Hi All,

Was hoping to post a review on my two new Slingshot Fuels, what I previously considered the best kite ever made. I have ridden them since 2007, owning 07, 08, 10 vintages.

Unfortunately I have had a very bad experience with Slingshot.

Brand new 13m Fuel ripped from leading edge to trailing edge within first three minutes of flying in mid flight. The kite did not even touch the water, it just tore in the air as I unhooked and loaded up for the first time. Obvious manufacture fault by the little man at the sowing machine.

Not overly worried at the time being fully aware of Slingshots much publicised 1 year warranty, I took a heap of photos and submitted a warranty claim direct to Slingshot explaining the situation.

SS response is; "tears to the canopy are not covered under warranty, but don't worry as it should only cost you between $75 - $200 to fix at your local repairer"... (At least that amount as the tear has gone through the leading edge.. not to mention the adverse flight characteristics with a repair of that size - I would have just use my old ones if I wanted a dodgy kite!)

What deceit from SS, and almost morally criminal in my humble opinion.

Lesson learnt, myself and my mates who ordinarily buy quivers of Fuels will never go near Slingshot again and nor should anybody reading this, including Slingshot die hard faithfuls, I was one of you only 1 week ago. It is just not worth the risk.

I have now experienced firsthand why SS is losing market share and the previous mantle as the quality manufacturer.

Rant over, Slingshot fans please accept this as a lesson learnt at my expense as opposed to a derogatory dig at SS.

Cheers,

Sam

I guy I new had the same thing happen (tore mid flight) only he doesn't unhook!

Use to see heaps of slingshot kites around 4 or 5 years back. I haven't seen anyone with a new one in the past 2 years except a guy who is sponsored by them.

time to look at another brand, you hear of **** like this then other brands going out of their way , i dont fly flexifoils but repaired one for a local, he god fobbed off with a bladder issue 1st they couldnt repair it then said they didnt make them anymore, i phoned flexifoil in the uk for him and they went through the old stock tracking one down , they must of phoned me 4 times from the uk in the day keeping me up to date, bingo they found 2 billed for one $59 and sent the 2 now thats customer service

did you purchase the kites from a dealer in Aus?

Kiting said...
I went straight to Slingshot in the US,

1st mistake. Your local dealer is the place to go OR if you dont have one then the Oz distributor.
They dont even know where Aust is in the US.

Kiting said...
In reality most of the brands would probably deal with this the same way, I suppose they get guys crashing them into a tree and trying to claim warranty.

This is true - some do try it on and to give SS due credit (deserved or otherwise) it may be difficult to differentiate tree torn rips from fabric failure.

Kiting said...
I actually tried the 9 yesterday, the canopy itself has a flat or tight patch on one side but not the other, not even going to bother trying to resolve that issue!

You may just have more a show with that sort of problem. Obvious & verifiable manufacturer flaw there.

Not defending this action at all - it is, as you say, way below reasonable expectation even if the 'no warranty on tears' is valid.
We had the exact same problem with a customers kite here at Kite Surf SUP. (yep its very rare but it can happen to any kite - there will always be unavoidable flaws somewhere along the line)
Between myself and the supplier we sorted a deal where the customer got a brand new kite replacement and no-one ended up out of pocket.
All it takes is a bit of time, effort, personal care & kiter-to-kiter goodwill and pretty much any problem can be solved to everyones satisfaction.
The thing is you have to deal local to get that sort of response.

where did it rip along stitched seam or fabric? post pics? just curious

all true posts but if you bought from your local dealer you can bet they would of sorted it out. So

i guess you may not of learnt your lesson

I bought a 2nd hand slingshot in the canary islands a few years back without checking the stitching with a microscope. Within a day of using it in big winds the stitching along the whole leading edge was coming apart.

The repair chap who fixed mainly windsurfing stuff, ridiculed me for buying slingshots, he told me it was their kites he had to fix the most. I have never looked back..

BTW i have one for sale, comes with some decent stitching ;)

Send the link of this forum page to them and tell them this is just the start of the protest!
I was a diehard like your self untill i tried one of the cheapest kite brands on the market and fell in love, slingshot is just a name. quality and service has since long disapeared.

I had a win recently with fairfax. They were uncontactable and I was dealing with computer auto generated responses. Basically I was lodging a complaint with fair trading australia and gave them one last opportunity to resolve. It's amazing when you talk to the right person what they can and are willing to do. Fair trading are helpful on the phone. Give them a call or you can lodge an online complaint. Not sure where you stand with overseas supplier, but Internet purchases are so common now on a variety of products, they would have protocols in place. Surely if you talk to the right person in slingshot, they would offer some kind of assistance. Although I support Ozzy retail; I'm sure most of those retailers have had overseas purchases either by web or when travelling. Your warranty should be good. They are losing a good promoter of the brand (in the past) if they dont. I'm surprised no other retailer has stepped up to offer you some deal. I haven't had a slingshot since my original 13m fuel I learnt on and they were great to deal with then. Good luck!

