New - a Look at Best Kiteboarding

[sq225917]

sounds wicked guys, welcome aboard.......

[Eraser]

Business model successful or not - I would be willing to buy my whole 2004 collection from these guys

Best has contracted Eric Hertsens & Peter Stiewe (EH) to design all kites; high performance line, mid aspect line and low aspect line. Both Eric & Peter are hard core riders: Eric is one of the best wave riders in Cabarete and Peter is a kite loop machine. EH has set up a state of the art Research and Development center in Cabarete. This R&D center has received a tremendous amount of attention from the industry as one of the breeding places of kite boarding innovation. EH possesses the necessary equipment including a CNC 3D plotter table, highly specialized CAD software, and computer controlled industrial sewing machines to produce and test prototypes on the spot based on the feedback and direction given by Shannon Best & team. Once a proto type is rigorously tested by Shannon, the best team, Eric & Peter and it meets the “Bestâ€

[gumball]

Best Kiteboarding’s philosophy is to offer everything you need “a la carteâ€

[sq225917]

that kind of skirts the question.

were the prices quoted for kite only, or for a complete ridable kite package. cos of it was kite only then the cost savings start to look pretty thin when you throw in say $200 for a full bar and line set up.

[gumball]

As an example, Best's new 2004 11m mid aspect kite, The Best Yarga, is expected to retail for approximately $749 complete, i.e. with bar and lines - about 40% less than another comparable top brand. Our bars with lines are expected to start at $99, half of what one would normally pay. Plus, with our "a la carte" system, no one is stuck buying complete packages they don't want. If one buys a quiver of Best kites, i.e. 5 kites, one really only needs 2 different sized bars - so as everyone here at Best kites and we've all been stuck with bars we've paid for and didn't want, we naturally thought, "why make our customers buy a bar they may not want?"

http://www.bestkiteboarding.com/

[Eraser]

Can I also order a bag and a pump with the complete set, or are they not available? Thanks

[gumball]

Sorry, all Best kites come with bag, pump & bladder repair kit.

[sq225917]

cool, complete price.........

[Mickey mouse]

Interesting concept to say the least.

One point I would like to make, EH has been making kites since somewhere last year, so I think it would be hard to say that he has a ton of experience.....I am not saying he can't make kites, all I am saying is he hasn't made that many compared to the North/Naish/Slingshot designers.

Just something to think about, if you get this gear it's gear without a track record. Besides that, any competition that is gonna bring down prices is welcomed by me.

[Daudbhai]

I love this idea of keeping kiting simple, basic and "cheap". Offer a good product a reasonable or (cheap-depends on your attitude) price. However, I think that there are people out there especially someone who posts quite frequently here that would consider the concept of Best Kiteboarding a "back door merchant". Ring any bells anyone?

Kudos to Bestkiteboarding for filling a market gap. Can't wait to try out your products.