Why are kite companies such crap???

[GregWoj]

Without kite companies... we would have no kiting. Im having a ton of fun on the kites, bars, and boards I use. If you don't like kite companies, then don't buy their stuff and find a different activity on the water and snow.

[Drew22]

Hi guys,
My name is Dimitri Maramenides owner of EPIC Kites and the reason I am replying to this thread is because we do care about our customers and about our product. And this is the reason why I try to do the best I can to help any one who has an issue. And this doesn't mean an issue with just an EPIC product but any product from any kite company and believe me we have had few kiters having valve issues or other issues from other kite company and needed to be helped so they can go back in the water. The truth is that no company out there is perfect. And that is why I am always here to help and do the best I can to make sure you are taken care of in case something happens because in every business you will have a 2.3% margin of error especially from the factory the products are made.
We take great care in the development and testing of our products. One of our paramount goals is to provide something that is well built, with amazing performance and use high quality materials which is intended to last and function extremely well for a long period of time.
But the challenge is that the manufacturing process where all are products are made can be very difficult to control 100% of the time. We do rely on our skilled partners overseas, but despite best intentions there is always a margin of error for every company out there. And when an error happens we at EPIC kites are here to cover it and help our customer the best way we can to get them back in the water.
Any way, I would like to thank some of you for the kind comments on our customer service. It's something we work very hard at, just as you work very hard to purchase your gear. We are appreciative of our customers and understand that without them, we would not exist.

P.S. By the way this an example from a kiter who owns another kite company.
So Mr.Drew22 I will let him know about the Aqua Seal or 3m 5200 glue you are using so he can fix his valves problem from another kite company that he has.

Poster: pmaggie
Ok guys, I'm sorry for all the Epic detractors but my first contact with Dimitri's world was fantastic. I was in Kos, a valve of a bladder delaminated and I was looking for someone to repair it. I asked on the beach and I got in touch with Nikos Kalaitzian. Nik is the manager of a very nice Epic kite center in Psalidi, probably the best spot in Kos. Nik not only repaired my kite in a day (and it was not an Epic kite), but also gave me a lot of useful informations about Kos and kiting in general. During my travels (and I travelled a lot!) I rarely met such a friendly and professional guy. I really had the impression of talking with an old friend. He explained me the Epic "way of life", the care for the customer and I eventually had the chanche to see an Epic kite with my eyes. I liked the kite but most of all I liked the way Nik works. Maybe someone did not have a good experience with Epic, my one was a fantastic one, a really Epic service! Thanks a lot Nik and see you next time!

Yea that 2.3% gets thrown around alot, but at my local shop it was 100%. Looks like its every kite for Okinawa to. The problems were significant enough that the dealer dropped Epic. Between the 7 kites me and my friend bought we also have 100% failure.

All I was doing was giving Okinawa a heads up to nip it in the butt, so he doesnt lose anymore water time. It is obviously an issue you cannot get under control or just dont care. It sucks to, the renegades are pretty good all around kites, but with no QC. If you had to fix your truck everytime you drove it would you be happy? And you always compare to other "companies". I thought you were Epic dont try another blah blah blah, maybe you should fix your issue instead of passing the buck and saying everyone else does it. You sound like a little kid, Joeys valves fall off to!

[SupaEZ]

any chance that the board was not purchased 'new' by you?
that would change things some.
just sayin'

Good point
Did you buy new Fred ?
If so did you first contact the store who sold it to you
If so did you pm or email Dan at North for a resolve
If the dealer and Dan cannot help you then and only then it is OK to start a f**k.. f**k..f**k thread

just sayin'
fanboy

[L0KI]

Yea that 2.3% gets thrown around alot, but at my local shop it was 100%.

Been kiting for ten years, have owned LEI's from ten brands.
Every brand I've owned has had at least one valve go on it.
With my Slingshots and Flexifoils, I had to re-glue all the valves.
My Wainmans had valves leaking on pretty new kites.
Texas is hot (like Florida)...valves go sometimes.
On my Epics (2011, 3G, 4G) I've had to fix two valves.
But this is a forum, so you mostly hear the bitching, not the large percentage of people out there who own gear, use it, and like it.
And for the record, my Flexifoils, Slingshots, Wainmans were all fine kites and I did not bitch when I needed to do valves.

