Seriously, and I'm risking a lot here haha, but is there a real need to release a new model each year by the brands?

Or is just planned obsolescence biting at our wallets, like in other consumer product industries?

as long as people keep having to have the brand new product they will keep releasing them each year,

it is good news for people like me who can pick up cheap almost brand new boards that are the previous years model, as on my budget i'm not shelling out 2.5/3 grand

Jarryd

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TalkToMe said..
Seriously, and I'm risking a lot here haha, but is there a real need to release a new model each year by the brands?

Or is just planned obsolescence biting at our wallets, like in other consumer product industries?

I think there is if they want to continue to improve and grow.. and keep up with the competition..

I don't think it's planned obsolence or a way to make us spend more..

I'm sure it will get to a point where they get the whole range needed covered but even then you'll get changes in graphics.. deck pads.. and fins..

Keeping things the same year after year would soon get pretty boring IMO..

We keep evolving as SUP'rs.... just think where we were 4 years ago.
When we up our skills, we need new boards to match new abilities.

As SUP starts engaging younger rippers, the boards have to be totally redesigned.

Each evolution along the way, allows shapers to tweak more performance out of proven designs.

Then there is the construction side.... lighter, stronger opens up thinner, higher performance potential.

We are a long way from done.

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DavidJohn said..

TalkToMe said..
Seriously, and I'm risking a lot here haha, but is there a real need to release a new model each year by the brands?

Or is just planned obsolescence biting at our wallets, like in other consumer product industries?

I think there is if they want to continue to improve and grow.. and keep up with the competition..

I don't think it's planned obsolence or a way to make us spend more..

I'm sure it will get to a point where they get the whole range needed covered but even then you'll get changes in graphics.. deck pads.. and fins..

Keeping things the same year after year would soon get pretty boring IMO..

Of course its a way for us too spend more, but thats how business continues.
On the other hand for those that can afford the latest we benefit from the improvements as per STC comment.
These new boards then filter down to the 2nd hand market and improve the performance and enjoyment for those of us less well healed.
One of the great things about Sups (at least the major brands) is that they are robust and if looked after can last many years.

I agree with all the points made here, even those that appear at first contradictory: it just reflects the various different forces acting upon the market and this rapidly-changing sport.

The two things that do perturb me however are (a) where the latest model actually isn't an improvement on the previous year's one, or (b) where models that are still in-demand disappear. This doesn't seem to be serving the customer well. Several of the bigger brands have done one or both these things in the last 5 years or so IMO.

A further point I'd make is that I do wonder whether the obsession with producing new shapes has meant that less time is spent by the brands developing the construction side. We all want lighter, cheaper, more durable boards. But the construction methods haven't changed or improved significantly over the last 7 years or so. In fact, in some cases the boards of yesteryear were possibly better made. So I'd prefer it if more effort went into developing more affordable, easier to carry, and more ding-resistant boards rather than just ones that look different from last year's.

Two main points in my opinion.

SUP design is still in its early stages. Performance and construction improvements are being made daily. Everyone wants to surf better and go faster.

The other point is that the companies involved are running a business. You can't keep selling the same product year after year.

So I say keep it coming guys.

Only issue is the price for 2016 for race boards is out of touch with reality...
Yeah yeah Aussie dollar and all but the increase in prices as far as I have heard is rediclous.
Feel for the shop owners over the next couple years there won't be as many new boards leaving the racks as In the past in my opinion.

Happy days for the cheaper China made boards and even happier days for the Aussie made boards..

Wait till you see the prices for a 2016 Starboard...........need a 2nd mortgage to afford......word is a 30% increase in price from the 2015 models surf and race.....

A bit like washing powders over the years. They claim "whiter & Brighter" but nothing changes much. And when it comes to greed, one will pay a high price for low quality.
And forums like this are our savings grace. To compare the qualities & performance before we can make a decision & spend our hard earned cash!

Yeah, valid opinions all round. It is in many ways though 'us' against 'them', as in the consumer against the retailer and brand. The way it's always been in the world of consumerism of course.

I've heard similar murmurs of distaste of 2016 prices too.

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TalkToMe said..
Seriously, and I'm risking a lot here haha, but is there a real need to release a new model each year by the brands?

Or is just planned obsolescence biting at our wallets, like in other consumer product industries?

