Postby zerium » Mon Jun 11, 2012 2:50 pm
After riding the combat for less than 6 months I can say I'm done with Switch. The Combat is a nice feeling kite and I will continue to fly my 13 but, if anyone wants an 11 hit me up I'll make you a good deal. These kites have had nothing but issues. I've sunk about $200 into repairs after owning my combats for about 6 months and I've moved onto another brand. Been kiting since 2008 and never had issues with any other brand. Flown SlingShot, Flexi, Best, Cabrinha... Maybe Switch will learn how to make a top quality kite but, so far I haven't seen it in the Combat.
Recap of my issues: Kite deflates upon crashing hard( first session on 13, 5th on 11m - retaining clips pop off of the LE connectors), batten pockets torn out (1st session on 13m), 3-4th on 11m, 11m center strut nearly torn off of the kite (this was blamed on me crashing the kite in the waves) I sent them the forecast for the day (0-1ft), bar is now tearing up on the grip, center line snapped after not showing much wear. Oh and my leash snapped on the third session.
I'll throw in this one caveat, I'm learning a lot of unhooked passes so the kite crashes hard. But, I only kite probably 6-10 times a month and I'm not riding this gear any harder than any of my previous.
The batten pocket is a known issue, they send you these plastic inserts to try to fix it. It won't, the force of a crash will be directed away from the plastic and out the side of the batten pocket. Instead of paying for the repair (or replacing my defective kites) switch just offered me a store credit. Hard to want to spend a credit when the gear is falling apart.
I used to be a team rider, I quit. I can't successfully rep a brand when all my buddies on my beach see me swimming in with a deflated kite, rescuing my kite after lines snapped, rescuing me after the kite deflated.
Goodbye Switch Kites, hope you get it together at some point. Really wanted to like the underdog but, quality is just not there.
Buyer beware. You get what you pay for.