[Tiago1973]

I hardly place this valve delaminating issue under lack of QC

lack of QC is when design says A and manufacturing does B

Suspect in this case is the design solution that needs to change, not Chinese fault

from what's being said that Aquaseal something seems to close the issue

I agree with O&B it's not only Epic, but it does not make it more acceptable

[KiteCulture]

and everyone has different experiences. As an example, I've owned Epic gear from all generations and have never had an issue with anything… which is why i keep buying the new gear. Saying that, I've only had an old Royal kite from years ago have a bladder twist (easy fix) when it was shipped to me. I've been pleased with all the gear I've had.

Certainly there are historical issues…Best and Cabrinha had serious bladder issues that almost sunk their ships back in the day. Pete had a quote in a magazine that said something about kites exploding in the air all the time. So quality control is difficult with every brand it seems. But it also seems that they are watching this post to hear about customer concerns.

[kazi]

Year 5 on my LF Envy quiver. Kept in garage so hot it burst the fuel lines on my Motorcycle and delam'd the valves on my 2008 Ocean Rodeo quiver. Ran over one of the kites with my truck, right over the Max Flow valve while camping in the Keys..no problem the quiver pumps up fine after all these years.

I'm pretty happy with Liquid Force.

[Drew22]

Like I said I was just giving advice to Okinawa, really don't want to get into an argument with Dimitri's fan boys. I have sold all my Epics and am just putting it behind me. It seems OldnBroken has a Epic radar and anytime anyone says anything about Epic he takes his mouth off Dimitri's nuts for 2 seconds to post.

If you want to talk about QC issues
One kite did not pump up straight out of the bag and it was sent with the wrong bridals.

They are cheaply made.
7 kites local that EVERY single valve came off including struts. Most of the kites were ordered at different times. I ordered 2 of mine then a buddy ordered 3 two months later ect.
3 depower straps.
13m Ltd used 3-5 times and starting color bleeding yellow onto white.

And about bitching, when you spend X amount of dollars on something and expect a certain quality that is bad enough. Now when you work or go to school and you can only kite X amount of times, and you tell your boss your sick cause its blowing 25 knots and you get to the beach and your POS Epic kite breaks again, that is worth the bitching about.. Ever watch 20+ kiters out there killing it while your gluing valves or jimmy rigging your depower strap?? My friends and I have multiple times.

Maybe if Dimitri said " Yea we have had some valve issues and we are working on it", it might restore a little Epic faith but he doesn't he just hypes his kites up more and then says look this guy has issues with another brand of kite I will give him your advice. Same shit when people were complaining about depower straps, he blamed it on the customer using them to much.

[Drew22]

Maybe its just the whole kite industry in general that is leaving us jaded. I seriously went into a local kite shop and asked about a price on a kite. It was literally like 500-600 bucks more than a place I knew of online, so I asked if he could match it and told the guy the price. The guy started throwing a shit storm how there is no way that I could get it for that price etc. I showed him the site and it turned out to be their distributor. He says he still cant match them and begins to write the distributor on skype to take the price down. I'm like wtf dude I wanna buy the kite don't ruin it for me, he just keeps ranting and tells me I better buy it soon cause he is going to get them to take it down.

The worst part is at first he was acting like he was checking it out but he was writing the guy on Skype trying to get them to take it down while I was in the store, acting like he was looking if he could match it. These are the people we are supposed to support.

[L0KI]

So what you're saying is, you're a little bitch all the way around?
You must be popular at your local.
_______________________________

Should mail order kite shops also be the importer of a kite brand?
I know of two mail order kite shops that do business brick and mortar on a local level, do mail order nationally, and who are each the U.S. importer of a kite brand.
What other shops would want to carry those kite brands?
I'm sure everyone would like to support the brick and mortar shops, but prices for kite gear is high, so the temptation to buy from mail order shops at better prices is always there.
And that's obviously why the direct sales model Switch is using is working for them.
I think that there are a half dozen kite brands that should seriously consider a direct sales model.