I am not a native speaker in German, but I believe they state they won't be selling Best anymore. Not that the brand itself will stop. Could still be that Best is going through significant changes in strategy and will be a direct sale formula again.robisibo wrote: ↑Fri Dec 22, 2017 9:15 amOn the official German Best website they do announce that they will shut down
https://www.kiteboarding-best.de/
what does the best bar have to do with their kites?
Tone wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2017 10:58 pmI remember when they had the Waroo on a 3 for 2 deal and at the time that kite was amazing! all that depower meant it went to the moon! The last kite I owned by them was the Nemesis, I think 2008/9. Great kite. Since then they were a shit shower for kites. The latest TS seems good but the fact that I've seen so many QRs go pop for no reason means I have nothing good to say.
They were once really cutting edge but as soon as the business model cut in, they went to shit.
as soon as the business model cut in, they went to shit
2010,2011 bars had a MFG defect where the ball stopper at the end of the CL loop was not chamfered. This put the CL line in a sharp 90° bend over a sharp corner that cut through the line making the CL impossible to reload after several sessions of normal use. In 2012, they had decent enough quality control, given the number of instances of the line failing on prior bars to ignore this issue on the 2012 bar which was very similar to the 2010 and 2011 CL release.
Here is what Shannon Best said when leaving best - though more info came out later as to the shady dealings of the company on top of this.
From this link: https://www.air-head.com/2013/08/shanno ... urf-brand/As the company expanded, our controlling investor’ priorities shifted and a new management team was hired. I never got involved into the finance or management of the company and had little to say at the time but the dwindling bottom line became the most important thing and the bean counters stepped in, attempting to control not only the business but also the design and development of our products. This was catastrophic and their involvement led to poor quality and failed designs resulting in a collapse of the sales. Although touting his Harvard degree and proclaiming to be the only one qualified enough to manage a company of that size, the new CEO proved to bring about the collapse of Best Kiteboarding from a $21 million a year of sales to less than $4 million last year.
So true, BWS refine to a truly sweet bar, and drop it for the new thing.halloi wrote: ↑Fri Dec 22, 2017 4:28 pm
I fly my Best Kites with BWS Undertow Bars since day one just because I dont like the Best bar diameter.
pretty easy fix no?
thick diameter, soft bar ends (no dings) , adjustable chicken loop, thicker lines
...now ask me why they discontinued it to replace it for a click bar type game changer
excellent, hope you're enjoying that new quiver, i'm loving my new 2017 kites.Peert wrote: ↑Wed Dec 20, 2017 3:42 pmMy order directly from the best website has arrived!Peert wrote: ↑Mon Dec 11, 2017 4:06 pmI have also updated my quiver with 2017 Best Kites.
4m Roca (250€) + a 2017 BLK bar(180€) via Kitemana.nl (delivered the next day) + two cool t-shirts
7 & 9m Cabo via Surfpirates.de (together 853€) (delivered two days later)
11m Roca + Red Bar (Together 700€) via the Best site.... ordered on Black Friday, nothing delivered to date Best does respond quickly when I send mails and report they have shipped the kite (SEUR /DPD). The tracking worked for a day or two but since then the kite disappeared from the tracking system. So probably not Bests fault but.... bad luck... lets see what happens. I will keep you posted..
A quiver of 2017 kites 4,7,9,11m plus two bars for just under 2000€ not too bad I would say... but that last package....
So i can confirm Best is still alive.
I think the delayed delivery was mainly due to DPD the logistics provider they use.. I must say that Bests response to emails was fine. From their side they did their best to find out where the package was hanging out.
download/file.php?mode=view&id=81509Massivemick wrote: ↑Fri Dec 22, 2017 10:50 pmexcellent, hope you're enjoying that new quiver, i'm loving my new 2017 kites.Peert wrote: ↑Wed Dec 20, 2017 3:42 pmMy order directly from the best website has arrived!Peert wrote: ↑Mon Dec 11, 2017 4:06 pmI have also updated my quiver with 2017 Best Kites.
4m Roca (250€) + a 2017 BLK bar(180€) via Kitemana.nl (delivered the next day) + two cool t-shirts
7 & 9m Cabo via Surfpirates.de (together 853€) (delivered two days later)
11m Roca + Red Bar (Together 700€) via the Best site.... ordered on Black Friday, nothing delivered to date Best does respond quickly when I send mails and report they have shipped the kite (SEUR /DPD). The tracking worked for a day or two but since then the kite disappeared from the tracking system. So probably not Bests fault but.... bad luck... lets see what happens. I will keep you posted..
A quiver of 2017 kites 4,7,9,11m plus two bars for just under 2000€ not too bad I would say... but that last package....
So i can confirm Best is still alive.
I think the delayed delivery was mainly due to DPD the logistics provider they use.. I must say that Bests response to emails was fine. From their side they did their best to find out where the package was hanging out.
I can't comment on what's happened behind the scene but i can comment on their 2017 Roca's and TS and i think they're great kites (build quality & handing) as are their 2016 / 2017 bars.
oh and In my recent experience, i have also found their customer service / comunication etc to be spot on.
halloi wrote: ↑Fri Dec 22, 2017 4:28 pmwhat does the best bar have to do with their kites?
I fly my Best Kites with BWS Undertow Bars since day one just because I dont like the Best bar diameter.
pretty easy fix no?
thick diameter, soft bar ends (no dings) , adjustable chicken loop, thicker lines
...now ask me why they discontinued it to replace it for a click bar type game changer