Basically if your happy with your board stick with it ...you don't have to buy every years model but .
just look at the models that have come out this year ...truly improved out of site compared to say 2 years ago .
just using Naish boards for example ..they haven't changed the 11.4 Nalu or 9.5 mana for while because .. Hey ...they ..work
no changes next year either ..shhh....on those two models anyway .

i think SUPs will pan out soon ...and all board will be good buying ..using windsurfing boards as a example ...if your buy anything after 2006 you get a pretty good high performance board ..older sport ...in my option Sups are almost at a peak ..so many great boards out there now ..
everybody loves new things it s human nature ......but your right talktome their making money .
buy wisely .

I don't think we are anywhere near done yet. The next big development may well come with inflatables. If a manufacturer can find a way to improve nose shapes, rail shapes, and rocker, hard boards will become almost extinct. And then there is the possibility that someone will develop any entirely new construction process that will produce light, durable and good shape boards at a fraction of the cost of current ones, and then have the distribution and marketing budget to sell them by the bucketload to the masses. This would instantly undermine all the current big brands because their bread-and-butter are the eg. 10-6 all-rounder and inflatables. It is hard from the perspective of us enthusiasts to appreciate how unimportant the type of boards we lust after are to the global SUP market. In the UK, inflatable sales outnumber hard boards 10-1. A substantial proportion of these sales would instantly switch to a hard board if a super-cheap, light, durable construction were invented, since inflating iSUPs is a pain and there is the safety issue of them possible going pop when you are far from shore. I know some people who claim they are not far away from creating such a hard board construction, which would mean new boards could retail at eg. 600 Australian Dollars, and dings would be a thing of the past.

It seems to me unlikely that in a few years time we will all be spending the equivalent of a month's salary or (considerably) more on a fragile board hand made by some unnamed bloke in Thailand and then shipped around the world at vast expense to turn up on your doorstep with a ding in it and paint that blisters or chips off at first use. The current situation is just nuts, and it won't be long before someone finds a better, cheaper, way to do it. The majority of my friends - who are all in good full-time paid jobs - can't afford to buy new boards at retail at all. So if the prices are going up again this year, then either the growth of the sport will start to level off or another way will be found IMO.

Not all board makers release new models each year. For instance Jimmy Lewis, Nah Skwell, Gong (and many others) release when it is ready, and keep time-proven shapes in their line.

Some brands try to run the business like they did for windsurfing: insanely high prices, with huge discounts when the new models come out. Personnaly I think it is suicidal , and one of the factors that crashed the Windsurfing market...
I knew a Windsurfing brand that had their yearly lines planned 4 years in advance... the yearly advances were pure marketing strategy.

To me a a lot of the changes are to drastic not to be planed and give them something to improve on the following year. You only have to watch the marketing video that say what they have learned from the previous year to then two year later back on what they were saying, Mistakes seam to be to simple to be missed.

In reality the prices of boards have been to low up to now and this is just catching up with us and having the boards made the other side of the world and go through multiple distributers and shiiping is never going to get cheaper its just a shame that a lot of these boards are coming out with such poor quality, it wouldn't cost any more to ship a good quality board after all!

Well it's certainly good news for the local shapers if prices are really going up 30% for 2016. Although that might just be misinformation given out by the retailers in order to shift old stock before the new gear is announced. We've been here before as well.

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Area10 said..
Well it's certainly good news for the local shapers if prices are really going up 30% for 2016. Although that might just be misinformation given out by the retailers in order to shift old stock before the new gear is announced. We've been here before as well.

It's not misinformation. We are being hit by a combination of rising production costs and an unfavourable currency exchange here in Australia - a perfect storm. Don't know how your currency is fairing but that also depends as some brands trade in US dollars and some brands trade in the Euro.

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PTWoody said..

Area10 said..
Well it's certainly good news for the local shapers if prices are really going up 30% for 2016. Although that might just be misinformation given out by the retailers in order to shift old stock before the new gear is announced. We've been here before as well.

It's not misinformation. We are being hit by a combination of rising production costs and an unfavourable currency exchange here in Australia - a perfect storm. Don't know how your currency is fairing but that also depends as some brands trade in US dollars and some brands trade in the Euro.

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PTWoody said..

