Why buy new kites every year?

[Bille]

No, no, no! We need lots of people to buy new gear every year. That way there is a steady supply of good condition second hand kites, keeping the prices down for those unwilling to pay lots of money for kites.

I'll add Two more smiles to That one !

I paid $600 for my one year old 2010 , 13M Ozone Edge , and it looked
like it had Never bin used .

Seriously --- unless your an avid Racer, can't really rationalize new kites
every year ; i do replace my lines though. I make my own line-sets from rolls
of Q-power to keep the price down. It's NOT that difficult a job.

Bille

[tautologies]

Why not? This is really none of your concern. No one is forcing you to......but why not let people that want to buy their kites new every year do that?

Kiting / surfing are my only addiction / vices, and the only real expensive thing I spend money on...I like it and so far have been able to do so. Personally I think the gear is getting better, and for me it is worth it.

Live and let live.

[Bille]

Hoping Ya didn't take my above post in an unintended way , i got Much respect for you
there tautologies. That kite i described , once belonged to Adam Koch .

...

Kiting / surfing are my only addiction / vices, and the only real expensive thing I spend money on...I like it and so far have been able to do so. Personally I think the gear is getting better, and for me it is worth it.
....

Seriously -- i know people in Vegas that spend WAY more money on coke & alcohol every
month, than you will ever spend on a new kites in a year .

I can't spend a bunch of money on my fixed income, so like ChristoffM stated, i'm Glad
there's people that can afford new stuff so i can get there hand-me-downs ; and No Way
do i wanna bash a guy that has it together enough to get new gear, even if it does nothing
but make him feel Good.

There's another consideration here taut -- YOU kite in an environment that is a Bunch
more Wild and Unforgiving than i do, so the consequences of having a failure would
be WAY more severe for you than for me.

I guess the bottom line is : "if i could afford it, i would get new gear".
I guess the bottom line is : "i should find a way to come-off less rude" ?

Bille

[tautologies]

Hey Billie. No worries. I am not taking much of anything personal here

I just think it should be okay to buy a kite. Yes a great kite cost a lot of money, but I friggin' love kiting. I don't buy a kite to flaunt and I do not judge people who choose to spend their money otherwise I respect that choice. We're all different, and get stoked in different ways. Finding a good valued kite is score regardless no matter age.
To calculate kite worth I think we can use something in the lines of:

(performance + quality + preference) / (price + age + wear)

these variables will be weighted differently for different people and I think that is awesome. Some find the price to more important some find the age or wear more important.

[Er Presidente]

Great topic....
Let me introduce myself first...
I was the typical idiot who would believe what Tautologies says..kites gets better every year..and I was changing my kites every year..paying stupid money for the upgrade..
I did it three times...actually four times.. I was stupid but I am not a total dumb.
I got the joke at the end....
When I read now that new kites turns better, fly faster, relaunch more easily...man it's all BULLS@IT
I am not a pro but I had so many different kites and brands..
They are all pretty much the same by now...actually certain new models are even worse then older ones.. An example?
The Naish Helix 2010 is infinitely better than the Bolt 2011..

We had the breakthru in 2006 with bow kites and then 2-3 years of further innovation with the SLE and c-bridled kites,,,past 2 years? Zero improvement.

I actually disagree with people saying that we need people to buy new kites to make secondary mkt kites cheaper,,
Kite manufacturers should start innovate again..less money on marketing and more on r&d...

I owned Wainman kites and I loved the fact that they only changed their kites once every 2-3yrs...

Now I have North Rebels 2012..which were exactly the same as 2011.. And 2013 is a copycat of 2012..and I checked the 2014 who has zero changes from 2013 except the inflation valve.

[Westozzy]

There are arguments for and against. I tend to take the middle ground.

I also love new gear as I love kiting even after 14 seasons or so.

Also depends on if you have developed a decent relationship with a retailer. Sometimes you can reduce the effect of depreciation getting a decent starting price.

Also you may be moving into a new style/new kite design, have kited for a while and really enjoy those finer nuances.

Also you could be an impatient idiot like me. I still haven't got the joke teh guys is talking about above. I think I'm a slow learner it seems.

Just look at the price of the new North gear, complete. Makes ya head spin.

But....compare it to other hobbies like motor cross, sailing, jet skiing...you quickly work out it is not an expensive sport threaded out over an entire year.

But still...the prices are starting to hurt me head a bit, even though I'm in a position to pay...suppose we all want more for less I suppose.

If I didn't buy a new zephyr I wouldnt have found such a perfect kite for me...

Yeh I think those above are sitting on either side of the fence..there is more to it than just adopting one side of the story. But it is easier I suppose.

[tautologies]

Yeh I think those above are sitting on either side of the fence..there is more to it than just adopting one side of the story. But it is easier I suppose.

[Rido]

While I may be a complete newbie, there are some full redesigns of specific kites.

If someone wants the safety and security of buying a new kite to try to minimize anything, or like just having the latest and greatest.

Then let them, technically they are supporting the company and allowing you to buy more used kites. Since they are dumping money into the system it is trickling and allowing the funds for more technological advances and the sport to progress.

[knotwindy]

with lots of good kites out there now,
if you can find a really good deal and keep them in good shape until you can find another good deal, (which is not that hard these days), you can turn the old ones and not lose much if any cost and repeat as necessary. YMMV

[JS]

I've recently replaced all but one of my old Crossbows with almost-new Edges. My choice (Edge) was somewhat circumstantial, but nonetheless I like flying kites among the highest performance currently available.

I'd guessed my Crossbows were about 4-5 years old, but when I arranged to sell them I discovered they were actually circa 2007. Time flies, apparently.

Here's the interesting part: though the Edges are undoubtedly somewhat better in several ways (though less effective for relaunch), the flying experience isn't much different than with my heavily used 6-7 year old Crossbows (which are still surprisingly crinkly due to lack of flapping on beaches in the sun and wind).

Up to 2006 or so, on the other hand, major advances in safety, control and/or kite design were available every year.

Cheers,
James