[YES] Fridu Caribou by Norsewolf Creations ❖

❖ This review has an official response from the maker. Jump to it? ❖

Maker Information

Norsewolf Creations Based in British Columbia, Barriere. Crafting since 2016.

Year of Project2021

Completion Time ^(?)3+ Years

ETA AccuracyNO - MULTIPLE ETAs were passed
An ETA is the Estimated Time of Arrival for a project.
In other words, an estimated turnaround time.
An ETA is not a deadline.

Review Date20 May 2021

RelationshipThe maker IS a friend
This relationship was indicated by the reviewer at the time this review was written.

Review Information

ReviewerTwitter: fridu_caribou

Prior ExperienceYes

Wear Time~15 hours

Informed Maker of IssuesYes, the couple issues I have had with the suit have been brought to the makers attention

Fridu fursuit

Positive

ProjectThis item was a commission

Paid: A Payment Plan of $1000 - $2999

Initial Contact: July 2017

Completion/Ship Date: January 2021

Shipping Origin: Local pickup

Type: Fullsuit

Style: Toony

Padding: Digitigrade

SpeciesName: Caribou

Found in: Euungulata^(?)

Features: Horns or Antlers

Concept Art

Photos of Completed Product

Overall

Initial ContactIt was very easy to contact the maker for the initial quote. I knew the maker personally before commissioning the suit, don’t remember if I had to fill out a quote submission form via Google docs or not, pretty sure I did.

Maker CommunicationMaker was very communicative during the process of the construction of the suit. Always got back to me within a day regarding any questions while building the suit, and asked for a ton of input as well as plenty of work in progress pics on a regular basis.

It was a very pleasant experience and I would absolutely work with them again on another project.

Project Completion TimeNow, this is a bit of a tough one, as they do state they do not work on a set completion date. From time of paying the suit off, to time of completion was nearly 3 years. That is a very long time to wait on a suit. There were many projected completion dates that were set by the maker which had fallen through. First projected completion date was initially set for vancoufur2019, followed by Red deer mini con 2019, followed by vancoufur2020. The suit was completed late December 2020 and was acquired January 1st, 2021.

All this being said, I believe it states in the TOS that there is no set completion date on their suits, so I can’t hold them to these dates listed above, but it did get really frustrating hearing that they expect the suit to be finished by a certain time, and it did not happen on multiple counts.

Overall Project QualityOverall, I am very happy with the suit. It is comfortable to wear, looks great when all aspects of the suit come together, and the quality is very good! This project definitely exceeded expectations and I really couldn’t be happier with the comfort and quality of the suit. Well worth the price paid for the suit.

Components

Head

Wear SatisfactionOverall the head fits very well! It is very top heavy due to the weight of the antlers so hard to wear long term but overall fits great and the fan in the nose helps keep cool. Vision I would rate ok, as it is quite difficult to see in comparison to a previous suit of mine and when compared to other suits I have worn. There is a clicking noise as the head moves around, which I’ve been told would be the plastic frame catching on the threads of the studs that hold the antlers on, but have been told by the maker not to worry too much about it. Otherwise I’ve not had any issues with the head of this fursuit, very good job on the first ever caribou from this maker.

Visual SatisfactionVisual of the head is great! It is very symmetrical in terms of shape and the shaving if the fur is very well done! The fur used is soft and feels great, absolutely no complaints in this aspect at all. I love the expression of the head, and with the velcro eyelids it’s really fun to make different expressions.

One-Piece Body

Wear SatisfactionFor the bodysuit, it fit very well right from the time I picked it up. Overall really happy with it. The breathability of the material is great for a digi suit, and when the wind hits even a little it gives a great cooling effect. So far it has proven to be quite durable. In terms of durability, I have had a toggle break off of one of the zippers, and when the suit was brought back to the maker for minor adjustments (SPH was visible when closed, brought back to have better coverage of zipper when closed so the zipper wouldn’t be visible) I was under the impression that the zipper would be replaced or the toggle would be fixed, but when I had picked it up it the broken toggle was still there causing some difficulty with operating the zipper.

Have not had any issues with popping seams under stress, the stitching is overall done very well. The backing of the material is great, it is very comfortable.

Visual SatisfactionVisually I am very happy with the fursuits bodysuit. The marking on the back came out spectacular. The spots that were stitched in were flawless. All the markings are just great! Nothing appears lopsided, and they match the initial character design. There is no paint on the suit, so nothing is at risk of fading or bleeding, all markings are the fur itself.

For the digi padding, it was done quite well! In the transition between the upper and lower padding, it can show quite a sag in the material which can be quite noticeable in many pictures, but overall I’d say I’m very happy with the suit. The upper padding is fairly secure and does not seem to move around too much, which helps in mobility while wearing the suit.

