Infinity is doing some great marketing and some great board building. Lots of mojo in that little company.
Wow!! She's been with Bark for so long. Part of the "Family" Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when she told the Bark guys she was leaving,
Now we have what are possibly the world's top two women racers (and the current number one man) with brands that have virtually no presence in Europe. How strange.
But I guess at least our purchasing decisions will be less influenced by what the top people are paddling.
Europe is still in the hands of windsurf-brands . They use their widespread distribution system and pretty much dominate the market.. Its hard for pure-sup brands to get into the surfshops because of this..
It is often mooted that the brands that make the best paddles are those that only make paddles.
Is this the same for SUP boards?
If so, could this possibly be behind the redistribution of some of the top racers away from the bigger watersports brands towards the smaller, specialist SUP (or SUP-mainly) ones?
Select to expand quoteSurfNiels said..
Europe is still in the hands of windsurf-brands . They use their widespread distribution system and pretty much dominate the market.. Its hard for pure-sup brands to get into the surfshops because of this.Select to expand quote
On the whole, Australia is dominated by the windsurf brands also. America on the other hand has many SUP specific brands and designs we don't even see here. What is interesting is that inflatables are the bigger part of mainland Europes sales according to a couple of friends I've met paddling who work for a couple of the big SUP and windsurf companies..
If I was a sup-distributor I would love inflatabels. The cost of trannportation and storage is only a fraction of what traditional hardboards cost.
I'm not selling sups and haven't really tried an inflatabel that I would recommend
Select to expand quoteSurfNiels said..
Europe is still in the hands of windsurf-brands . They use their widespread distribution system and pretty much dominate the market.. Its hard for pure-sup brands to get into the surfshops because of this..
Correction: Shop distribution in Europe is still in the hands of windsurf-brands .
The direct selling via Internet (in France at least) is totally different... nearly all top brands are non-windsurfing ones, and I think has much more volume than the local shop market.
And inflatables sell insanely well on the direct market. Gong sold 1200 inflatables (nearly all in France) in the last semester of 2014, but ~ 8000 (for France) in the first half of 2015... and also the inflatable market was created by non-windsurf brands (ULI, Red Paddle, ...)
Thanks for your correction colas.
GONG has become a strong brand and that is great.
Hopefully we will see more sup-specific brands in europe in the coming years
Select to expand quoteSurfNiels said...
If I was a sup-distributor I would love inflatabels. The cost of trannportation and storage is only a fraction of what traditional hardboards cost.
I'm not selling sups and haven't really tried an inflatabel that I would recommend
My local shop sells 10x as many inflatables as hard boards. It shows what most customers want: cheap, durable, easy to transport and easy to store boards. They don't care much about "performance". It is taking over from sit-on-top kayaks as the recreational water activity of choice for the occasional paddler who aspires to be more (but probably never will be).
Inflatables have their uses. I just took my 16ft Starboard tandem inflatable to Ibiza on the plane, and surfed tandem with my kids at a shallow and rocky spot. I didn't have to deflate my board each time I took it back to my first floor apartment because I could just drop it off the balcony onto the ground. I didn't have to worry about dings, and I just logged the board as another suitcase in the main luggage allocation; no extra costs or messing about with oversized luggage, and no roofracks to worry about.
Yesterday some friends brought their kid over and I pushed theirs and mine (ie. all three of them) together into tiny waves, in chest-deep water, with long rides ending up on the beach. It was great to see three of them surfing at once on the same board, and they loved it. Later we played "Wobble Wars", which is a knock-out competition where two people jump up on the same board at the same time and then jump up and down on the board to try to send the other one off. Last person standing wins. The kids enjoyed playing it for hours, and it builds great confidence and balance. But given the nature of the pasting the board gets, and the falls that are inherent in the game, trying this with a hard board is not a great idea.
I wouldn't have had any of these experiences if I only owned hard boards. So, iSUPs have their place, as far as I'm concerned - and not just in rivers or for urban dwellers short on space. The "performance" of iSUPs is still pretty dire in all conditions except perhaps perfectly flat water, but in just about all other ways they win.
I'm hoping that there remains enough competition in the iSUP market to mean that the performance aspect of iSUPs is addressed over the coming years, because they provide a wonderfully accessible entry into the sport for people who could not afford or store a hard board, or who just want FUN rather than having aspirations to be the next Candice Appleby. ISUP prices actually seem to be decreasing a little, while hard board costs are getting way beyond the reach of most recreational paddlers.
Select to expand quoteHumanCartoon said..
No Leash?
Maybe you should have said "No Leg Rope?", HC...
Later we played "Wobble Wars", which is a knock-out competition where two people jump up on the same board at the same time and then jump up and down on the board to try to send the other one off. Last person standing wins. The kids enjoyed playing it for hours, and it builds great confidence and balance. But given the nature of the pasting the board gets, and the falls that are inherent in the game, trying this with a hard board is not a great idea.
