I got my custom guard from Scott at Pythonguards.com (formerly customguards.com) in the mail today, and I am ecstatic!!!!!
Customer Service: A+
I don't think it gets any better than Scott. Each time I emailed him, I had a reply within a couple of hours. I was almost tempted to tell him it is perfectly ok to reply a few hours later, because I didn't want Scott to think he had to reply with such swift service. His response time is amazing.
His patience is also amazing. I think it turns out that I have the oddest shaped mouth in the world. I screwed up two of my own impressions earlier this summer (2008). Scott insured me that he would continue to work with me until we got it right. He never became upset or irritated at me, and always remained polite and courteous. After wasting his resources for the 2nd time, I made the decision to hold off until I could get a dentist to take the impression the right way. Granted that took a couple months (no insurance) but that was no fault of Scott's and he was fine with allowing me to wait. Again, it was my choice to wait, he was willing to stick with it. When I told him I felt bad about screwing it up, he assured me to not worry. Incredibly a good old fashioned nice thing to do.
In terms of customer service overall, I would be lying to say he sets the bar, because I think to expect this kind of service all the time from people who are in business dealing with multiple clients is just unrealistic. Yet somehow Scott delivers it.
Fit: A+
This thing fits like a charm! Very secure, and I have to use my fingers to get it out of my mouth (tongue won't do it). Gives great protection to the top of my gum line, and I feel really confident with it in. I've been using a larger guard from a sports store, so this one actually doesn't feel that bulky. Although it's probably larger than the boil-&-bite I was using, it feels a lot better in my mouth, and doesn't actually feel larger. I can talk pretty well with it in, and I don't have trouble articulating words. This will be great to communicate during technique or slow rolling, as taking it out with sweaty dirty hands and putting it on the floor to talk to somebody sucks. I haven't rolled in it yet, but I'm sure I can breathe through it as well as I can talk through it.
Design: A+
I asked Scott to put the white words over the black background. I told him that any text would work. In retrospect, asking him to choose a text was probably trouble for him, and he likely would've preferred me to do it myself. But, whether it was a bother to him or not, he mentioned no inconvenience. I'm really happy with the way it looks though. (I hope my picture uploads)
Overall: A+
I can't think of any other areas to rate. I think this was a great value overall. I haven't seen what others are charging lately, but when I last checked a couple months ago Scott was at the bottom of the price range, and offering an extremely comparable (if not potentially better) product than anybody else.
Based on my experience with Pythonguards, there would be no reason for me to ever go to another guard manufacterer. I'm hoping that people will notice my custom work, inquire about it, and I can help Scott build up his clientele base. He truly is about the paying customer, and I always support people who put me first.
Now go to
Guard Home and look into investing some left over Christmas money into your mouth!
Pythonguards.com custom mouthguard
