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2020 North Production Problems

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camiri
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2020 North Production Problems

Postby camiri » Fri Nov 29, 2019 1:01 am

Is it just Australia and New Zealand that are bearing the brunt of production issues with 2020 North?

I bought my first North kite & bar early last month but there have been delays on:

*Pulse kites - not a single kite has shown up yet
*Pumps - still not shown up
*Freeride short loop - only just shown up
*Twintip bindings - only just shown up (the shops have had boards in stock but no bindings for two months!)
*Chase surfboard - still no local stock available at my shop. Apparently, the Australian-based distributor has only managed to receive two of these from North so far

It sounds like the guys in the distribution and retail part of the North chain are really unhappy right now.

I get it - North wanted to announce a comprehensive lineup a few months back but they've ended up overpromising. Perhaps they would have been better to dial back the range and only announce what they were actually able to deliver this side of Christmas.

Underwhelmed so far - they're absolutely pumping the marketing with the team riders but the customer support on their social media is lacking and where on earth are the products?

windmaker
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Re: 2020 North Production Problems

Postby windmaker » Fri Nov 29, 2019 6:16 am

So, what's the problem? Unless you are selling plenty of other choices out there.

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kgb
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Re: 2020 North Production Problems

Postby kgb » Fri Nov 29, 2019 8:38 am

No need for customer support if there is no gear to sell them?

camiri
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Airush Ultra 12M
North Carve 10M
North Carve 8M
Airush Apex Team
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Re: 2020 North Production Problems

Postby camiri » Fri Nov 29, 2019 10:35 am

It's buyer beware if you're thinking of dipping your toes in and trying the gear. If you want to proceed with buying the rest of the quiver, accessories etc you may be waiting months.

Regarding support - I've already received my first kite & bar. I was trying to get some support to find out what is going on after the shop and distributor both failed to come up with any timeline on gear pre-ordered.

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Re: 2020 North Production Problems

Postby DevAxi » Fri Nov 29, 2019 10:39 am

Wow you got some insightful responses...

It seems that for the Southern Hemisphere there have been difficulties for many brands to have their production of all items on time. This in some cases has been shipping related.

Simply stating there are other brands isn't the right response.
It is important to know that there will be a pump for the kite (if not a standard adapter) or that your board will not come with bindings for some time.

A lot of manufacturers test the kites with their boards and accessories to determine the optimal settings so your post is valid and informative.
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camiri
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Local Beach: Fergusson Park
Kulim Park
Maketu Estuary
Little Waihi
Bay Of Plenty, New Zealand
Gear: Airush Ultra 17M
Airush Ultra 12M
North Carve 10M
North Carve 8M
Airush Apex Team
Airush Sector V4
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Re: 2020 North Production Problems

Postby camiri » Fri Nov 29, 2019 10:56 am

What's bugged me the most is I bought the control bar but found the throw is too long. Official North support suggested try the short freeride loop (the loops are easily swappable) but the loops have only just shown up this week (so I haven't been able to use the new bar properly for nearly two months and mostly stuck with my existing Airush bar which has a shorter throw).

I enquired about a stopper (like the Duotone bar) but support wasn't exactly responsive to this feedback.

These are the kinda teething issues I'm running into it.

Like you say, many brands have distribution issues from time to time, though some brands seem to be much better organised than others (e.g. Ozone, Duotone).

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Re: 2020 North Production Problems

Postby kjorn » Fri Nov 29, 2019 7:42 pm

This is a new brand. With an old name.

luca
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Re: 2020 North Production Problems

Postby luca » Fri Nov 29, 2019 10:24 pm

In Germany no delivery Problems. I have my stuff complete now:

2x Bar
Orbits in 7,9,12
Carve in 5,10
Atmos Hybrid in 133 with Bindings

Bars and Orbit came first
1 week lager Carves
1 week after that the the Hybrid with Binding

DevAxi
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Re: 2020 North Production Problems

Postby DevAxi » Fri Nov 29, 2019 11:48 pm

luca wrote:
Fri Nov 29, 2019 10:24 pm
In Germany no delivery Problems. I have my stuff complete now:

2x Bar
Orbits in 7,9,12
Carve in 5,10
Atmos Hybrid in 133 with Bindings

Bars and Orbit came first
1 week lager Carves
1 week after that the the Hybrid with Binding
So you had to wait 3 weeks for your order to completely arrive?
That's with the assumption it took 1 week for the first part of the order to arrive from when you placed it...

Even in Africa that is not exactly what we would call satisfactory delivery service. Especially for 5 kites.

Was it at least worth the wait though?

luca
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Re: 2020 North Production Problems

Postby luca » Sat Nov 30, 2019 12:12 am

I have my stuff since 6 weeks now and no all came perfectly in time as the shop told me before.
You need a good shop with high pre-order priority and you need a shop that is straight in telling you the truth about the delivering time for the products. Many shops tell you "yes we will get everything next week" so that you place your order and the truth is they know about different delivery times of the products. Nothing special...
My shop told me exactly when the stuff will arrive and it works perfect.


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