You currently active recon? You know Hutchingson, think he is a light col now........also Barry (drawing a blank on last name) retired last year as Sgt Maj

I would highly recommend primal wear, they do custom kits for military groups at an amazing price. Check out their website or PM if you want any contact information.

Just out of curiosity it seems you have quite the same vision as Team RWB, how new is Recon Foundation? It is great to help out our Veterans, but thought you might want to check out www.teamrwb.org. If your organization is brand new you might consider parterning or working directly with Team RWB. Just my 2 cents.

As for tri kits, look at Kiwami. Zoot also does custom stuff, but has a 15 piece minimum on each item type you order. Primal Wear is new to the triathlon stuff I believe, but there cycling kits are great.

---

-Brad Williams
Website | Twitter: @BW_Tri |Instagram: @BW_Tri | Strava | Co-Founder & Coach at: KIS Coaching
Partnered with: Zoot Sports | Precision Fuel &Hydration | ISM

DeSoto does nice custom gear.

http://www.desotosport.com/company/contact.php

Located in SoCal too


Customer and Concierge Service
Business hours:
Monday - Friday 7:00 am - 3:00 pm Pacific Time


Mail
7584 Trade Street,
San Diego, CA 92121


Phone
From the US and Canada
1 800 453 6673

From outside the US
1 858 578 6672


Email
contact@desotosport.com

---

Train safe & smart
Bob

The foundation is much like the Navy Seal foundation. We are focusing on a specific group of individuals: Reconnaissance Operators and Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman and their families. These men are phenomenal silent professionals that don't have a foundation that represents them (currently almost all special operators have a foundation supporting their unique needs: Navy SEAL foundation, MARSOC foundation, Ranger, SF etc.) or supports them and their families. This is how our foundation is different, we focus in on a select group: Reconnaissance Marines and Corpsman.

As far as the "team" or "racing" arm of the foundation we are hoping it will be like the Semper Fi Fund's team. This could include rehabilitative athletic endeavors for veterans, or family members and current Recon Marines participating in races to give exposure to the foundation's mission and maybe raise some money. The athletic arm of the foundation will be just one small slice of the pie.

Please take a look at the website if you have some time.

---

http://www.facebook.com/ReconFoundationTeam
http://www.facebook.com/MarineReconFoundation
http://www.reconfoundation.org

Makes sense now, best of luck.

But take a look at the 2 companies I mentioned above. Zoot is in your local area I would think.

---

-Brad Williams
Website | Twitter: @BW_Tri |Instagram: @BW_Tri | Strava | Co-Founder & Coach at: KIS Coaching
Partnered with: Zoot Sports | Precision Fuel &Hydration | ISM

Our club uses Champion system, best of luck with your very noble and worthwhile cause.

As Brad stated, Zoot made some great one piece tri-suits at a very reasonable price for Team RWB.

I had 2 special orders done from Kiwami for my kids and the price/customer service was excellent. (when my zoot wears out - I'll be using Kiwami as you can order "1 off's")

DeSoto also makes great stuff which is made in America. (I use it for all my training) but I have not had any special orders done - they also have excellent customer service.

I'll look at the model you want and then give Desoto or Kiwami a call. You cant go wrong with either one.

http://www.desotosport.com/ voler.com

I've worked with voler and love their customer service. product was great and made in US. DeSoto is another company I want to try as I have clothes that I've personally bought and love, but my small race cannot afford their kits yet. But from my inquiries with them at desoto, they have been a class act thus far. I had many problem with champion systems... I like their kits that I've seen, but it was THE worst process I've ever been through for a custom kit. Maybe it was just for me as others have used them without problems, but I did not like the experience. Sounds like a great thing you are doing, thank you and good luck!

---

The Rat Snake:
A Tribute Race at Gilbert Lake State Park, Laurens, NY May 16 2015
Follow the Rat Snake on Twitter

I'd take a look at LG for tri gear, great quality stuff. We recently did an order for a bunch of Coast Guard Triathletes and my suit fits and feels great. We did a seperate Coast Guard order earlier this year with Champion Systems and their sizing was odd and the quality was lacking with a lot of people having issues with color bleeding and the material is thin and fairly see through (embarrassing during a tri as its even worse when wet.)

---

Elisha
"Triathlon doesn't build character. It reveals it."

+1 on Desoto. I'm actually just beginning the same process for a small team order. Customer service through Desoto so far has been outstanding. Emilio (the owner) is on the forums very often and answers questions directly. Minimum order size is 12 I believe but they have like item discounts for instance if your team has 12 people on it and only 2 are females they all count the same against the 12 person minimum. You don't have to have a separate minimum for the different kits. They're located in San Diego near Miramar MCAS.

