What’s the deal there?  Canadian kite mag, Canadian Kite company??  Should be some synergy there.  Is there some kinda feud or what?

SBC do a great job, and is one of our favorite magazines.
Typically when mags do a gear review, they feature the product from the paying advertiser.
No feud with SBC, we simply haven’t run an ad with them for some time as we have more of an online focus.

I’ll throw this question out to anyone interested:
I’ve grouped a few of the main methods used by brands to spread the word on thier products. (not talking about price here, just what may make you want to look / try something new)

Which format has the most influence over your gear selection?

- Print Magazines (ads - gear reviews based on who advertises)
- Online Magazines (gear reviews based on who advertises)
- Community based websites:  Forums ( Product threads with comments by paying end users.)
- Beach word of mouth: What other riders say on the beach, what you see at the beach.
- Dealer feedback: talking with the retail shop.
- Pro Rider: Action shots, event results, video, editorial features in print and online that may cause you look at gear used by the pro rider.

Online comunities and word of mouth on the beach are the two big ones for me, but once I hear of something, SBC is often one of the spots I research it to get a review.  Granted they are all a little too positive, but you get an idea of where the strong and weak points are.

They (sbc) have a decent online site and a lot of gear reviews.

Word of mouth ... & Forums like this one .

First and foremost it’s ‘Forums’ for me!

good question to ask - on a forum
for me, beach word and what I see, not that I care for other brands much. Ok, on my fav spot a certain German kite school persistingly keeps unloading busloads of Cologne hotties and ties them to miniature Wainman kites. It worked for my brand appreciation of Wainman.

1. - Beach word of mouth: What other riders say on the beach, what you see at the beach.

2. Community based websites:  Forums ( Product threads with comments by paying end users.)

3. Company website

Great info,..thanks all!
Naturally the results on any forum will be online favored.
However,..word on the beach seems most popular thus far,..

For me its usually something I see or hear while participating in the activity that causes me to research online.
Also, guidance from a knowledgeable sales person (in a retail shop environment) can change the direction of my purchase.

Hey Richard,

I totally believe in the magazine reviews a lot. SBC in particular does a great job, as does The Kiteboarder.  I find the forum posters are all very biased to what they already ride or who gave them a better deal. Also forum posters often are not being clinical about their testing. ie; They test a brand one year and then another one a year year later and try to compare them , not possible.

When we test kites here we always do it back to back during the same session, just like SBC does.

That’s my 2 cents for you.

Dave Nunn
Windance

1 video’s and picture’s from good to pro rider
2 online reviews
3 Community based websites
4 Dealer feedback
5 website actieve crew with lots of contest’s

Ive been mostly influenced by ppl on the beach using the gear. 2nd would be magazines, last being Internet… Nice to have a face to look at when discussing gear.

For me, people on the beach, which prompts me to look things up on the internet and try to cut through the pimping on the forums .  It’s nice to see the pretty pictures in magazines, but I don’t believe the mag reviews.  Unfortunately they’re not independant, but not everyone knows that.