change is to the pleat. The replacement Flex has the regular camo saddle material (not stretchy) inside the pleat rather than the black, slightly stretchy "flex" material.
I've only sat in the replacement Flex for a few minutes, but I couldn't really tell a difference in the way the saddle feels with the pleat fully open. One thing I noticed right away is that the new pleat stays closed much better than with the slightly stretchy material. It is also much easier to close the pleat again after opening it.
Is this how all the new Flex saddles are now? I might have missed it, but I haven't seen any reviews of the changes.
The replacement Flex has a black layer of nylon (cordura?) on the inside instead of the spray on coating. This adds a little weight and bulk, not an issue for me. It also has a wider ribbon of trim around the sides which looks like it should cure the issue of the fabric pulling away. The most interesting change is to the pleat. The replacement Flex has the regular camo saddle material (not stretchy) inside the pleat rather than the black, slightly stretchy "flex" material.
I've only sat in the replacement Flex for a few minutes, but I couldn't really tell a difference in the way the saddle feels with the pleat fully open. One thing I noticed right away is that the new pleat stays closed much better than with the slightly stretchy material. It is also much easier to close the pleat again after opening it.
Is this how all the new Flex saddles are now? I might have missed it, but I haven't seen any reviews of the changes.