Livit said...

cauncy said...
pretty simple one this to me, replace the board with a new one = happy customer and the few hundred people reading this and considering buying a north board still might?, what would this cost north? next to nothing, good customer care keeps punters coming back time and time again, some brands and people need to take the blinkers off and look at the bigger picture, i wouldnt cut my losses id be all over them like a rash 2 boards costing approx 2 grand for a handfull of sessions, doesnt seem like value to me

If the manufacturers would start to replace the boards of all snivelers using forums to complain about the quality of their product they would go straight to the wall.

Some riders are rather brutal on their landing, some go hard on the metro dumpers. The other day I cracked my board losing it on a dumper, and that's why I buy cheaper surfboards.... Don't think that because you spent $1200 on a board it is gonna be unbreakable. Take your expensive Cruiser off road, roll it over then ask for a warranty!

what the f88k has a car got to do with this, if thats your attitude send me $1000 and ill send you a board thatll last a few sessions then see if you want to whinge about it, its about customer care and cost some people arnt on mining wages in wa and 1000 is a big lump of dough to some, ive lived in 5different countries and the customer care here has to be one of the worst ive witnessed , this looks like its happened twice so can understand where hes coming from,as hes done this twice id say hes been loyal to a shop and brand and hasnt had a great outcome, just my oppinion,

The board durability argument is a bit different and off topic but I'll bite.
For $600 you can get a surfboard. It will break in the circumstances that the O.P describes. They all will.

So what does $1200 get you? The same thing but epoxy and painted with a logo? Would seem so.

Windsurf boards are abused way more and rarely break. Why? Styro core, glass, divinycell (PVC) foam, more glass.
Sandwich construction is tougher... waayyy tougher. So if paying $1200 for the same strength as a normal PU foam/glass surfboard, that's just dumb.

A sandwich board would be much much stronger. For double the price I'd expect better.

What is North's construction? Epoxy surfboard plus heel patches and maybe a layer of bamboo on one side (thats an extra $10 and is sort of kinda sandwich). And for that you pay double...?

I have to agree with cauncy, I believe in good customer service, which includes good communication, it appears that has not happened in this case!Also It makes me wonder if North have been amazing with their warranty's this year...how many other people have had this (or similar) problem. as i said before sounds dodgy to me. A New, High end board breaks in the first few weeks and warranty is refused??

I think that ridiculous high end pricing should include warranty against water impact, even if only for short period. Otherwise, what incentive is there to buy them over an Australian made product. At the same time as frustrating as it may be, don't take it out on the retailers, shop staff..... They are just meat in the sandwich and your best opportunity to get a resolution. $1,000 + for a board... pffft. The great majority of the kiting brands shapes are absolute pigs anyway. If your in the wrong spot on a wave, your board can break/crease/ or ding, even in a 1 foot shorey regardless of construction, unless the thing weighs a tonne. You could buy 3 regular surfboard factory secounds for the same price. You will probably get just as much lifespan and enjoyment out of each of these boards as the high end model. Also gives you the opportunity to mix it up & experiment with different models. Kind of moves you up the pecking order to design a board for yourself, rather than adjusting your riding for the stock outline. By the end of the third one you should know the dimensions, weight, construction you are after. Find yourself a local shaper. Get something custom made to your specifications, glassing materials, dimensions. BTW IT WON'T HAVE A WARRANTY.

^^^^ I think Weta said it best

Weta said...
Read the original post..............Kiter2007 wasn't snivelling he was just after some advice on where he could get his board fixed. Read through the thread and you will see how it progressed from there. [}:)]

Hey Zarb, I don't know anything about construction but I have had a similar experience as Chris6791 with my Whip, I love it and it hasn't let be down once. Maybe the x-surf is not as suitable for Perth conditions (I understand Kiter2007 was under the impression that the 2013 model was constructed differently from the 2012, and therefore would not break , but we've seen the evidence) I'm not sure which model of North you were looking at but this has been my experience for what its worth.

I recon They all feel very similar to the touch including the x-surf, it was just a bit lighter than the whip.

zarb said...

Mark _australia said...
blah blah crap on a bit..

Hey Mark can you break down a few of the constructions for me? I have been surfing my entire life on PU boards so I don't really know much about the other methods. Like the basic epoxy vs sandwich construction.

Old school surfboard - polyurethane foam ("Clark" foam) with fibreglass and polyester resin.

New school epoxy surf - polystyrene core about H grade (20-30kg/m3 ish??? can't recall) with glass and epoxy resin. May have carbon / dyneema etc patches but you can't see cos it is painted. Probably no stringers like conventional surfboards. Often they are popouts so the thickness and quality of glass is really hard to ascertain. Most will be similar strength to the former, quality ones a little stronger than old-school construction. But you dunno what you are getting it maybe moulded with t he polystyrene balls blown in then fused together which is waaay weaker than a proper styro blank shaped then laminated.

Stronger - new school construction with addition of a wood layer. Best is pine, most will be balsa whish is marginally weaker than pine and soaks up more resin.
Addition of carbon fibre patches under feet etc is even better.

Best - polystyrene core with a layer of glass, then divinycell (PVC foam) vacuum bagged on, then more glass. Very hard to do. This is how windsurf boards are built and why they are $2000 - $3000. Very labour intensive, especially in getting the very rigid foam to bend around the styro core. Pic coming...

Basically a sandwich will always be stronger than the sum of the parts. Like laminated wood, or the cardboard with the zigzag layer in the middle. Much more rigid.

I found it impossible to find a pic of north's construction - even a 'claimed' construction. However given kiter2007's damage i would suggest it is basically a popout surfboard like NSP, with addition of one extra layer - maybe wood - to make i marginally stronger than a surfboard. Not worth double the price methinks.
But then you blokes won't want to pay $1500 for a board surely...

above is styro, 2 layers of 3mm divinycell and glass in a 2004 model WS board.

Naish and Best - that's what we wanna see.

I have repaired a LOT of windsurfing boards claiming to be carbon/kevlar or whatever and the actual areas it is used in and how much can vary widely. Like 'snap in 1 year on flatwater' or 'last 10yrs of mega abuse' kind of "widely"
I'd like to see all manufacturers honestly show what is in them.

kiter2007 said...

the walks said...
i've watched this post progress, i have a 2013 x-whip & a 2013 whip, one is ridden strapped(whip) & x-whip strapless. No heal dents on either, now i don't jump the x-whip but my son does, the whip go's large . No impact damage on either board
Now that creased nose is exactly like 2 surfboards & 1 sup that i've owned, all of which nosedived into our lovely Perth metro beach-breaks

Wouldn't this indicate that i it was manufacturing defect? Why would i have heel dents after just 4 sessions and your son has been jumping yours without any issues? I am 80kg so wouldnt say i am massive! I do understand what your saying with shore dumps been brutal on boards. But i don't feel this is the case this time round!

Not sure here, manufacturing defect, possibly, big impact from jumps not quite timed right, possibly, who knows the list goes on, my post was purely about my experience with boards, tried for warranty on the sup, only the 3rd time out on it and had a minor nosedive into sand at mullaz, $1,800.00 board, Naish laughed i paid for the repair with no discount and now use it as my old dinger, the joys of the sports we love