Forum for kitesurfers
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tegirinenashi
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Postby tegirinenashi » Fri Aug 17, 2018 9:05 pm
Windigo1 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 17, 2018 4:50 pm
...At least Eleveight is carrying the torch with good products and service! Most people get into the kiting business because it's a passion the original team has been gone for a while and the bean counters tried to make it into a regular business and of course that didn't work!
You are missing one crucial piece of Best early success: It was not the girls, not the riders, not product quality, not the service, that got customer's attention. It was the pricing as a consequence of their direct sales model. And with that part missing Eleveight would never approach anywhere to the Best level, sorry.
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pj sofine
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Postby pj sofine » Sat Aug 18, 2018 2:36 am
I'll cherish my memory of landing "Stevos's hellfish" and it exploding in my hands. Those were the days !
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tautologies
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Postby tautologies » Sat Aug 18, 2018 7:44 am
pj sofine wrote: ↑Sat Aug 18, 2018 2:36 am
I'll cherish my memory of landing "Stevos's hellfish" and it exploding in my hands. Those were the days !
And Shogren emulating Ford... comes in every color as long as its silver. They had something right in principle, but instead of proper testing rushed it to market.
Now look at Naish pushing the envelope on PSI in the LE. My 7 slash had recommended PSI at 11 I think it is. Super skinny LE and struts. Imagine if they had succeeded.
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wedge
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Postby wedge » Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:38 am
Gen 1 Waroo was a game changer for me. First time I ever really loved the sport. I had dicked around with foils for a bit. Easy to fly, but no direct feel, delayed response. Never quite knew where it was or what it was doing in the sky. Overflew them once or twice on a hard across-the-window tack and it turned onto a flagging garbage bag in the sky just like that. Taco-city. What a mess. Had a couple C's that loved to hindenburg out of the sky the second you turned your attention away. Not great on a crowded beach or in marginal wind. I did a lot of swimming and cursing. Then despite all the rampant Best/Gumball bashing going on on this site at the time, I took the leap and ordered one on line. Boom. Direct feel, power control, intuitive, just EASY. Allowed me to focus on the wave park paradise that I learned to kite for in the first place.
Thanks Best! Definitely a soft spot in my heart.
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tautologies
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Postby tautologies » Sat Aug 18, 2018 9:01 am
wedge wrote: ↑Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:38 am
Gen 1 Waroo was a game changer for me. First time I ever really loved the sport. I had dicked around with foils for a bit. Easy to fly, but no direct feel, delayed response. Never quite knew where it was or what it was doing in the sky. Overflew them once or twice on a hard across-the-window tack and it turned onto a flagging garbage bag in the sky just like that. Taco-city. What a mess. Had a couple C's that loved to hindenburg out of the sky the second you turned your attention away. Not great on a crowded beach or in marginal wind. I did a lot of swimming and cursing. Then despite all the rampant Best/Gumball bashing going on on this site at the time, I took the leap and ordered one on line. Boom. Direct feel, power control, intuitive, just EASY. Allowed me to focus on the wave park paradise that I learned to kite for in the first place.
Thanks Best! Definitely a soft spot in my heart.
Funny. Waroo was when I jumped ship. I got the waroo the tried the naish boxer sle and made the jump.
Waroo was good compared to the earlier flat kites but the boxer was a new level for me. I also got the BFK at the same time and it was great in high winds, which is nuts for a big kite.
In regards to the shogren best bashing he was asking for it. I had pro friends that would never be caught with a bedt kite because of the marketing angle
I didn't mind but the super light cloathed girls was just dumb.
