Gear Spending: Where to Spend, Where to scrimp?

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zzholt
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Randy
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Gear Spending: Where to Spend, Where to scrimp?

Interesting video - oriented to kiting, but no reason we couldn't discuss the same question. They surveyed their friends to find out what gear is worth spending extra on an what gear you can spend less on. They found that boards and surprising foils were considered the best place to economize, while lines and bars were the last place to do so (mainly a safety issue.) They also find the best money was spent getting a private wind sensing station, which would be great but probably impractical for us.

So where to spend and where to save for wind/wing/surfing/foiling?

What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.

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Re: Gear Spending: Where to Spend, Where to scrimp?

Starboard said no.

Alan

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Langdon
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Re: Gear Spending: Where to Spend, Where to scrimp?

Slingshot said no

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Re: Gear Spending: Where to Spend, Where to scrimp?

Youtuber tells winos to drink more milk...

--- The Arrogant Jerk: Crabby and irritable since 1998.

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Langdon
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Re: Gear Spending: Where to Spend, Where to scrimp?

Hindsight being clearer.

I wish I had spent more money earlier in my pursuit of this sport

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Re: Gear Spending: Where to Spend, Where to scrimp?

Any board/sail/fin post 2002ish, imho, is good. Newer stuff is more refined, tweaked, the excess gotten rid of but you generally are going to have a good time if you match the gear to what you are doing. Exception is mid 90s longboard. You can still have fun on older gear but the newer stuff was easier as we've discussed elsewhere. This assumes the sail isn't sun-baked and crispy. Please note that I mentioned that the gear matches you. A great deal on gear that's too big/small, aggressive, lightweight, etc. isn't a really. It's a recipe for frustration.

Things you don't want from then: the rubber/tendon parts of ujoints, aluminum booms, wetsuits. These parts age and eventually wear out or fail which can mean a long swim putting your gear and well-being at risk. I think this is the essence of her video: spend the money first on the stuff that makes it most likely you get back to the beach safely.

To Langdon's point: most of the people that have gotten into the sport in the last 5 - 10 years and that have succeeded are the ones that spent the money to get the right gear first time around. Almost every new face that we see regularly did this. The ones that bought a cheap 30 yr old O'Brien off Craigs List, we usually see a few times until they give up. They've spent a lot less time fighting their gear and more fun learning and getting rides.

For better or worse, the gear we use is built of some pretty complex materials in small enough batches where economies of scale are a challenge. Plus, the economics of shipping big things no matter how light works against us. Large boards even though just blocks of styrofoam and long 5 lb carbon fiber masts are expensive to move from one place to another. No matter how cheaply a board can be built in Miami, it still costs $150-200 to get it here to Atlanta direct from the builder. Now imagine getting that board here from Thailand or China where a lot of our boards are built. Obviously, used gear is less but the transport problem remains. This isn't an expensive sport (golf green fees anyone?) but it's not a cheap one either. Perversely, if you have skills, time and connections, you can score a good deal on gear once every long while. But for someone who wants to get in the sport NOW, that works against them.

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zzholt