Will spleene ever make the zone board again?

[Rainer Kauper]

Hi,

great to see our previous boards again. I still love them very much.

Here you can see our new Zone 5'6 in flat water action a few days ago in Viana do Castello in Portugal. Normally you have always good waves, but this year there is very strong wind, but no nice waves to ride.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spleene- ... 3822421944

Enjoy...

Ciao

Rainer Kauper
-------------------
www.spleene-kiteboarding.com

[mikeex1985]

Hi,

Rainer - check the FB link please. The one in your post is not complete

[max]

Correct link

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spleene- ... fref=photo

[dracop]

I have some questions on the new Zone board, specifically the 168cm model.Noticed the web page was updated with alot of new info.

1.) What does it mean that its "snowboard construction" and why is this more durable?

2.) The webpage now claims it has inserts for hydrofoiling? Am I to understand you guys put screw holes to attach a foil on here? Similar to the LF Fun fish concept for down the road?

3.) Who has these available for demo in northern FL or in Hatteras?

[robertovillate]

For Rainer Kauper,

One last thing....your USA distributor is loosing money for you big time. He does no demo events anywhere anytime in the huge kite community of the western USA. He has failed on numerous occasions with personal emails from me trying to get info and parts for spleene gear. I have seen other posts regarding his flakey business dealings and lack of brand representation. My advice is get a western USA distributor. it is too costly for one distributor apparently to properly market the entire USA market. The kite community is maturing and tired of buying gear site unseen and untested and then being horribly disappointed.

This is a worldwide forum I presume, so it seems your prospective buyers are around the globe. Help us
try your new gear.

my 2 cents:

I have been doing business with the USA Spleene distributor (who also happens to be the US Flysurfer distributor) for at least the last 9 years. I have ordered quite a few boards and kites from him for my customers and for my personal riding, and for my teaching program. In general I have been very happy with his services. I consider myself to be fairly demanding of other people when it comes to standing behind a product they are selling, following through on promises, and performing in a timely manner. I have never been disappointed with my Spleene/Flysurfer service...in fact my satisfaction with the same is one of the major reasons I have purchased items...many time sight unseen and untested...becasue I know that Spleene (and Flysurfer) are premium products, well engineered, constructed with the best materials and methods, and have all provided years upon years of excellent performance and these products hold their value very well when compared to any other kites and boards on the market.

I agree that it would be great to have more chances to demo kites and boards, and I know he occasionally visits several places to do so...however this is a very challenging task for a small company and a rep to be everywhere when the wind is good for testing, etc...and the fact that these are not your average mass production products that are churned out and sitting on shelves in kite shops. The other problem with a schedule for demo-ing products is that there is probably less than a 50% probability that the wind will cooperate on the date of the demo...and even then very few people will show up and try for a variety of reasons. I say this from my own experience and observations from 1 years in this sport/business.

Only a few people actually stock these items or have demo boards on hand, probably because they are a little more expensive than a lot of other crap being sold at really high mark-ups...and then discounted back to a 10% margin if they don't sell during their model year to make shelf space.

Sometimes, you get what you pay for...and sometimes what you are willing to wait for....however I have never been sorry for waiting (which has been a rare case).

IMO, Spleene has, from my own experience, always produced a great product, and has such an excellent reputation that it became easy for me to feel confident enough in their equipment to order without trying...the technical specs and the design objectives on each product is very well defined and IMO very reliable.

btw...I have owned a 2007 Spleene Zone for 7 years now...I just rode the board today in fairly light wind. I am always amazed at how versatile this board is...great in light wind, planes super fast and easy, but can hold down loads of power too and very good for "big" days...great fun jumping it and smacking waves effortlessly. I have hauled this board around the planet numerous times, ridden the living piss out of it, and it is perfectly intact and rides like a dream. I ride strapless surfboards most of the time but when I want to go with straps this 159 Zone absolutely rips!

[Billy25]

How much and where can I buy a spleene surfboard?

[FredBGG]

Check the Nobile site, they have the same but to my opinion better board...
Cheers
Dude

Hey Dude still on the road and tell something about Spleene...

The Nobile board is different to the Spleene board. I have tested it for a very long time. It has less flex and so there is no rocker in the tail which is OK for early planning, but in waves you cannot play with it. It is a good board, but is definitely not the same.

Ciao

Rainer Kauper
-------------------
www.spleene-kiteboarding.com

I can confirm. The Spleene Zone 157 and 174 are unique boards.

The dumbest thing I have done regarding kiting is selling the Spleene Zone 157.
The little thing is a rocket.

