ID wrote:people this discussion is getting bit stupid, no? have you gone mad? hahahahaha
the amount of hate indicates some serious frustration here...
everyone has choice... depending on the budget and preference in the end...
yes, equipment is bit overpriced... but you do not need to get hysterical and pour down hate on others, whether it is brand or person on the forum, right? if company offers a product, and decides to charge a certain price for it, they are free to do so, and you as a potential client are free to buy or not... in the end, this is luxury product... it is not like they are trying to rip you off selling drinking water, oxygen, or medicine against cancer...
compare manufacturing/development/marketing costs of other products, and prices you happily pay for them...
if you think you can make better bars cheaper, then set up a company and do it... you will make shitloads of money...
if you cant afford 450 eur bar, then use older second hand bar in reasonable condition and refit it with few new parts if needed... 2010 bar was perfect in 2010, and since then no revolutionary design change was invented... not everybody is driving latest brand new top line model of BMW, so why should everybody be able to afford latest North bar?
anyway, if you pay 450 for your bar in you the shop, manufacturer gets only around 200 or bit more out of this, and there are other costs, than just r&d and manufacturing in the play... marketing, sponsored riders and so on... of course you are paying for this when you buy a product, or where do you think money for this comes from?
there are some brands which only sell direct, and they are cheaper...
and you can get more than half-price deals on second hand equipment in great condition...
or make your own bar, not that you have to do it from scratch, and prototype moulds and so on... just use parts from bars somebody may be throwing out or giving away, or you can buy cheap...
this way you can make your ideal bar...
in the end this is not a rocket science. this is what surprises me me, that otherwise intelligent appearing people sometimes switch their brains off and seem to lack plain common sense when it comes to such simple things, like trimming backlines, changing depower rope, or any simple adaptation/adjustment of their bar for a different conditions or kite...
bar is a stick, with few pieces of ropes and few simple mechanical parts... and there is few simple guidelines to follow, so everything is functional and safe... if you understand basic principles behind kiting, and you are bit handy, then you have no problem...
go to any third world country kite spot, and you will see kids, who have nothing, throwing insane tricks on whatever old bar, kite, board they can get their hands on and having just pure fun...
and even if they cannot read or write, they have enough common sense and invention, to fix and adapt these different bits and pieces together, so they can ride and have fun...
or realize, that while you worried that the price of the 2013 bar you must have because your 2012 is not goood enough anymore rose by 30 euros, there is every second child dying from malnutrition...
Stop being such a pussy, it seems you have your head firmly up North's ass and are trying to justify your purchase?
Anyone who is serious about unhooking will not be using the stupid suicide attachment on the North bar, it's complete crap, just gets in the way every time you want to hook back in. I used the 2013 North bar yesterday, and there is nothing special about it AT ALL!
In my opinion, Ozone makes a much better bar. Its more durable, has a better spinner, the release works 100% OK. I really cannot see why Ozone are even bothering making a new bulky push away system? I really hope that they will continue to sell the old model
The only improvement needed is a reduction in the bars diameter, and they will have a bar that is perfect, END OF!
It's girls like you who push up the price of products, always wanting some new crappy features on your bar!
There is nothing that can justify the yearly price hike that ALL of the top brands keep pulling on us! Remember, these bars are not being re-designed from scratch each year, it's only minuscule, so called improvements which are added. People keep saying....oh but all the testing and production costs...blah...blah..blah! Can you remember doing tensile and compressive load testing in physics AT SCHOOL? These tests cost bugger all to carry out, and the companies already have their production facilities in place.
I'm so sick of people trying to justify yearly price hikes, when they know nothing at all about engineering or production
Oh, I think a little more goes into designing a BMW than a bar with a hole in it, some strings, and a few twiddly bits here and there