I used to play "Wooble Wars" as a kid on a windsurfer board. I got my kids to do it on the sup but obviously didn't provide good enough instructions. When I said READY SET GO my daughter punched my young bloke in the face, knocked him off the board and started cheering. Young bloke had a tooth knocked out and quite a bit of blood. Luckily the tooth (still a baby tooth) landed on the sup so the tooth fairy still came. Now they know not to punch they love it. We do use a hard board though.
Select to expand quoteka43 said...
"Candice Appleby Leaves Bark"
Is that important??
No.. not important.. but interesting for some people.. 
I wonder if she thinks to be competitive she needs the latest shape and lightest construction.. Something Bark could not give her.. Once she works with Joe Bark on a board and it makes it into Surftech production.. it may have changed slightly.. and got much heavier.. and she's forced to use her 'signature model' board in races against others on newer/lighter/better boards.. Just a thought..
Select to expand quoteHelmy said..HumanCartoon said..
No Leash?
Maybe you should have said "No Leg Rope?", HC...
toMAYto...toMAHto...
Select to expand quoteHelmy said..HumanCartoon said..
No Leash?
Maybe you should have said "No Leg Rope?", HC...Select to expand quoteArea10 said..SurfNiels said...
If I was a sup-distributor I would love inflatabels. The cost of trannportation and storage is only a fraction of what traditional hardboards cost.
I'm not selling sups and haven't really tried an inflatabel that I would recommend
My local shop sells 10x as many inflatables as hard boards. It shows what most customers want: cheap, durable, easy to transport and easy to store boards. They don't care much about "performance". It is taking over from sit-on-top kayaks as the recreational water activity of choice for the occasional paddler who aspires to be more (but probably never will be).
Inflatables have their uses. I just took my 16ft Starboard tandem inflatable to Ibiza on the plane, and surfed tandem with my kids at a shallow and rocky spot. I didn't have to deflate my board each time I took it back to my first floor apartment because I could just drop it off the balcony onto the ground. I didn't have to worry about dings, and I just logged the board as another suitcase in the main luggage allocation; no extra costs or messing about with oversized luggage, and no roofracks to worry about.
Yesterday some friends brought their kid over and I pushed theirs and mine (ie. all three of them) together into tiny waves, in chest-deep water, with long rides ending up on the beach. It was great to see three of them surfing at once on the same board, and they loved it. Later we played "Wobble Wars", which is a knock-out competition where two people jump up on the same board at the same time and then jump up and down on the board to try to send the other one off. Last person standing wins. The kids enjoyed playing it for hours, and it builds great confidence and balance. But given the nature of the pasting the board gets, and the falls that are inherent in the game, trying this with a hard board is not a great idea.
I wouldn't have had any of these experiences if I only owned hard boards. So, iSUPs have their place, as far as I'm concerned - and not just in rivers or for urban dwellers short on space. The "performance" of iSUPs is still pretty dire in all conditions except perhaps perfectly flat water, but in just about all other ways they win.
I'm hoping that there remains enough competition in the iSUP market to mean that the performance aspect of iSUPs is addressed over the coming years, because they provide a wonderfully accessible entry into the sport for people who could not afford or store a hard board, or who just want FUN rather than having aspirations to be the next Candice Appleby. ISUP prices actually seem to be decreasing a little, while hard board costs are getting way beyond the reach of most recreational paddlers.
Speaking to the 2 shops I frequent in Sydney the inflatable side of things is quite slow. Their biggest area is 10 -10'6 hard boards around the $1300 -$1500 mark. The big windsurf brands as well as the smaller brands all seem to have boards in this area. Certainly lots of choice for people in this market. I'm looking at buying a 10 footer for the family. I've looked on line and at the retailers. I know there's been lots of discussions bagging the retailers and the big SUP companies on pricing but if these guys can give me a board in the same price range as an online guy I'll go to the retailer every time. The shops in Sydney support the local clubs, run demo days and in my limited experience have provided me with good support. I can see me eventually getting an inflatable as well if their price comes down.
Select to expand quoteAndo16 said...
Later we played "Wobble Wars", which is a knock-out competition where two people jump up on the same board at the same time and then jump up and down on the board to try to send the other one off. Last person standing wins. The kids enjoyed playing it for hours, and it builds great confidence and balance. But given the nature of the pasting the board gets, and the falls that are inherent in the game, trying this with a hard board is not a great idea.
I used to play "Wooble Wars" as a kid on a windsurfer board. I got my kids to do it on the sup but obviously didn't provide good enough instructions. When I said READY SET GO my daughter punched my young bloke in the face, knocked him off the board and started cheering. Young bloke had a tooth knocked out and quite a bit of blood. Luckily the tooth (still a baby tooth) landed on the sup so the tooth fairy still came. Now they know not to punch they love it. We do use a hard board though.
