[NO] Riley by Don’t Hug Cacti

We were not told what year this project was completed on, the item being reviewed could possibly not reflect the makers current work.

16013110@400-1427229130

General Information
Please note that this review is from an older version of the site.
The page layout differs slightly from the current version because of this.


Reviewer Information
Reviewer
Furaffinity: RileyCoyote

Relationship With Maker
The maker is NOT a friend

Prior Experience
I have had previous experience with performing in fursuits, but this was my first time purchasing one.

Informed Maker of Issues
No – I didn’t see the small issue I had as serious, as it was easy to rectify myself.
Maker & Project Information
Maker
Don’t Hug Cacti

Commission Information
Type: Fursuit > Fullsuit
Style: Toony
Shipped From: USA

Species
coyote
Found in Canidae (?)

Made in Year
2016 or earlier

Transaction Information
3000+ USD
Filed under $3000 - $4999 as a None.

Estimated Completion Time (ETA) Accuracy
YES - the ETA was accurate


Date of Review
13 July 2015

Project Timeline
Contact Date
March 2014
Completion/Ship Date
March 2015
Item Completion Time (?)
7 - 12 Months

Item Being Reviewed
Fullsuit w/ Stompy Feet

Character Concept Art
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12895525/

Photos of Completed Product
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16013110/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16016310/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16114524/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16139539/

Please note that this review has been transferred from another service.
Because of this, the questions and format differ from other reviews on this site.
Head

How satisfied are you with the fit of the head?
5/5 – The head fits near perfectly. It isn’t super snug but at the same time it isn’t loose. The head is lined with a sort of lycra-type material and nothing pokes out or rubs me on my head or face.

How satisfied are you with the vision?
5/5 – I have worn one DHC head in the past so I had a reasonable expectation for the vision of my head – however I was pleasantly surprised! My field of vision is actually better than I was anticipating and it is by far the best out of any suit I have ever worn. But the original eye mesh is a perforated paper material.

How satisfied are you with the ventilation?
5/5 – I can wear my head for hours; it is extremely well-built. My mouth and nose line up perfectly with the muzzle. I specifically asked for a slightly shorter muzzle to help with ventilation which lets air circulate really well! Really the only reason I get hot at all when wearing my suit is because I’m running around and the bodysuit traps in my body heat!!!

How satisfied are you with the symmetry of the head?
5/5 – Markings and symmetry are spot on! No lopsidedness either.

Is the Shaving even?
5/5 – DHC is amazing with their shaving. I asked for fluffy cheeks and they did so flawlessly – they sort of “faded into” the longer fur and it looks very clean and nice. There are no bare or choppy spots.

How satisfied are you with the expression and overall appearance of the head?
5/5 – I had a very particular expression/look in mind when it came to my head – excited eyes but the mouth not super wide open. I was really inspired by the look of Lucky’s personal suit that she finished in 2013 and I envisioned Riley having a similar sort of muzzle and ear shape. Needless to say that DHC definitely gave me the exact expression I was wanting and I could not be happier!

How satisfied are you with the quality of your ears?
5/5 – The ears are even on the head and I can fold them down over my face when I act “shy” or “embarrassed” and they spring right back into place 

Body
How satisfied are you with how the body fits?
5/5 – The body fits really well – I can move around a lot and it’s also really comfortable, to the point where I could practically sleep in it and not feel at all restricted.

How satisfied are you with the quality and durability of the body?
Are the seams durable? Can you move without popping seams?
4/5 – Overall I’m pretty satisfied with the quality of the body, however due to an increase in my weight since making my DTD, I popped one seam near the tail area. Thankfully it was a quick fix and I’m not particularly worried about popping another.

How satisfied are you with the selection of colors and material?
5/5 – I was sent samples of my furs several weeks in advance of my commission month, and I was given several different furs to choose from for my blue hair!! I am very happy with the furs they used for my suit, and I’m also very happy with the choice I made with my hair  All of the materials are really soft and fluffy, not to mention really nice looking!

Hands and Feet

How satisfied are you with the fit of the hands and feet?
5/5 – The handpaws fit great although there is a bit of wiggle room in the pinky fingers. It isn’t that big of a deal, the hands stay on and don’t slide down at all and they’re very easy to put on!
The feet also fit really well! They aren’t super tight. I was surprised at how lightweight they actually are despite being stompy feet! I was expecting them to be heavier.

How satisfied are you with the quality of the hands and feet?
5/5 – The hands and feet are pretty high-quality. My claws and pawpads are on there good and I am not terribly worried about losing any of them!! The feet are made with a durable outdoor sole on the bottom and I have no worries about them coming apart. There is a bit of foam that sticks out over the fur on the stompy feet, but it is really a non-issue as it cannot be seen from under my bodysuit.

