Kit is becoming too expensive

[richieski]

Last few years have seen massive price increases.
Been looking for a new harness and now £300+ for some WTF!
I remember when the average price was £70. Yes, yes tech has advanced and more is put into them but really.

It happened to windsurfing and killed the sport.

I have noticed not so many young people now kiting, maybe tiktok is more appealing I do not know but it seems to me it's mostly 30+ age bracket or even higher. 1 kite bar harness and board £2k.


I myself do drive a shitbox so i can afford kite gear.

Don't get me started on Bars!

What's the limit?

[Robsw6]

Lol... I remember way back when harnesses went up to £35 I thought that was a bit steep.

Just wait until after Jan 31st in the UK when import duty (10% I think) is slapped on kit from Europe, courtesy of all the Brexiteers, but we have “our” fish, er nope

[Robsw6]

Scrub that FROM JAN 1
If there are no new agreements between the UK and the EU as of 1 January 2021, the rules will change. Ordering goods via UK web shops will be the same as ordering goods from outside the EU, such as the US or China. In that case, you will need to pay Dutch VAT (BTW) on products that cost €22 or more. You will also need to pay import duties if products cost more than €150.

[OzBungy]

Young people don't kite unless they have friends or family to inspire and help them. It's a very unusual kid that has the drive and motivation to get good at something that is difficult to do (in terms of getting yourself to the beach with all the gear and actually doing it).

The cost argument is mostly irrelevant. There's heaps of kids getting around on expensive mountain bikes with all the protective gear. My full carbon kite foiling kit cost about half the price of a top of the range mountain bike, and about the same as a mid-range bike. I get to use it almost every day. In terms of cost per hour of use it's possibly the most cost effective piece of equipment I have ever owned.

As for expensive gear, about 4 years ago I bought a Switch kite to see if a cheap internet kite could be any good. 300 hours of use that kite is still one of my faves and I have a full quiver of kites. I'm sort of trapped. There's no way I would buy a $2000 name brand kite when I can buy a Switch kite that works just as well for under $1000.

PS I still have a couple of TT and a kite surfboard in the rack. They still work just fine after 17 and 13 years for the TT and 5 years for the surfboard.

[longwhitecloud]

Not long ago there were sail makers, wetsuit makers, board shapers even harness manufacturers based in a lot of countries that no longer have them.

You will see an increase in locally produced equipment.

In NZ and Australia local surfboard shapers have the most amount of work they EVER had... right now.

It is a great time for local manufacturing.

Bars wise... absolute rip off..

Make up your own.. a switch bar and qr and 100m line roll from ebay.

What amazes me is the price of wing dings.. they have to be very close to being able to be manufactured in local countries as a viable business.

[mister-z]

Make up your own.. a switch bar and qr and 100m line roll from ebay.

Switch bar is about as much as the rest of them these days https://switchkites.com/products/c4x

[Havre]

Scrub that FROM JAN 1
If there are no new agreements between the UK and the EU as of 1 January 2021, the rules will change. Ordering goods via UK web shops will be the same as ordering goods from outside the EU, such as the US or China. In that case, you will need to pay Dutch VAT (BTW) on products that cost €22 or more. You will also need to pay import duties if products cost more than €150.

Depends on what kind of agreement they come up with, but most likely not much of an issue. Now I guess you pay a "EU VAT" (?), but in the future ordering from the UK you are not paying the UK VAT - only the VAT in the country you live.

So when I'm ordering from the UK to Norway the prices are lower in the store (no VAT) than what you see if you are ordering from a EU country.

As for prices I would be shocked if the biggest issue isn't the silly distribution system you got with kites. As well as the lack of economy of scale. Competition is good, but you got to have more economy of scale to drive cost down.

With bikes some have been able to become "cool" even with only online distribution (Canyon the best example). That is yet to happen with kites. Partly I believe because people think price = quality. So if you sell something "cheap" online than you just won't be perceived as having a quality product. I guess I am falling for that myself as right now I am probably looking to buy North.

[NotsoShort]

Pop down to Decathlon

[ScoopZ]

The lockdowns made local spots extremely busy. Even when the BKSA had a restriction on teaching beginners, the rules were not being followed by local shops.

Price is an interesting concept, every second person you meet at the UK beach next year with either be a 'shop rider' or instructor to benefit from "cost price" kit. Yes, it is getting faaar too expensive, human nature is making it more incestuous to compensate.

[longwhitecloud]

Make up your own.. a switch bar and qr and 100m line roll from ebay.

Switch bar is about as much as the rest of them these days https://switchkites.com/products/c4x

i mean buy a bar only - $50? and a qr and make it up yourself..