Area10 said...
Peterp - you raise some interesting issues, so I'll deal with each in turn:
1. You are a Naish importer, so you have to defend your product. And you do that very effectively, so I applaud you. But the Naish Glide 14 is NOT stable enough for the average guy in the DW conditions we have round here. A friend of mine bought one and has had to sell it because it is too tippy to use in the conditions he bought it for. For the elite paddlers you paddle with, in the conditions you have in SA, maybe it is perfect. But the people I am trying to stick up for IS the weekend warrior (even though I am not one, many of my friends are) and/or the bigger guy (same), who usually cannot choose their conditions, and need a board that can cope with anything, and flatter him/herself. These people will outnumber the Kai Lennys of the world, so it is strange to me that Naish are not adding anything to the range in the 14ft range that is obviously aimed at this bigger group of people. The only people who can afford boards new these days, generally, are not people in their teens or early 20s.
2. I am NOT criticising Naish for adding elite-paddler-only boards to the range. I AM however criticising them for not adding a 14ft (or longer) equivalent of the Glide 12-6 x 30. In other words, a more stable version of the 27.25" 14ft Glide.
3. I am glad that you acknowledge the new 18fter to be a niche board. I am also NOT criticising Naish for bringing a long board out - indeed in an post somewhere or other a few months ago I specifically said I would like a 17ft or more flat water board from Naish. But what I AM criticising them for is prioritising such a niche board over a 15-16ft board (both flat water and ocean, ideally), which would appeal to a much broader range of people.
So, in summary, I am NOT criticising the boards specifically in this new range. They do look exciting - although not for me in the conditions I deal with most often.
But what I am very disappointed about is NOT to also see in their 2013 line-up the following:
1. A 14ft x 29" DW/ocean/expedition board.
2. A 15-16ft x 28" DW board.
3. A modified shape 17fter: the 17 is a great board, plenty long enough for most, and just could just have benefited from a couple of updates to make it more adaptable (e.g. fixed fin box) to a wider variety of conditions and uses.
Of course, the sample of replies to my posts on this forum will be skewed towards those involved with Naish and/or elite paddlers. They have a reason to bother to write, in a way that those potential customers who are passively agreeing with me at home do not. So there will always be more criticism of my points than support in a situation like this.
But that does not mean that there aren't more potential customers out there who are looking at the new range and thinking like me, rather than how Kai Lenny would view the range. Fortunately I am not associated with any brand or company, so I can call it exactly as I see it. And what I see is that Naish have just made the job of people selling Naish distance board products harder, not easier, for 2013. They seem to be turning their back on (a) bigger guys, (b) weekend warriors, (c) ocean paddlers who paddle in less than ideal conditions, or live in densely populated areas. That's a sizeable section of the market.
I do recognise that Naish are doing a great job in 2012-13 of catering for light, super-elite ocean paddlers, and the flat water fraternity. It's just that I do not belong to either of those groups, nor do most of my friends, and so I am trying to make our voice heard in the hope that we are not completely forgotten in future years.
Gee you put that well and you are 100% correct. My comment still stands!
Even worse if PeterP is the importer of Naish to SA that's even more deplorable and you should have outed yourself - poor form
). Is the added length countered by decreasing width? and will they keep going until the board isn't practical from a balance aspect re; water chop over 18'?
