Zerium:
Hard crashes create problems for everyone involved. Switch is dedicated to producing the best products and servicing customers. In this regard, the credit issued towards repairing your damage demonstrates a good faith effort to assist you.

AmericanRonin:
Unfortunately, you also had a hard crash. Switch Customer Service is there to help you get back on the water.

Well that's all well and good (who do I speak to at Switch C.S. about getting the $91 it cost to return my kite to Hong Kong back?), but it doesn't really negate our points. You're saying Switch goes above and beyond to assure their customers that when their product fails, Switch will compensate for repairs. What we're saying is that all kites have hard crashes, and in our experience all but Switch haven't NEEDED compensation (especially after two uses, in my case).

Ronin:
I checked and shipping for returned kites is immediately compensated. Contact them here: http://switchkites.com/support/index.html There is email, phone, live chat and skype.

There are a large number of Combat kites worldwide with relatively few problems being pushed to the limits by aspiring freestyle riders who don't always land their tricks. Any compensation for repairs from crashing (first crash or 100th) is a matter of Switch voluntarily helping riders get back on the water after an accident and not a guarantee against crash-related damage. Seems like a positive to me...

I wonder, if anyone buys lower-priced kites, knowing they will thrash them.
I am thinking there are a lot of broken kites -whatever the brand- on the road between joe kiter and the likes of Jacobs, Zoon, Hadlow, etc......
But kites being what they are, the version 1 always has some issues.

Thanks for the link. No argument, voluntarily helping their guys reflects well on the company. My point is that I'd rather not need it, and it sounds like I'm not alone

I just got this e-mail back from Switch:



Oh well. I guess not.

Ronin:
Wonder if you could explain the situation. Did Switch request you return a kite to them for warranty inspection? Why did you ship the kite?
Cheers!
- Bill

Hey Bill,

Sure. I wrote to Switch after my 9m had its issues and told them I wasn't impressed and that I'd like to return the 13m that was already en route to me as a result. They said okay, and gave me the RAN number that needed to go on the box next to the address. I brought it to the Post Office and they said that, with insurance, it would cost me $91 to ship. UPS would've been hundreds. So I put it in the mail, sent Switch an e-mail letting them know its tracking numbers, and that was that. Cost me almost an eighth of the total cost of the kite just to ship it back to them without ever having opened the box.

Ronin:
Return shipping on warranty items is covered by Switch. Return shipping on non-warranty items is the customer's responsibility. This policy is pretty standard for a variety of companies like Amazon.com. Personally, I think it is fair and makes sense. Switch paid for the shipping to you and that is included in the refund so they lost money on the transaction as well...

If you realise that you're not going to make a move just let go of the bar. Chances are the kite will drift up and will keep flying anyway. No kite will last that long if you keep grabbing hopefully and repeatedly tomahawking the kite at full speed flat at the water. I agree that the carbon battens will cut the fabric if you keep doing this but the stitching and the build quality is comparable with pretty much every brand. There are lighter built C kites out there which would probably handle this sort of abuse even less.