Hey guys, want to share my experience with shox system from North/Duotone: I am using it first season mainly on Baltic sea and I must say that I like it very much - I am not looking for speed but for the comfort and a long life for my equipment. The only thing is that couple of days ago when I had a session on Baltic and I was leaving the water (standing on the foot in the water, sail in hands, board still on the water) when one of the waves pumped the board up and the iTendon.Shox fell apart (one piece remained in the extension and another was with the board). Nothing broke - it just detached like this:

Did it happen to someone else? It's not safe as it can happen on a water far from shore. Also it looks strange as I found that the screws from internet pictures of this system look different from mine:









If the heads of these screws would be in a form of cone like on a picture above this shouldn't have happened. But they are not. I aslo wrote to Duotone about this on Sunday but as for now no answer from them...

Take it back to where you purchased it and demand a refund, repair or replacement whatever is acceptable at your option. I can't comment on the design or technical details of the screws. This type of failure is unacceptable for new gear, first season, and it sounds like it is not fit for purpose and in short a piece of crap for a failure like you have described.

Some news: got an answer from their local represenatative. I've sent them photos, let's see what will be the final result...

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RichardG said..
Take it back to where you purchased it and demand a refund, repair or replacement whatever is acceptable at your option. I can't comment on the design or technical details of the screws. This type of failure is unacceptable for new gear, first season, and it sounds like it is not fit for purpose and in short a piece of crap for a failure like you have described.

I really hope that it is a trouble with my particular itendon and not the design failure because I really like this system: less impact in board/extension area.

I decided to buy it after I've broken the collar of my Chinook extension - I had quite a choppy session and after one of the hits it just broke and mast went down. So that system really looks like a solution to this case (also I like to jump on waves - not so high but still it's better to have some additional shock-absorbtion).

I've been using the shox for about 3 years and been through 4 of the tendons. They all go in the same place where the screw attaches to the tubular housing

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southsea said..
I've been using the shox for about 3 years and been through 4 of the tendons. They all go in the same place where the screw attaches to the tubular housing

First of all sorry fo my English if I do any mistakes - it is not my native language ;)
I change rubber tendons every year (our season lasts from may to november in general). I've been using Shox from may untill now. So the problem with the screw is that it can go through the hole of the "tubular housing" without any obstacle (even the screw head). In normal conditions this system looks to be working fine but in my special case this tendon with the screw inside just slipped through this "tubular housing" and devided into two pieces (my 1st picture atteched). Nothing is broken and I put it all together but what has happened once can happen one more time.

I've not had it fail on me on the water because I stopped using it:
You can see the wear. I think aluminium is just too soft.

I've also had other near misses (non-shox tendon).

Another one:


Other North woes:

The outhaul pulley on my Platinum Aero boom cracked. The boom head created deep abrasion grooves in the carbon.

My ratchet extension gave me lots of grief (super nice when it worked though).
I saw the plastics on 2 North (non-ratchet) extensions shatter within a day in Jeri.

I've said this before.
Booms and everything else no matter which brand they are aren't magical items, they require maintenance. especially before 5-6 years.

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AUS4 said..
I've said this before.
Booms and everything else no matter which brand they are aren't magical items, they require maintenance. especially before 5-6 years.

My shox tendon was less than a season old. The iTendon which lost one of its bottom screws was used a handful of times. It's just bad design. Pity, since I liked both the ratchet and the shox.

Chinook's may not be as elegant, but probably the safest. (Especially combined with a 2-bolt base and a loop through the downhaul in case the pin fails.)

If you say these items are less than a season old and a hand full of times (which I highly doubt ) you should take them back to the shop you bought them from as they have a 2 year warranty. Also the tendon has a Kevlar safety rope inside it.

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Faff said..
I've not had it fail on me on the water because I stopped using it:
You can see the wear. I think aluminium is just too soft.

I've also had other near misses (non-shox tendon).

Another one:


Other North woes:

The outhaul pulley on my Platinum Aero boom cracked. The boom head created deep abrasion grooves in the carbon.

My ratchet extension gave me lots of grief (super nice when it worked though).
I saw the plastics on 2 North (non-ratchet) extensions shatter within a day in Jeri.

Thanks for sharing. Damn...that doesn't look good, especially for a season time. The upper part of the Itendon.shox should really be more durable.

Is it like the ocean causes so much rust on all metal items or it is just North Sails components have problems with it? Baltic sea is not so salty and I also try to wash all my equipment after use - never saw anything like that.

I also see that you have different from mine screwheads: Shox has a TR and HEX (mine HEX for both screws), Itendon is PH (mine is TR).
I also tried to use a screw for Shox from my Itendon and as a result I just ruined the heads of the upper screw head - it is tightened too hard, I couldn't unscrew them.


P.S. No reply from the Duotone/North Sails team after almost two weeks so far

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AUS4 said..
If you say these items are less than a season old and a hand full of times (which I highly doubt ) you should take them back to the shop you bought them from as they have a 2 year warranty. Also the tendon has a Kevlar safety rope inside it.

The shox iTendon was indeed less than a season old. The non-shox one I bought used together with a ratchet extension as spare parts for my brand new ratchet. So I don't know how long the cracked tendon was used for. My guess is a lot. The second non-shox photo is the same iTendon, with just the tendon replaced (bought online). Technically the tendon part did not fail, but losing the screw is concerning. This means that you might as well replace the whole iTendon.

I'm well aware that nothing lasts forever. My Severne mastfoot developed cracks in the tendon after more than 2 months of continuous use. But the crack was easy to see. The iTendons seem to be failing in a non-obvious way. You could say the shox one was obvious, but at what point should it have been retired? As soon as any wear could be seen on the aluminium?

FWIW, I like the concept. The iBase is very light and low-profile and I would just leave it on the board. The iTendon is also very light. The shox softened the ride and the ratchet was super convenient. I just wish it was more reliable.

I've had the same problem as Faff with my itendon when I was fully equipped with North wave gear in 2014, the tendon failed exactly the same way after sailing with it for less than 6 months, (say 1 session/week). It was changed under warranty but my shop warned me they had tons of problems with them. So I didn't use the new one I got. Note that I rinse my extension and tendon after each session. I've had so many problems with my North gear that year, it was a nightmare. In my opinion they have some of the best designers and sailors, but they just use cheap materials to cut cost.

Some news: I've received a message from the shop that they will send me money back for this item.

Hi all, unfortunately the itendon aluminum part is quite soft and the holes after some sort time of use get loosen.
I have a couple of them out of shape. In order to solve it i constructed (ordered) some stainless still parts and now i have finished with that.
I could upload some photos when it is possible for me to do.

Never had North Shox but from the pictures looks like junk. Love the star screws for which no one readily have proper screwdrivers..

Torx headed screws are great right up there with hex. Flat, philips and Robinson headed bols are the problem ones

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Faff said..

My shox tendon was less than a season old. The iTendon which lost one of its bottom screws was used a handful of times. It's just bad design. Pity, since I liked both the ratchet and the shox.

Chinook's may not be as elegant, but probably the safest. (Especially combined with a 2-bolt base and a loop through the downhaul in case the pin fails.)

Surely if you use rope like that your U/J is limited to one bearing, when there should be two?