I'd message Emilio directly right on here. It might take a couple days for him to get back to you but you'll get a response direct from the owner. Just look up username "Emilio"

Their stuff is top notch.

don't hesitate to contact us; we would be happy to prepare some visuals and quotes for you. as some has stated it above, we do not have any minima and our turnaround is pretty short.

best of luck,

a

---

Kiwami North America
http://www.kiwamitri.com
http://www.aquamantri.com
contact@kiwamitri.com
http://www.facebook/kiwamitriusa

First off, I want to thank everyone for their input. I will definitely be in touch with the manufacturers mentioned above. I'm looking forward to getting our gear produced so that we can provide the foundation with some exposure.

I will post updates for those of you that would like to support the foundation or race in our kit as a "team member" in the near future.

---

http://www.facebook.com/ReconFoundationTeam
http://www.facebook.com/MarineReconFoundation
http://www.reconfoundation.org

Just an aside, you may already know. I don't think the DeSoto purchased custom stuff is the same as the actual DeSoto stuff. I might be wrong but I thought they went through a different company called something 'Bay'. Worth looking into if you are basing a purchasing decision on actual DeSoto stuff.

I have used Champ Systems and Voler.

Champ Systems is way cheaper, low minimums. I didn't like the shorts but have both standard tri suit and the next version up from that. I like both. Poor communication. Ok service.

Voler shorts were nicer. I got the Forza fabric. The tri shorts are good. I do not have a tri suit from them. Great customer service and communication.

I had some example kits sent from LG and DeSoto too (I think DeSoto) From what I remember both were good quality. LG was probably the best out of all of the above but more expensive.

Someone mentioned Primal. I saw them at the Tour d Palm Springs last year. Their booth had some examples and both the print and the quality of the clothing were fantastic. From what I saw and what I remember I would consider going back to those guys for my next kit ordrer.

Most companies send a sample kit. Make use of it. It completely changed my opinions on some stuff. When you order make sure you get a sizing kit sent too as I vary from a medium to XL in various different Champ Systems stuff.

I mainly got the impression that, across the board, you get what you pay for.

Just my 2C

---

https://www.pbandjcoaching.com
https://www.thisbigroadtrip.com

Thanks for that input and advice, I'm also looking into getting singlets for runners so I'll be on the lookout for a company that can do that as well. The sizing and sample kit is good info.

---

http://www.facebook.com/ReconFoundationTeam
http://www.facebook.com/MarineReconFoundation
http://www.reconfoundation.org

I'll do a kit when ready.......let me know

Your website says a minimum order of 20 pieces on the kiwami lab page.

DeSoto is great. And they also have an affiliate, Winskinprinting.com, that does one-off custom printing. Great customer service and great quality.

indeed 20 minimum for custom colors + custom printing. but no minima for custom printing on in-stock gear. and we do have a wide variety of colors. so if your need is <20 or even 1 kit, we will come up with a very personalized offer. and we turn it around in less than 1 week.
hope this clarifies our offer.
thanks.

---

Kiwami North America
http://www.kiwamitri.com
http://www.aquamantri.com
contact@kiwamitri.com
http://www.facebook/kiwamitriusa

Thanks for clarifying. I'm looking at a few options to get a small order together so this is helpful.

I hate hearing the bad reviews from Champ Sys because they do running singlets, which we need as well. Does anyone do both cycling and running like them? LG maybe?

---

http://www.facebook.com/ReconFoundationTeam
http://www.facebook.com/MarineReconFoundation
http://www.reconfoundation.org

Got my recent coaching kits done by champion systems. Service, quality, and pricing is good. you can design the kits yourself, with their good editor, or you can even just draw it on a piece of paper and send it to them to make. The only down side is time it takes to get to your door. The whole process can take months from designing, getting orders from people, ordering, and waiting the 8+ weeks for production + shipment. Plan accordingly and stick with it if you want it done.

Didn't mean to dis them. Most Champ Systems stuff I have is good. Just not keen on the shorts. Also their run singlets were a bit boxy, wide but not very long although they may have changed. Tri suits seemed good, bike jerseys were way cheaper than anywhere else and not bad quality. I've had my three team jerseys for three seasons now and they are as good as new. They are great value.

---

https://www.pbandjcoaching.com
https://www.thisbigroadtrip.com

I have used Champ-Sys in the past and plan to again; while there a couple of their items that I haven't been happy with, for the most part I'm quite satisfied. I didn't have any issues with the artwork process or the order time but I was well aware ahead of time that there would be some back and forth to get the artwork completed and then a 6-8 week turnaround. I allowed a couple of weeks for artwork and the full eight weeks for turnaround and in every case (four orders now) I have had the items closer to six weeks than eight.

I've had great response in dealing with both the artwork team through the online system and also responses from their Canadian rep; any issues I've had have been quickly resolved and with no hassle.

Shane