Hi kiting

Sorry to hear of your issues with your SS kite. We have had historically very few warranty claims with the Fuel given the numbers that are on the water as it is well known for its performance and durability. As you highlighted you have obviously used them for many years with no significant problems its a shame that you have had a not so favourable solution for this issue.

As highlighted it becomes an issue when people decide to purchase overseas as if you had gone local you would of received the backing and support of the local agent/ supplier. This is very solid when you have an established relationship with a shop but people decide to buy overseas, also as highlighted all kite brands are inundated by people making false claims about the kite that " miraculously exploded" even though they won't acknowledge that it had been slammed repeatedly.

A warranty that is submitted has a lot more weight when it is backed by the local agent or supplier who can back the claim and more often than not there is a favourable outcome when there is a clear issue identified.

Where people develop relationships with their local retailer this negates the potential for " grey areas" as the rep will know the individual and their abilities. This is especially the case where the individual is a longtime supporter of their local dealer.

I suggest you contact the company you brought this kite from if you have dealt with them on numerous occasions and Pursue your claim.

Boardcrazy -Slingshot Australia

Saffer said...
The whole concept of not covering a canopy for repair seems like bull****. Canopies could be just as subject to manufacturing fault as any other area of the kite. It's easy to see manufacturing faults vs damage because you can normally see a point where the damage actually occured. I.e. a puncture point which may have started the tear if it was crashed into something.

Exactly, if the canopy has been damaged buy a foreign object it will be clear as daylight, also if the fabric has been put under unacceptable stress, the material along the rip will appear wrinkled and stretched. Post up some pictures Kiting so we can have a look.

Kiting said...
No not self launch, well aware of what dragging along the ground can do to a kite canopy.

No I purchased the kites from the US, less than half the price. Given the SS warranty does not cover canopy tears and the shop would be dealing with SS direct to get the warranty actioned, I do not consider there to be much more a shop could do.. Happy to be proven otherwise?

"Less than half the price" sounds too good to be true. Thats the risk you take when buying overseas.
Slingshot have a great product, sounds like you have been duded mate by a dodgy dealer, selling an item that wasnt intended for retail.

Bite the bullet and buy a new kite localy and you know your coverd is all I can say.

BoardCrazy said...

Paul1 said...

BoardCrazy said...
Hi kiting



As highlighted it becomes an issue when people decide to purchase overseas as if you had gone local you would of received the backing and support of the local agent/ supplier. This is very solid when you have an established relationship with a shop but people decide to buy overseas, also as highlighted all kite brands are inundated by people making false claims about the kite that " miraculously exploded" even though they won't acknowledge that it had been slammed repeatedly.

A warranty that is submitted has a lot more weight when it is backed by the local agent or supplier who can back the claim and more often than not there is a favourable outcome when there is a clear issue identified.

Where people develop relationships with their local retailer this negates the potential for " grey areas" as the rep will know the individual and their abilities. This is especially the case where the individual is a longtime supporter of their local dealer.

I suggest you contact the company you brought this kite from if you have dealt with them on numerous occasions and Pursue your claim.

Boardcrazy -Slingshot Australia

That's a load of crap mate, I support my local shop and always buy my gear there as they do great trade in prices and have excellent customer service. But let's say I buy a brand new kite then leave the country and travel overseas, my first flight of the kite and the whole thing rips in half, should I now not be able to go to the closest dealer of said kite and get my world wide warranty that I purchased with this kite? Or am I now going to be shunned and frowned upon as I didn't buy my kite in their country, even though it has a worldwide warranty? In my opinion if you have a receipt with date of purchase, it is of no relevance which country the kite was purchased, if a local Slingy dealer had any sense they would fix this guy up and probably get themselves a new customer in the process.

Hi Paul
If you we're in that situation overseas for instance and had that issue you could contact your local dealer who you got the kite from and get a direct link to the dealer in that area and assistance as we have done in the past. We have been contacted by an international distributer and hooked people up with gear where there has been this situation. We work in cooperation.

Sweet, so all he has to do is contact his local dealer in the U.S.A. where he bought the kite on holiday and they will contact you and you will fix him up, sounds awesome, well done

Kiting said...
No not self launch, well aware of what dragging along the ground can do to a kite canopy.

No I purchased the kites from the US, less than half the price. Given the SS warranty does not cover canopy tears and the shop would be dealing with SS direct to get the warranty actioned, I do not consider there to be much more a shop could do.. Happy to be proven otherwise?

I've just been on the Slingshot US website and it's $1849 for a 2013 Fuel. Add on shipping cost and Australian duty and we are looking at close to 2 grand.

Where did you buy the kite at less than half price?

When you say you purchased the kite from the US was it from an authorized SS distributor?? This is not clear from your posting. Why didn't you, and why aren't you pursuing the matter via the point of sale??

My experience has always been to go back to the point of sale 1st they have a lot more to lose sometimes than the manufacturer. If this fails, which it rarely has for me, I then escalate it to the distributor or manufacturer, and include the lack of support I have received from their retail point of sale. They don't like it when the retail sector is giving their product a poor name.