A Word Of Caution Regarding Luke's Ultralite

All,

OK; I now have additional contact information from Rob (thanks very much). I will contact Luke immediately with that, and see how he works to either refund my order from March, or else send the fine piece that I ordered ($91 order outstanding in my case; as of December 20, he has had my funds for 9 8 months I have heard nothing from him). I will keep this post informed of the exact result and the time it takes.

He is a veteran as am I; let’s see how he responds. I will let you all know. You may want to wait to see my response before placing orders. I am hopeful too for him.

CDR Carl S., USN Retired

Yes, I would agree that it may be good to still be a little cautious at this point.  Luke was very sincere when he and I spoke and he said that he is really trying to make everyone square and also ensure that this type of thing doesn’t happen again.  One thing I suggested to him was to be very frank on potential delivery time.  If it is going to realistically be 6-8 weeks, then don’t quote 3-4 weeks.  If the customer still wants to order, then they at least know upfront how long it is going to be.

A possibly intriguing (or irritating?) data point for those who have been waiting for months for your stuff:  Massdrop completed a “drop” for Luke’s Ultralight Hexon wind pants on November 27th and I received mine on December 23rd – 4 weeks later.  From Massdrop’s claim that $420 was saved on the drop, it appears 28 pairs were ordered and delivered.

My size medium, grey pair weighed in at 64 grams.

I really hope Luke is on his way to getting his business back on track and orders caught up.  Before all this, he had a reputation for quality and I’d really like to see his business succeed.

I sent a message to Luke, via the 2 recommended personal email addresses for Luke noted below, on December 20.

For information, I have an outstanding order for $91.00 for a down hood and one other item, from April. I have sent numerous messages with no replay over the last 9 months. He still has my funds, and I have no product in hand.

No response yet. I will keep this thread posted on Luke’s response pattern.

Rob, can I get the phone number this time?

CDR Carl Sullivan, USN Retired

Contacts that I have in addition to the business email address:

<span data-hovercard-id=”lukesteg@gmail.com”>ukesteg@gmail.com</span>,
<span data-hovercard-id=”marksteg25@gmail.com”>marksteg25@gmail.com</span>

Carl,

Do you know if there is a way to send private messages on this forum? Happy to provide his number, but wasn’t sure about posting in up publicly.

Rob

Rob,  To send a private message to Carl, click on “Carl S” below his (nonexistent) avatar/photo and that sends you to his profile page.  Towards the top, there is a link for “Private Message”.  He’ll receive it at the email address he used to join BPL.

David, Rob,

Thanks for your help! As Rob is able, I will wait for it. Please enjoy the holidays; no hurry, I hope you can enjoy a moment outside first. Just when you have a moment..

Carl

David Thomas – Thanks for the info on how to send a private message.

Carl S – I just sent you a message with all the contact information I have.  Hopefully this work for you.

Don’t expect a response from Luke or Mark. You wont get it. They are scam artist now. They will happily take your money, promise delivery and never ship. Once you finally have enough and request refund they go dark. Their phone ( 614-403-2476 ) has been off the hook and busy for two weeks. They have not returned emails on a 4 month old order for 4 weeks. It’s too bad because Luke is truly talented. I can’t imagine what is going on. Long hospital stay, left with a script, live in rural Ohio, grabbing money hand over fist and not doing any work. Its a mystery. It may be harsh but I’m not a fan of anyone stealing $300 from me.

^^^

First and only post on BPL.

Here is a second post Greg. I came here looking for other people’s experiences with Luke and apparently they were similar to mine. I ordered a down hoody in October for $300. I followed all of the issues on the site and very respectfully asked if Luke was interested in doing an order. I said no rush and he agreed. Luke or Mark more accurately took my money. They were communicative for the anticipated delivery period of 6 to 8 weeks then went dark. Obviously because of the heath issues and claim of being a veteran, I tread lightly and inquired every two weeks or so but Luke would not respond. Then I decided to move on but got no response to respectful requests to cancel my order and issue a refund. When I could get no refund response I went looking for forums that had experience with Luke and this site had an extensive thread. I have been to BPL  a few times but the cost aspect turned me off even though I do a good amount of DIY and this site is very good for that. I did sign up as a basic plus member and spent $27 because I don’t want to see anyone else taken in by the fraudulent claims of Luke. I am trying to narrow down Luke’s physical location from generally Columbus, OH so I can contact local authorities in addition to online fraud resources. Again I had given credibility to the hard luck stories of growing too fast, wont compromise quality and sever injury. But when I could get no response to order status or refund requests coupled with Luke’s arrogant posts on social media that they were “Rocking and Rolling” and open for business I was taken aback. This is past growing pains and claims of injury and is now straight up deception. Luke has unfilled orders going back over a year and is asking for new, pre-paid mind you, orders and is putting product on MassDrop (that will end by the way as well). So if anyone has info on where Luke is physically located it would be greatly appreciated. Luke at one point was a talented craftsman and one of a very few people producing quality dyneema/cuben fiber products. But he has lost his way and whether he knows it or not, will be prosecuted for his activities. So since you are counting Greg, unfortunately a fellow Coloradan, this is post number two.