In the initial design, there was to be long pile fur coming off the hocks (back of the lower Digi padding) of the suit. This was not included in the finished product which was one of the features I was very much looking forward to having, as I felt it would’ve really gone well with the overall look of the suit. I’d say between this and the drooping material in between upper and lower padding of the legs, they would be my only complaints.

Hands

Wear SatisfactionHand paws are pretty good in terms of fit, for being hooves. Because they are hooves, there is not really much in terms of dexterity, but it is to be expected. They fit great, I can put them on without help from others, and they stay quite secure on my hands. Durability seems good about 5 months into owning the suit. Hand paws are lined and very comfortable to wear.

Visual SatisfactionAs for visual satisfaction, this is the component of the suit I’d say I’m least happy with. Now, that being said, this is the first time the maker has ever made hooves, and I’ve not ever brought up the issue I have regarding the visual aspect, though I did intend on doing so in the near future.

The issue is that, in my honest opinion, the hand paws resemble more a plush crab claw to me than they do a hoof from a caribou. It may be just something simple like the way the stitching lined up and how it pulls the material, but they do not resemble hooves to me at all when looking at the overall structure of the hand paws.

Otherwise, the fur is the same as the fur that was used on the suit and so it matches everything else perfectly. The fur is nice and soft, and feels great.

Feet

Wear SatisfactionFeet are super comfortable to wear. The hooves are built on a shoe, and so walking in them feels perfectly natural and comfortable. There is great ankle support being that they are built on a shoe, and they are very easy to put on and take off. The feet appear to be very durable so far!

Visual SatisfactionVery happy with the looks of the feet hooves. They turned out spectacular, and I couldn’t be happier with it, especially for a first attempt from the maker. They nailed the design of the feet perfectly. Colors are perfect match to the rest of the suit, absolutely no issues with the feet.

Special FeaturesOne of the special features of this suit are the LED eyes that have different colors and brightness. They also have a party mode that cycles through many colors, and a “blink” mode where the eyes flash at random intervals making it look as though the eyes are blinking. Mblade of made2glo collaborated with cypress of norsewolf creations for the LED work in the head which is such a great feature to have!

RatingFursuitReview rates by asking the question:
Would you recommend this maker?

YES This review has been marked with a positive rating.
This means the reviewer would recommend Norsewolf Creations.

Final CommentsFinal comments on the suit, I’d 100% recommend this maker. They were very communicative during the process, showed many work in progress pics, and the final product came out durable and looks great. The timeline was quite long from payment to completion, but otherwise I am very happy overall with the process of working with this maker and the end product.

❖ Maker Response ❖ The following is an official response from the maker about this review:

Hey there! This is Cypress responding to this review.
This was our 21st fursuit and 1st hoofed critter, and I’ll be sure to use this information to learn and grow as a maker!

We are closed for fursuit commissions until our queue is 100% complete and we are committed to having short turnaround times when we do open again. We appreciate our current clients patience and communication will remain open always for anyone to reach out at any time.

It’s also worth noting that while this was an art liberty commission, all patterns for shapes and fur placement were pre-approved before building via multiple wips throughout the process. In the end we want our clients to really love what we build regardless if it’s art liberty or not, so if you would like to request changes, don’t hesitate to speak up during the patterning process! We always encourage feedback during the wip stage and will make changes as needed.

While not mentioned here, this suit has an excellent moving jaw and I want to mention it myself because it works very well and I’m very proud of it!

Here’s a link to the moving jaw being utilized by the client:

Still exploring this suit and its features, as it's been such little time since I have received it (less than 2 weeks). Absolutely blown away with the range of motion on this moving jaw, so easy to move too! #norsewolfwednesday

✂️ @NWCfursuits pic.twitter.com/AKawul29Ni

— Fridu (@fridu_caribou) January 14, 2021

I have reached out to the client about the vision to see what exactly about the suit is impacting the vision so I can learn for next time. I don’t remember there being any significant issues with the suits vision, all my previous clients have told me the vision is superior, and I want to learn from this experience. My best guess is, the vision on this suit is reduced due to the large snout, and velcro eyelids. Naturally any suit with eyelids will have the vision reduced when wearing them, and LEDs will reduce vision further.

The SPH has two zipper toggles so the hole size can be adjusted, and regrettably one must have popped off, however a small paperclip can be easily added in replacement of the toggle. I will mention this to the client so they can easily remedy it and won’t have to struggle with it.

Some freebies were gifted with this suit as well to surprise the client, that were not mentioned here: a jingle bell harness and collar, and a fursuit spray with custom artwork of the character ($400usd total value). A gift to them because we are friends and I wanted to see this critter with a harness for holiday events.

Here’s a link to a video of the suit being modelled by the client, with a 360 degree turnaround:

I promise I will use everything in this review to learn, grow and apply to our future commissions!

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