Tony Dobson - 06 February 2012 06:59 PM

I just don’t see the real need ,, nor market , for such a product….. No disrespect to OR meant here….... But I don’t see a rush of buyers of this products…

I disagree, I think in the contrary it’s a great invention, there is a market for it and I would have lost boards without it no doubt. A friend of mine is using one but he has two 3 boards. Last time he used his brand new OR board without a go Joe he lost it. We looked for it for an hour in waist deep freezing water and did not find it. Should it have a GoJoe it would have been sticking off the water and visible. Luckily someone found it 30 miles away a couple weeks later but the GoJoe for me is a must have. True not many guys want to spend $75 on that, few use it and boards get lost all the time. Some made knock off GoJoe with a bike tube and electrical tape around it, kinda funny looking but it works too.

Ok..
I guess you convinced me…. Just let me get out my wallet…. Hang on a sec….

Learn this body dragging tip and lose the Go Pro…

When the board comes off your feet,,, DON’T panic… Look over your shoulder and quickly site the board…... Now going totally against natural instinct,, body drag pretty far away from the board on a long up wind tack going in the opposite direction with least restriction….
This usually means continuing out further than needed if heading away from shore… Once you know you’ve gone farther than required,,,, re- direct your kite and turn to face your un-go pro’d board…...

If you committed to the prolonged body drag in the opposite direction, you can simply drag cross wind on a relatively slack angle and never have to fight up wind towards the drifting board….
Most times you’re so far upwind and behind the drifted board it’s just a straight down wind drag while figure eighting the kite to get you there quickly…..Figure eights also pull you up out of the water allowing you to get above any waves and look down to the water…

The key is you have to drag away diagonal / upwind from the board further than you feel comfortable doing as soon as it comes off your feet, not try to stay near it out of fear of losing it…

At first you’re reluctant to drag away from the board fearing loss of visual contact with it…. After a while you can relax always knowing the board will be downwind of you and easy to get to…...
Now if you’re lazy and or scared of body dragging away from a dropped board, perhaps that $ 200 spent on a wind drift thingy is a better investment than learning possible life saving tips???
  I’ve been kiting since 2000 and never lost a board…. I’ve had some close calls early on , but no problems or worries after applying this technique..
Believe what I’m saying or call BS..  I really don’t care ....  At least I can say:  ” I tried”...... It’s your money….

Yellow boards are the easiest to track… If you don’t want to lose sight of your boards paint them yellow or orange….

The key is you have to drag away diagonal / upwind from the board

Oh, we should drag UPwind!?!  thanks for clearing that up…...

Also been kiting for around 10 years, and can body drag with the best of ‘em.  That didn’t stop me from losing my board one time when the wind quickly went from 15-30, i got ripped off the board and sent skipping across the water.  I was more concerned about staying alive than quickly spotting the board.  The board was just gone, i went back out on small gear and looked for an hour until it got dark.  came back with a kayak the next day.  Just gone.  and this was on a lake.  That’s the last board i’ll lose.

Now i look at it as a luxury item.  I can get ripped 100 yds downwind after a blown trick and i’m still back on the board in under 30 seconds.  normal fall, the board is there in under 10 seconds with zero effort.  helpful when the water is cold to not be sitting in it for 1-3 mins while dragging.

also really helpful when the current and wind are opposite directions like at the gorge or sf bay on a slack tide.

The downside?  Pretty much everyone makes fun of me for using it.  I think that’s why most people don’t take advantage of a pretty useful product - they’re afraid they won’t look cool and get made fun of by someone like TD.  I don’t pay much attention to those people when i’m looking down at them from 30ft off the deck.

Use it or don’t, but why spend time trying to talk people out of using it?  my 2 cents.

miltsface - 15 February 2012 01:42 PM

The key is you have to drag away diagonal / upwind from the board

Oh, we should drag UPwind!?!  thanks for clearing that up…...

The downside?  Pretty much everyone makes fun of me for using it.  I think that’s why most people don’t take advantage of a pretty useful product - they’re afraid they won’t look cool and get made fun of by someone like TD.  I don’t pay much attention to those people when i’m looking down at them from 30ft off the deck.

Use it or don’t, but why spend time trying to talk people out of using it?  my 2 cents.

Hey Miltsface…

The first line you’ve written in your quote above is YOUR feeble attempt at mockingly making fun of me… You should have finished the sentence with   Duh!?!,,,, for more impact…...ha,ha…

I see nowhere in my post where I’m “making fun” of anyone here…... Nor did I mention anyone “not looking cool” because they use a go pro…
Please don’t try to put words in my mouth… I know what I said….. But you obviously can’t read nor comprehend….
You mention looking down on people like me from 30ft…....  Implying that I’m positioned somewhere lower than you,,,, perhaps on the food chain??? lol…...  You tell me…

Just like you, I’m allowed to voice my opinion on a subject or a device that is promoted here…
I guess you feel I should just shut up and let all the sheep like yourself wax poetic about products like this….
I feel I offered some good alternative advice to anyone who’s having trouble dragging back to their board…..
Obviously I was not referring to you at your 30’ altitude….
    15-30 knot winds = Light to moderate + wind speeds…............Sorry to hear you had such trouble in such torrid conditions..

This is the last post by me here on this subject… I fly the kites, they rock…  TD Out…..

Guys - not to open old wounds here but these types of exchanges are best left off this forum… we encourage debate but I certainly hope to see people avoid slights, intended, implied or misinterpreted as such not withstanding. This is a community, if you piss in the community pool your mom will not let you play with others. 

None the less, I walk the line between both positions. Miltsface is exactly right, the Go Joe is a huge help not just in getting your board back but also in seeing you board, a real help in heavy seas on with high currents. Tony’s also right though, no kiter should be discouraged from learning to body drag.

As an aside, Tony you dismiss the interest in the product. By volume (number sold, not total dollars) the Go Joe is by far our most widely purchased product we have ever made. Schools teach almost exclusively with them once they are exposed to them and it is not uncommon for us to handle 20-50 Go Joe orders for one account. It is something many kiters will out grow the need for but - like Miltsface - there will also always be times and places where riders of all levels will feel more comfortable with one on their board.

John Z - OR

Yes….....You’re absolutely right John.
  My apologies to you and the Crew….
I will enjoy flying the best kites I’ve owned and leave it at that…..

Anyone hear recently if they are ever going to bring this product to market after presenting it almost 2 years ago?