Slingy & LF taking competitor wings

[NYKiter]

What message are Slingy and LF sending that they have to go to competitors and incorporate their wings?

Are they not innovative enough to come up with their own?

Certainly the goal is not to eliminate shipping costs to the consumer because everything is made in the same Chinese factory....I assume they are simply sharing the engineering drawings....

[3InletsWindsports]

Once again it shows that the large mainstream Kiting brands aren’t prepared to invest in R&D that would drive the sport design forward. Rather put that money into marketing for market share.

[DukeSilver]

Whose wings are Slingshot copying?

[NYKiter]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fikhu8-69MA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fikhu8-69MA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNhhXlx5dD4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNhhXlx5dD4

[davesails7]

Slingshot has come it a lot. They've sold MHL Lift, LP, and Moses foils rebranded. They also sell Elf's foil kite.

It doesn't bother me. If they see a good product and want to distribute it through their network of dealers, what's wrong with that? It not like there is a lack of options for foils on the market.

They did develop the hoverglide system on their own I believe.

[3InletsWindsports]

How many farmers have had to walk off their land because the big supermarket chains sucked them into some supply contract for their home brand products then when the farmers are totally dependent on that income the price squeeze happens till they are bankrupt.
No problem for the big guy he has a waiting list of suppliers naively wanting in on the big deal.

[revhed]

Just willing to do as little as possible to make as much as possible selling to unknowing end users, what a shame!
R H

[BWD]

OTOH, Moses is not that small an operation as such things go, is it?
If slingshot will buy a say, a hundred 545/325 sets (or whatever) plus fuselages and masts, that must help Moses amortize their molds and/or pay for new molds to be cut for their next generation of gear.
Slingshot takes on the marketing and warranty responsibility, and doesn't get embarrassed putting out anything half-baked, or delayed by the full R&D needed to develop and tune good foils.
People that want their slingshot dealer to take care of them have the chance to pay for that, and that is worth it to them, apparently.
People that ride a "ghost whisperer" and want to branch out or upgrade, can buy Moses parts to do so.
Or just move over to Moses entirely if they want the newer things that Slingshot is not licensing.
It seems silly to me to buy the Slingshot version, it's like buying Moses from a year or two ago, but costs more.
But I don't think anyone gets hurt.
Imagine if one of the big manufacturer groups hired a lot of talent, made really good foils and still undercut small foil companies on price!
That would be a worse situation, because the incentive to develop new gear would decrease, the little guys would be sad, instead of being creative and leading the way...

[VOMKB]

Just willing to do as little as possible to make as much as possible selling to unknowing end users, what a shame!
R H

Spare me the fake outrage. LF's website states "Created in collaboration with Cloud IX surf foils the Impulse wing set confidently crosses kite, surf and wake hydrofoiling" for the impulse hydrofoil, and "The Thruster wing set has been developed in collaboration with Matt Wheeler, master hydrofoil expert and engineer in Hood River, Oregon USA." The end users know directly from the webpage, so what's the shame?

[Kamikuza]

so what's the shame?

Revhead hates LF, so . . . everything