I have never seen one where I kite.

Are Aussie kites any good i.e New and Griffin.

Cardboards - top product, good service, great price - Aussie

no shares held

when a kite is actually made here in aus i'll bye one i hate the fact that for such a good sport we all support slave labour in china factory's not that they do a bad job just would like to see our money stay here

I have a NEW, and have flown a couple of other NEW kites. They are an awesome kite with characteristics unlike most others.... certainly no design rip off there...
more like pushing the envelope...
try it, you'll like it!
ps - no affiliation with NEW kites

hookworm said...

when a kite is actually made here in aus i'll bye one i hate the fact that for such a good sport we all support slave labour in china factory's not that they do a bad job just would like to see our money stay here

so you want pay $4-5 for a kite ????

If a kite cost 500 to make in China then how much would it cost in Australia????
Maybe 1500 - then you need to add 3 set of profit margins to that
manufacture
distributor
retail
so it would end up very expensive

I have flown a lot of kite brands and am currently flying the 09 griffin. It's a really good kite and great value for money! I ONLY use a 9m, that's from 12-13 knots through to 35. I've gone out on days unstrapped on my 5'11 to come back and not realise its been 25knots and I was still unhooking.

The 010 kites look even better and when there is wind I'll be getting one of those no worries.

yeah I'm sure there are better suited freestyle kites and maybe slightly better wave kites but when you consider the cost is $2000 for maybe a 1% better performer its no where near worth it. If you want to follow the crowd buy a cabrinha or slingy. If you want to keep it closer to home and be happy you were not ripped off buy local.

At least if you have a prob with a local kite you'll find Chris down the beach where you can cut his lines and slash his tyres.

So is griffin made in Australia? If it isn't i can't see how it's any better than most the other brands. Lots of brands are prototyped and tested in Australia.

As for Cardboards, I think its good that they are custom and assembled in Australia, but,
where do you think the straps and pads are made? - China
where do you think all the products to make the board come from? - China

So as you can see, not much is really "Australian" in the kite business. But then again who wants to pay 5G for a kite.

I'm on my 3rd Stonker board, first two handmade here, current one is an o/s factory made. Handmade now to order, TT's and wave boards. STONKER made the boards used for the Tas - Vic crossing a couple of weks ago. STONKER aussie company since 1998 and now in Torquay.

Disclaimer, I'll buy local when I can, supported Torquay surfboard shapers since 1979.

Re bjw post, from what I have seen, shops/schools can make more margin and profit per kite selling a griffin than some of the $2200 kites. And if they have a problem they can contact the company directly, or slash my tyres.

I bought a NEW 9mtr , purely because i wanted to support a local trying to have a go !
I was not dissapointed and have found it to be built stronger than any of the other kites that i have owned previously .
i have been kiting since 2000.

i HAVE RIDDEN THE 09 GRIFFIN, THEY ARE A GREAT KITE TO FLY. THEY DO EVERY THING WELL AND COST HALF THAT OF A CAB

I ATE A BIG RED CANDLE!!! LOUD NOISES!!!

oscar1 said...

i HAVE RIDDEN THE 09 GRIFFIN, THEY ARE A GREAT KITE TO FLY. THEY DO EVERY THING WELL AND COST HALF THAT OF A CAB

do they really? I had a look on the website and with bar/lines they werent that much cheaper. lesser known brands have to be significantly cheaper IMHO as they don't have the resale.

walshd said...

I know I'm opening a can of worms here and it has all been said in the past, but here it goes anyway.

I'm slightly biased because I pay for my own kites and I've been riding slingshot for 3 years now and are very happy with how they perform, but what really impresses me is the support to me and the local events.

Every year slingshot has sponsored our local event. Last year a 9m rev2 and a heap of board shorts. Each year the Sorse comes down and puts on a show on the water.

Anytime I need to replace depower lines, bearings, P-lines, pulleys ect. Andy posts them off that day for free. Warranty issues are sorted on the day.

Its not only slingshot that has great support, but Best, M8, Nobile and our local shops that stand behind sopporting local events.

So for me it isn't about supporting an Aussie brand, but supporting the guys that support the locals.

I have to say I agree. No kites are made in Aus, most brands have distributers so at the end of the day, how is a distributor that much different to a manufacturer in Aus where the kites are made in china? Yeah, they sell slightly cheaper, but the volume of kites produced by overseas brands often means better testing and bigger development budgets so can you really guarantee that local is the best kite?

My experience of support from Andrew on the Slingshot's has been first rate and that to me will always come before anything else, because at the end of the day, distributors also have family's to support and their profits also remain in Aus.

Couldnt have put it any better walshy. How are the octanes cant wait to see you going huge on them

From the griffin website a 2010 12m with bar and lines is $1689, or you could go the massive discount for the 2009 model at $1649. Campare that with a 2010 12 cabrinha switchblade is $2150 or $1750 for last years. Canopy only is much closer as the cabrinha bars are much more expensive than the griffin's. Now look on the buy and sell and see how many griffin kites there are for sale and how many cabrinha switchblades there are. Good condition year old switchblades sell for over $1000. Shops trade them for $1000!

Not saying griffin/new etc are not good kites. But they need to be significantly better for me to consider as

1. they're not that much cheaper
2. not many people (especially noobs) have heard of them, therefore dont consider purchasing them secondhand.


Part of your purchase with any good is the brand name. An instantly recognisable and reputable brand increases the intrinsic value of any product.

Other lesser known brands in Australia (but much bigger than these companies overseas) are much cheaper again - Takoon, EH, beast. All great kites.

Airush are australian aren't they?

Best got their brand out there with the two for one deals etc. Last years model kites should be dumped on the local market cheap to increase brand exposure. Once the critical mass increases , economies of scale will improve. Why would I gamble on a kite brand that no-one else has at my local unless there is a major advantage in it for me?