Stay connected in the wind. This forum is for anyone who rides the wind, winter or summer, on whatever board suits their fancy. Share the stoke, find out where people are going, ask any question, share your discoveries, and discuss any esoteric idea you may have related to the pursuit of wind. Please keep it positive.
It’s great that another store is carrying kites but I believe they are only carrying the “Huffy” of Ozone Kites. To my knowledge they are not carrying any of the high end stuff. Eric could explain better who is carrying what.
Slingshot Kiteboarding/Midwest Mountaineering Regional Team Rider
And what's wrong with Huffys? Actually I had a Schwinn w/ banana seat and a 5 speed stick shift that I rode with in Tuffskin jeans... Brando had nuthin on me!
I did not get the full scoop, it appeared they had an entry level kite and maybe would carry the Samurai?
For the Access and Frenzy maybe they refer you to Windzup?
Anyway, at this point it appeared they were sort of "dabbling" but it was cool to see anyway.
By contrast they really seem to know the ski stuff very well...
Coach wrote:There is really nothing wrong with kites getting into any retail store - aside from making sure people are aware of the proper safety issues.
I was just surprised to hear that - I wouldn't consider our sport 'big' enough for regular retail like a big ski shop or SportMart.
As much as I favor promoting kiting, it make me nervous to think of all the close calls, hairy sitations, near kitemares, that almost everyone has experienced in learning to kite, to be suddenly at a retail level. Or maybe it was just me? Yipes.
Kurt
My bad, yes Scuba Center is a GREAT resource for west siders! I have always gotten good stuff at good prices there both kite and WS, not to mention dropping off broken gear for repair, etc.
I would definitely refer people to Scuba Center over a store just beginning to experiment with kites! And personally I think having a place like Sportmart or Dicks carrying kites seems like it might have some downside... it seems like they offer such a broad range of gear it would be difficult to handle a risky specialty sport like kiting safely.
I would consider Hoigaards a little more specialized and capable of one on one attention/education vs a "big box", but certainly not at the same level of expertise as Scuba Center or Midwest Mountaineering with kites! That said it might have the potential to give the sport some additional exposure to the right kind of "winter" audience which might be good for the sport in general, including local shops dealing in more high end gear? Maybe you instructor types should see if they will let you drop off some business cards?
I have a feeling a lot of the major retail stores are going to try and grab a bit of the $$. I have to think that those serious enough to kite will go to the more knowledgeable first.
This reminds me of when I worked behind the climbing counter at Midwest. As long as we could keep Bob Aldrich out from behind the counter, we seemed to be able to do a bit of filtering. On the other hand I could go down to redwing and see young couple with a shinny new rack of protection that they just picked up at REI on the way down.
Hopefully when those larger retail stores have no one to explain, no one will purchase. Then next spring we can grab all those crispy new kites off the clearance rack! Has anyone noticed how small climbing departments have gotten lately?
disclaimer....
Bob, if you read this or hear of this , your still the king of selling anything!!!!
Any REI employee....you know exactly what we are talking about.
CHan fo sure I didnt mean anything neg. towards u bro
Ino U support scubaC like mad yo!
and for sure thats a good Idea ill have to go in and check it out .
It's sorta like the scene from the Godfather movie when Michael confronts Moe Green for smacking around his brother, Fredo. Moe tells him "Hey, he gets outa line, and I gotta straighten him out!"
Seriously, I guess it's nice to have a ski shop sharing the stoke for snowkiting, but whether they should actually be selling kites is another question. Would it also make sense for Scuba Center to start selling skis and snowboards?
There may be something to sticking with what you really know!
plaese don't knock the samurai its a cool kite. Sure I have ther byased of never fling anything else but never the less that kite has as much charactor as that guy's blue moose van. some times it does more than you would think it could and other times it makes you reinact seens from happy gilmore.#@$ $@#% @## peace of monkey @#$# mother @#$%er
From my point of view I think the preferred type of shop has the following:
A good inventory of gear; kites and accessories.
Connections with a certified school
Employees that ride and know the equipment
Customer service at the lake to ensure the customer gets the most from their purchase and understands the safety equipment.
Involvement in the community.
Unfortunately and fortunately there is only one shop locally right now that meets those criteria. Hopefully in time there will be more. Until then I'm stoked on what Midwest Mountaineering is doing.