Area10 said..
Well it's certainly good news for the local shapers if prices are really going up 30% for 2016. Although that might just be misinformation given out by the retailers in order to shift old stock before the new gear is announced. We've been here before as well.

It's not misinformation. We are being hit by a combination of rising production costs and an unfavourable currency exchange here in Australia - a perfect storm. Don't know how your currency is fairing but that also depends as some brands trade in US dollars and some brands trade in the Euro.

Have a look at how the South African Rand (ZAR) has fared which brings a whole new meaning to the term 'unfavourable currency exchange' unless of course you're based in Zim

The Aussie and the SA Rand have had very similar depreciations against the USD over the last couple of years, so we're in the same boat. Your Kiwi was looking good there for a little while, but that's retraced in the last couple of months. We've hardly moved against the Euro though, but not sure how many boards are priced in Euro or imported into Oz from there (BIC springs to mind). I'm sure there will be some importers out there figuring it out, trying to get boards landed cheaper.

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SJKJ said..
The Aussie and the SA Rand have had very similar depreciations against the USD over the last couple of years, so we're in the same boat. Your Kiwi was looking good there for a little while, but that's retraced in the last couple of months. We've hardly moved against the Euro though, but not sure how many boards are priced in Euro or imported into Oz from there (BIC springs to mind). I'm sure there will be some importers out there figuring it out, trying to get boards landed cheaper.

Fair call over the last couple of years but over 5 years...mmm. Bottom line is that currency is a real bugger & as a consumer/investor/business I guess you just have to hope that it all evens out over the years, although I know which side of the trade I'm unfortunately on which makes for grim reading
Fortunately it's the last thing I think about when I'm on the water

PS - possibly an ignorant question for which I apologise in advance however, given that a number of the large players manufacture out of Asia, does that not dilute the exposure to the US$?

There's also no turning back either. If the brands manage to keep sales going in 2016 like previous years and something in the money market has a massive change and makes it way cheaper for boards to land on Aussie soil are the brands really going to reduce their RRP back down 30% I don't think so.. At best it will stabilise until the dollar and production costs go up again..

A smart investor would jump on for example the DC band wagon and give him what he needs to up production and become a big player I Aus, as these guys can produce and sell a board for so much less than what naish starboard and fantatic will be sold for.

SUPing, on the currency pricing, I suppose it depends on the currency stipulated by the contract. My understanding is that it's typically US$. It wouldn't make much difference if it was written in Chinese Yuan because that's managed on a fairly tight peg with US$. And if it was Thai Baht, the AUD has had a similar depreciation.

For Australian paddlers, the way we've been able to receive the benefits of the mining boom (which led to the spike in our terms of trade) was to be able to access cheaper imported boards. Now that it's unwound, reality is setting in. On the positive side, local alternatives are looking better, as you say AndyR.

+1 SUPing on it being the last thing you think about once you're out there.

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Area10 said..
I don't think we are anywhere near done yet. The next big development may well come with inflatables. If a manufacturer can find a way to improve nose shapes, rail shapes, and rocker, hard boards will become almost extinct..... It is hard from the perspective of us enthusiasts to appreciate how unimportant the type of boards we lust after are to the global SUP market. In the UK, inflatable sales outnumber hard boards 10-1.

I think you're right with inflatables, I think a sustained effort in R&D from a few of the big brands will see such a huge leap in performance possibilities that a sub $2K inflatable will be barely discernible from a board costing twice as much, while being substantially more robust and practical for storage and travel. Maybe not so much for wave boards, but they don't have the storage and travel difficulties to begin with, and performance of an inflatable wave board is always going to be limited.

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AndyR said..
There's also no turning back either. If the brands manage to keep sales going in 2016 like previous years and something in the money market has a massive change and makes it way cheaper for boards to land on Aussie soil are the brands really going to reduce their RRP back down 30% I don't think so.. At best it will stabilise until the dollar and production costs go up again..

They will reduce in my opinion. This already happened. The Aussie dollar improved remarkably during the GFC just around the time the board brands started making carbon race boards. Prices dropped from around $4k to under $3K from one year to the next. You could argue that volume sales had something to do with that, but the currency exchange was also a factor. We went from having significantly more expensive RRP's than the US to being on parity.

I do hope you are right PT.

I got red thumbed on the last same subject we speak about before this one. But I still think to get the fresher ant cheaper carrot is to home grow it rather than to buy it on the market