North kites soooooooooooo over priced and not built any better than most brands, they just have a very organised and strong marketing program, both Airush and Ozone are good performing well built kites. Demo Demo Demo cause what's good for one is not necessarily good for another

The price you pay is soon forgotten when you're riding with a massive grin on your face.

You really need to love your gear and be happy with it. Life is too short to waste time riding gear you don't love just because it's cheap.

So the tip is test it, try it, educate yourself about the features ... then buy the one you like the most.

I ride the Airush Lithiums. Have a quiver from 2011 to 2015. Would recommend them, only been kiting 3 seasons but the 2011 10m has taken a pounding and no problems yet. Not ridden too much else but seem to boost well compared to others.

enjoy the demo!

hi There,

Ozone have amazing quality, I also really rate the Wainman kites quality and I think they may suit your riding style.

Good luck with the search!

I have used my two Lithium (9 and 12, 2013 models) a lot. Great kites, good (real) low end power for their size, everyone who has used one agrees. Turn well, boost well, smooth power delivery including when looping. Love them.

I have heard that 2015 Lithium's are even better but haven't tried one yet. Demo!

You cant say airush isn't a good build. Every single kite Iiv owned i blew up, all except airush. Iv owned 5 razors and never had one die on me ( and I crash hard alot) iv only had trouble from sharp shells tearing! But I think all brands are good quality!

Not sure I've ever heard anyone complain about airush durability.

I've got a 2013 lithium that I learnt from beginner on, apart from canopy pin holes where I released it onto rocks or trees, it still looks very robust.

Get a Switch Nitro 4 12m for $815 and a ticket to Bali and still be under $2500

Why don't u just stick with Naish kites......

Seems like the logical choice considering ur username

High Rrp's give both the retailer and the wholesaler the ability to discount further. It'll make the customer feel like they are getting a better deal.

It'll also give the impression of higher quality. The average newb will pick the $2200 kite that has a $400 discount, rather than the $1800 rrp kite.

bjw said..
High Rrp's give both the retailer and the wholesaler the ability to discount further. It'll make the customer feel like they are getting a better deal.

It'll also give the impression of higher quality. The average newb will pick the $2200 kite that has a $400 discount, rather than the $1800 rrp kite.

Hi BJW
I am not trying to be smart etc but am having trouble finding any Kites at all that RRP around the $1800.00 mark for a 12 meter . I am happy to buy anywhere that has a good deal ..........
Oh Yeah.... the username was something at the time i thought was clever.......... and i am sort of impressed with the Pivot so far........
Cheers

Hi Robert Naish,

There are a number of good reasons to buy the bigger brands.

Unfortunately, good quality, big name 12m kites are all now around $2400-$2500 complete. This is a lot of money to pay, no doubt. You can reduce this cost by buying "kite only" and using your old bar (if appropriate), or waiting until the end of season sales when 20%-30% discounts are up for grabs. This makes a 12m kite purchase under $1500. Or buy late model second hand.

Buying a bigger name brand from a shop that stocks a good range spare parts for said brand is a good idea. Resale value is another rarely considered reason by kite buyers. Cheap kites, no name brands or unsupported brands are hard to sell, even when the price is at "give away" levels. A big brand like North, Naish, Cabrinha, Best, etc has excellent resale or trade in value as they are constantly in demand. It will cost you about the same to buy a new kite each year from a big brand when trade in or resale is taken into consideration as it will to buy a no name "cheapy" brand. The depreciation of the no name brand is so much greater. Have a look at the plethora of cheap 2nd hand kites on Seabreeze and you'll get a sense of what is of value and what isn't.

You do get better quality in the big names. The reason they are more expensive is more cost to make the kites, levels of quality control and materials and often it is in the bar and lines. The more you spend, the better the quality, same with cars, food, electronics TV's etc etc.

The aussie dollar has taken a thumping which has seen the costs of kites rise in the last couple of years too.

The things you don't see in some of the cheaper brands is canopy stretch and performance longevity. Cheap quality fabric and line quality stretches MUCH faster than quality stuff. Yes, the kites continue to fly and may remain intact, but the degradation in performance can only be felt when you fly a brand new kite of exact same model and make of the tired one. The difference is phenomenal! especially on cheaper brands. Just because a kite hasn't "blown up" doesn't mean it is a good quality kite.

These are just personal learnings and thoughts from someone who has been involved in the sport for almost 15 years and have seen and heard almost everything from manufacturers, shops, riders and customers. You can find anecdotes from very believable persons supporting every brand on the market. They can't all be correct ... or can they???

Just demo a kite, find one you like, buy it, and forget about what you paid because it doesn't matter in the long term if you are happy with the purchase.

DM

Switch Element 3 are great kites and saves you a lot of money due to their different business model. I started with Switchblades and now prefer the Switch Element 3 and have 2 of them in my quiver (13m & 9m). They are good quality kites and behave much better than many of the "brand" kites

kookanaut said..
IMHO Switch has superior build quality than most brands. I have heard lots of complaints about Ozones quality and warranty recently, but there kites sure do fly nice. Other brands like Naish are well built, infact overbuilt and fly accordingly like pigs. North warranty not very good. Cabrinha warranty ok build quality ok.

Plus Switch Warranty = lifetime. Cabrinha = 1 year !

bergerman said..
Airush are rubbish. Stick with a brand like North top quality and warranty.

Disagree with airush being rubbish

Agree that North are D-bomb.

Nice first post in any case..