Tails

How satisfied are you with the quality of your tail?
4.5/5 – The tail fits just fine, and it’s nice and fluffy! I love brushing it. It also appears to be pretty durable – however I do have slight concern for the way it is made – it does not have actual straps but rather the fabric is folded over in a loop and secured into place. I’m not sure if that method is used a lot but I worry that over time it will come undone.

How accurate to your concept art is your tail?
5/5 – The markings and colors are spot-on, they’re simple too so pretty much impossible to mess up 😛

 

Overall


Product Satisfaction

How satisfied are you with how closely the suit matched the concept art?
5/5 – Everything is perfectly matched – the colors, the markings, and the expression that I wanted. I’m beyond satisfied with how well my suit matches the concept, despite my fursona’s design being incredibly simple.

How satisfied are you with the consistency of your suit to the makers style?
5/5 – Beyond satisfied. I seldom have to tell people who built my suit because it is instantly recognizable as a DHC suit. Their style fits so well with my character also – which is one of the reasons I commissioned them!

How satisfied are you with the overall quality?
4.5/5 – I feel like the bodysuit could have used an extra stitch on the seams, even though it may not be necessary – nothing wrong with additional strength! Aside from the small seam issue I had on the body, nothing on my suit has fallen apart/broken, and all the furs used are super soft and cuddly <3

How satisfied are you with how well everything fits together and matches up?
5/5 – Everything matches up and the furs they used match my concept art perfectly 

How satisfied are you with how easy it was to initially contact the maker for a quote?
5/5 – I first contacted DHC in January 2014 – they replied to my first email within 24 hours. They supplied me with a quote and I let them know I’d likely send my down payment in March. When I contacted them again in March with a down payment, they once again replied very quickly and my down payment was sent later that day.

How satisfied are you with the response time from the maker?
5/5 – Very satisfied. They responded to all of my emails within 24 hours, and sent an immediate email when they received payments from me.

How satisfied are you with the level of professionalism and friendliness of the maker?
5/5 – Everyone I spoke with at DHC were professional, friendly, and extremely pleasant to work with. I mainly spoke with Lucky during my commission and she was very good at keeping me updated with how it was going. I was never left in the dark and I really appreciated that! 😀

How satisfied are you with how the deadline was met for completion of your project?
5/5 – My suit was scheduled to be completed in March of 2015, and the deadline was definitely met! I was actually expecting it to not be finished until closer to the middle of the month and I was really happy at how early in the month that it was completed!

How satisfied are you with the overall quality of your project?
5/5 – I had a very specific expectation with my fursuit in terms of the overall look and quality, and Don’t Hug Cacti definitely met those expectations. No disappointment.

How satisfied are you with the overall customer service with the maker?
5/5 – Very satisfied. Everyone that I spoke with was professional and friendly. I can tell that DHC love what they do and they are just as excited as their customers to see how each critter turns out!!

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


NO
This review has been marked with a negative rating.
This means the reviewer would NOT recommend Don’t Hug Cacti unless they significantly change their practices.

Final Comments
I had an awesome experience commissioning DHC! I know they’ve had a handful of bad reviews in the past but they’ve definitely improved on their customer service and quality a lot from what I can tell. The entire commission process was simple and all of my silly questions were answered in a professional manner. I can never thank Lucky, Skuff, Swifty and everyone else at DHC for bringing my fursona to life – I will treasure my baby and love him for many years to come!!

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Comments

  1. [I AM THE OWNER OF THIS SUIT AND THE REVIEWER]

    Although I had no issues with the maker or the commission process, the reason I do not recommend DHC any more is due to their history of poor customer service and recent controversies.

    Additionally there are some construction features of the suit that I overlooked in the past which, in retrospect, were of questionable acceptability for a suit of this price point in 2015:

    FOOTPAWS: Exposed foam on foot paws, adhesive failing between the shoes and the soles within 20 hours of wear. Footpaw shoes reattached by me with E6000.
    HEAD: eye mesh made of thick paper which would have disintegrated if exposed to moisture. Eye mesh has since been replaced by me.
    TAIL: the belt loop being made of fur is fine in itself, but there is no stitching holding the loop together. Just hot glue.
    HAND PAWS: claws affixed with hot glue, four of 8 have fallen off but I did not lose any. I reattached all of them with E6000.

    Please note that this suit was made nearly 9 years ago now and I cannot speak to their current build methods or quality.

    If you are interested in working with this maker, I encourage you to read reviews from other past clients, research the owners’ past behaviors and then make your own decision if you’d like to work with them.

    Reply

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