I wonder if you could take him to small claims court

Opioids?  Injury, possible pain, stress. Ohio.

I hope not, as this is a grave and serious abuse issue, but it could explain things at LUL.

Wish Luke would attempt an explanation. There’s compassion in our community, even with money lost and orders gone, but it gets harder to summon the longer we are left in the dark.

I have an address and they seem to be in Powell, OH outside Columbus. I appreciate the idea of court but my main concern is Luke seems to be just taking peoples money and I want to make sure he is stopped and makes things right with the people he has stole from. He filled a 70 unit MassDrop order between the time he took my money and now so he is obviously doing something.

To be completely fair, I would like to hear from anyone that has placed an order between October 2017 and now and received the order. That would be an interesting data point.

I agree there is compassion in the community and Luke has a solid reputation from his distant past but something is up now.

115 posts about a failed business and customers left without gear seems more than a little excessive.

Perhaps the plaintiffs can track Mr Stegner down through bankruptcy filings in Ohio.

Is it not time to close this thread?

Contact Information
Lukes Ultralite LLC

Contact: Luke Stegner
Title: Principal
Phone: (740) 548-6121
Website: http://www.lukesultralite.com

Rob….You are in Luke’s neighborhood (20 mi & 25min) from what I can see by your last posting. Would you the next time you travel North, and it would not create an inconvenience for you, stop by Luke’s house and talk with him or wife,  and communicate your findings on the BPL to the many who are have items and money due know the situation so they may act to solve their issues.

As already been said, there may be many issues that he may confronting, including PTSD as he was a Army veteran, and his business because of this has taken the “hit” we all observe.

Yes, he does live very close to me. However, I am not comfortable going to the guy’s house as I don’t know what situation I could potentially be walking in to. I hope you understand. Just providing the info that I have available.

Those of you that feel you have been victimized by Mr Stegner,  another avenue of action you can take is through….

https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

Is it not time to close this thread?

Why should this thread be closed when Luke is apparently still ripping people off?

Jason: welcome to BPL! I’m not sure why Greg pointed out that that was your first thread.  It was clear to me that getting ripped off by LUL motivated you join this community.

Ken, I am not sure what you expect to get from talking to Luke.  I am sure some sucky stuff happened to him and he got over his head, but there is no legitimate reason for him to be taking new orders when he can’t ship previous orders or even respond to questions about them.

Thank you Ken Larson. This is a great post and it refers to the Federal internet fraud agency. I went through that avenue at the beginning of the week and I have not heard anything yet. But I would think the more people that file formal complaints the greater the impact it would have. I would just think if the guy shut down his shop for a day and connected with everyone and put a plan out there to move forward, that would be such a happy ending.  Unfortunately, I think the money is all gone. But he is actively on his site saying he is rockin’ and open for business.

Thanks Ben, I totally agree and the fact that Luke seems to be trying to actively get new business is sort of what is driving this. I saw a post from about a year ago in this thread that said its just money and if I did not get my stuff, I would just move on. I sort of get that but you can’t just allow this to continue. Then I see him fill 70 orders for $100 underwear on MassDrop.

Is it not time to close this thread?

No, and for two reasons

1. If he continues his activities people will be aware
2. If others decide to rip-off people perhaps they will know that the good folks at BPL will crucify them

Maybe someone should find and post something on the Back Country Boiler thread to remind us to beware of these people.

IMO, in threads such as these, it would be preferable if people just detailed the facts of their particular situation without the name calling and such. The facts alone are more than enough to give others the information they can use to determine whether or not they wish to do business with any particular person/business. The name calling and other aspersions are unnecessary.