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wedge
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Postby wedge » Sat Aug 18, 2018 9:08 am
tautologies wrote:
wedge wrote: ↑Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:38 am
Gen 1 Waroo was a game changer for me. First time I ever really loved the sport. I had dicked around with foils for a bit. Easy to fly, but no direct feel, delayed response. Never quite knew where it was or what it was doing in the sky. Overflew them once or twice on a hard across-the-window tack and it turned onto a flagging garbage bag in the sky just like that. Taco-city. What a mess. Had a couple C's that loved to hindenburg out of the sky the second you turned your attention away. Not great on a crowded beach or in marginal wind. I did a lot of swimming and cursing. Then despite all the rampant Best/Gumball bashing going on on this site at the time, I took the leap and ordered one on line. Boom. Direct feel, power control, intuitive, just EASY. Allowed me to focus on the wave park paradise that I learned to kite for in the first place.
Thanks Best! Definitely a soft spot in my heart.
Funny. Waroo was when I jumped ship. I got the waroo the tried the naish boxer sle and made the jump.
Waroo was good compared to the earlier flat kites but the boxer was a new level for me. I also got the BFK at the same time and it was great in high winds, which is nuts for a big kite.
In regards to the shogren best bashing he was asking for it. I had pro friends that would never be caught with a bedt kite because of the marketing angle
I didn't mind but the super light cloathed girls was just dumb.
No argument there. Although, yeah, I did like the Best Girls just fine. I was in Caution Country at the time (central CA coast) and 3/4's of the kites on the beach were Spitfires. Yeah, I caught some shit. But I had no regrets. I never needed to be the coolest. Just loved dancing in the waves with a kite that talked to me.
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Toby
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Postby Toby » Sat Aug 18, 2018 10:28 am
Best was fun for sure.
I liked that they were different...good for consumers to have more different approaches of companies.
More for us to choose from.
Can’t be bad...but of course not everyone likes it that way, which is ok.
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Donniehall14
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Postby Donniehall14 » Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:22 pm
My first kite was a Best Waroo. I love my Best TS and really looked hard at getting one of the new ones with the direct sale pricing. Instead I decided to buy from Switch. I've always had to bargain hunt and buy used. With Switch I was actually able to buy new. The customer service was great and you can't beat free shipping arriving in a week. Bonus I didn't have to pay any duties.
Many people can afford to buy new gear every year. You can also get some great prices on used and closeout deals. Being able to buy at those prices all the time and not have to worry about the history of your kite is great.
Sad to see the name gone, but as long as I'm flying a kite I'm happy.
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alexeyga
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Postby alexeyga » Mon Aug 20, 2018 6:30 pm
tegirinenashi wrote: ↑Fri Aug 17, 2018 9:05 pm
You are missing one crucial piece of Best early success: It was not the girls, not the riders, not product quality, not the service, that got customer's attention. It was the pricing as a consequence of their direct sales model. And with that part missing Eleveight would never approach anywhere to the Best level, sorry.
Things have changed quite a bit since. There's more than one company exploring the "direct sales with low prices" model. Switch, Zian, Takoon to name a few and somehow - we don't see them overtaking kitespots like Best did in Waroo days. Main problem - imho - has to do with pricing. Back then big-name kites were going at full retail for what small timers go for nowadays on sale and a full quiver of Waroos was costing less than one kite+one bar+one pump nowadays... It was like affordable vs very affordable back then and fu@#$^ing expensive vs very-fu!@#$%ing-expensive Today. No wonder the sport is struggling.
At least one has to admit that Eleveight have done a really good re-branding job. I mean the new brand's overall image is very organic and products are slick looking. Some more recent re-branders our there should learn a thing or two from Eleveight.
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SENDIT!
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Postby SENDIT! » Mon Aug 20, 2018 6:47 pm
tautologies wrote: ↑Sat Aug 18, 2018 9:01 am
wedge wrote: ↑Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:38 am
Funny. Waroo was when I jumped ship. I got the waroo the tried the naish boxer sle and made the jump.
Waroo was good compared to the earlier flat kites but the boxer was a new level for me. I also got the BFK at the same time and it was great in high winds, which is nuts for a big kite.
In regards to the shogren best bashing he was asking for it. I had pro friends that would never be caught with a bedt kite because of the marketing angle
I didn't mind but the super light cloathed girls was just dumb.
And here I thought you followed me onto Naish because of all that ass I was kicking on those X2's! Those were the days!
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