Well you get more wobble for your buck with an inflatable. Safer too.
Yes, you do have to establish rules or else it turns into a fight. It is best with a safe zone in the middle where neither player can enter or else they lose, in order to avoid contact, and a rule that someone who touches the other player who is completely in their own zone instantly loses.
I'd love to see Connor, Kai etc doing this!
Seems to be working... 
"Candice Appleby (Infinity) takes the well deserved win in the long distance race here on Day 1 of the 2015 Victoria Cup Hayama Pro in Japan. A strong start saw Candice take the lead early and build on it through the race, despite a major comeback from the young phenom, Fiona Wylde (Starboard), but it was Candice who managed to persevere to take the win."
DJ, I'm sure some thought went into Candice's training and race schedule, and the timing of the Infinity move. You can't go doing badly in your first race with a new board maker...
Select to expand quote2222222 said..Helmy said..HumanCartoon said..
No Leash?
Maybe you should have said "No Leg Rope?", HC...Area10 said..SurfNiels said...
If I was a sup-distributor I would love inflatabels. The cost of trannportation and storage is only a fraction of what traditional hardboards cost.
I'm not selling sups and haven't really tried an inflatabel that I would recommend
My local shop sells 10x as many inflatables as hard boards. It shows what most customers want: cheap, durable, easy to transport and easy to store boards. They don't care much about "performance". It is taking over from sit-on-top kayaks as the recreational water activity of choice for the occasional paddler who aspires to be more (but probably never will be).
Inflatables have their uses. I just took my 16ft Starboard tandem inflatable to Ibiza on the plane, and surfed tandem with my kids at a shallow and rocky spot. I didn't have to deflate my board each time I took it back to my first floor apartment because I could just drop it off the balcony onto the ground. I didn't have to worry about dings, and I just logged the board as another suitcase in the main luggage allocation; no extra costs or messing about with oversized luggage, and no roofracks to worry about.
Yesterday some friends brought their kid over and I pushed theirs and mine (ie. all three of them) together into tiny waves, in chest-deep water, with long rides ending up on the beach. It was great to see three of them surfing at once on the same board, and they loved it. Later we played "Wobble Wars", which is a knock-out competition where two people jump up on the same board at the same time and then jump up and down on the board to try to send the other one off. Last person standing wins. The kids enjoyed playing it for hours, and it builds great confidence and balance. But given the nature of the pasting the board gets, and the falls that are inherent in the game, trying this with a hard board is not a great idea.
I wouldn't have had any of these experiences if I only owned hard boards. So, iSUPs have their place, as far as I'm concerned - and not just in rivers or for urban dwellers short on space. The "performance" of iSUPs is still pretty dire in all conditions except perhaps perfectly flat water, but in just about all other ways they win.
I'm hoping that there remains enough competition in the iSUP market to mean that the performance aspect of iSUPs is addressed over the coming years, because they provide a wonderfully accessible entry into the sport for people who could not afford or store a hard board, or who just want FUN rather than having aspirations to be the next Candice Appleby. ISUP prices actually seem to be decreasing a little, while hard board costs are getting way beyond the reach of most recreational paddlers.
Speaking to the 2 shops I frequent in Sydney the inflatable side of things is quite slow. Their biggest area is 10 -10'6 hard boards around the $1300 -$1500 mark. The big windsurf brands as well as the smaller brands all seem to have boards in this area. Certainly lots of choice for people in this market. I'm looking at buying a 10 footer for the family. I've looked on line and at the retailers. I know there's been lots of discussions bagging the retailers and the big SUP companies on pricing but if these guys can give me a board in the same price range as an online guy I'll go to the retailer every time. The shops in Sydney support the local clubs, run demo days and in my limited experience have provided me with good support. I can see me eventually getting an inflatable as well if their price comes down.
Depends on what shop you go to when you are looking at inflatables... They all do them, some just have way of getting them into customers hands and the understanding of them better than others...
Select to expand quoteDavidJohn said..ka43 said...
"Candice Appleby Leaves Bark"
Is that important??
No.. not important.. but interesting for some people..
I wonder if she thinks to be competitive she needs the latest shape and lightest construction.. Something Bark could not give her.. Once she works with Joe Bark on a board and it makes it into Surftech production.. it may have changed slightly.. and got much heavier.. and she's forced to use her 'signature model' board in races against others on newer/lighter/better boards.. Just a thought..
Not forced.
She has more respect for bark than we know. So much so that for the first 7 months before she was exclusive with infiniti now she rode both. She always rode production boards and dominated. If you pick up one of her 12'6 in surftech they are so light and refined and one of the slippery boards in the water.
It might of been the restructure of surftech world wide that has forced the change.