I sold it to buy the 174 that was also really really nice, but a very different ride.
Much smoother and 10 times easier to jibe than the 157.

If I ever find a 157 I'll most likely buy it to have one again.

Currently I ride Aviso hollow carbon fiber surfboards strapless, but would like a Zone 159 for those days when I want to jump in the waves...

[FredBGG]

For Rainer Kauper,

One last thing....your USA distributor is loosing money for you big time. He does no demo events anywhere anytime in the huge kite community of the western USA. He has failed on numerous occasions with personal emails from me trying to get info and parts for spleene gear. I have seen other posts regarding his flakey business dealings and lack of brand representation. My advice is get a western USA distributor. it is too costly for one distributor apparently to properly market the entire USA market. The kite community is maturing and tired of buying gear site unseen and untested and then being horribly disappointed.

This is a worldwide forum I presume, so it seems your prospective buyers are around the globe. Help us
try your new gear.

my 2 cents:

I have been doing business with the USA Spleene distributor (who also happens to be the US Flysurfer distributor) for at least the last 9 years. I have ordered quite a few boards and kites from him for my customers and for my personal riding, and for my teaching program. In general I have been very happy with his services. I consider myself to be fairly demanding of other people when it comes to standing behind a product they are selling, following through on promises, and performing in a timely manner. I have never been disappointed with my Spleene/Flysurfer service...in fact my satisfaction with the same is one of the major reasons I have purchased items...many time sight unseen and untested...becasue I know that Spleene (and Flysurfer) are premium products, well engineered, constructed with the best materials and methods, and have all provided years upon years of excellent performance and these products hold their value very well when compared to any other kites and boards on the market.

I agree that it would be great to have more chances to demo kites and boards, and I know he occasionally visits several places to do so...however this is a very challenging task for a small company and a rep to be everywhere when the wind is good for testing, etc...and the fact that these are not your average mass production products that are churned out and sitting on shelves in kite shops. The other problem with a schedule for demo-ing products is that there is probably less than a 50% probability that the wind will cooperate on the date of the demo...and even then very few people will show up and try for a variety of reasons. I say this from my own experience and observations from 1 years in this sport/business.

Only a few people actually stock these items or have demo boards on hand, probably because they are a little more expensive than a lot of other crap being sold at really high mark-ups...and then discounted back to a 10% margin if they don't sell during their model year to make shelf space.

Sometimes, you get what you pay for...and sometimes what you are willing to wait for....however I have never been sorry for waiting (which has been a rare case).

IMO, Spleene has, from my own experience, always produced a great product, and has such an excellent reputation that it became easy for me to feel confident enough in their equipment to order without trying...the technical specs and the design objectives on each product is very well defined and IMO very reliable.

btw...I have owned a 2007 Spleene Zone for 7 years now...I just rode the board today in fairly light wind. I am always amazed at how versatile this board is...great in light wind, planes super fast and easy, but can hold down loads of power too and very good for "big" days...great fun jumping it and smacking waves effortlessly. I have hauled this board around the planet numerous times, ridden the living piss out of it, and it is perfectly intact and rides like a dream. I ride strapless surfboards most of the time but when I want to go with straps this 159 Zone absolutely rips!

I have also bought quite a few kites from Ted (Flysurfer USA).
Never had a problem. Sometimes kites are hard to get because flysurfers are not churned out like other kites.

As for Spleene quality. It does not get any better. I still have my second Spllene twin tip.
It gets loaded to just about every Euro buddy that comes to LA. Its got to be 9 years old by now.
Still perfect. No delimitation, still has same original flex. It's old school rocker is great for a lose feeling board to have a lot of fun with. Footpads are still 100%. Only the straps are a bit worn.

[max]

I can confirm. The Spleene Zone 157 and 174 are unique boards.

The dumbest thing I have done regarding kiting is selling the Spleene Zone 157.
The little thing is a rocket.

I sold it to buy the 174 that was also really really nice, but a very different ride.
Much smoother and 10 times easier to jibe than the 157.

If I ever find a 157 I'll most likely buy it to have one again.

Currently I ride Aviso hollow carbon fiber surfboards strapless, but would like a Zone 159 for those days when I want to jump in the waves...

same here. Will never sell my small zone. The guy who sold it to me a couple of years ago regrets selling it also although he is more into riding full on surf style boards now and strapless.

The 174 is nice, easier to gybe, nicer in bigger swell, goes to windward better but just does not give me the same excitement that I get from riding the small zone.

my two cents

[FredBGG]

Some great footage of the Spleene Zone in this Flysurfer Pulse 2 launch video:

[vimeo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcAJZfDrNY[/vimeo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcAJZfDrNY