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Posted

Yeah...nice vid...

It would be good to see more on Australian based kiting companies gear, but info on this stuff is hard to come by as the brands aren't well known around these parts, well don't appear to be anyway...

Good luck to them...

Cheers,

Barrie:D

Posted

Agreed a bit more exposure and information on Australian kiting companies would be nice.

Checked out the Griffin Kiteboarding site and it seems a bit lacking in the product information stakes.

Would be nice to see a bit more info on their kites and bars.

Posted

Why the big secret :confused:

And moreso the point Where TF is that spot they are surfing :eek::whistle::D

What a place !!!

Marty

I heard a little rumor that a certian kite shop would jump given the opportunity to support Australian brands ... I wonder

Posted

Hey Joel,

whats the chance of getting one of these griffins to demo through the website? I would be happy to write a review and comparison against Vegas and rhinos etc....especially now i can kite in a nearly straight line....

I really do like the graphics and I think it would be great to support an Australian company !

Grog

Posted

Hello, Chris here, I am the rider in the video, also the cameraman, also the video editor, also the kite designer, also the distributor for griffin kites Australia / New Zealand. Let me know if you have any Qs about the kites or video.

Re comments above:

Demos

I am happy to arrange demo's, contact me and I will see what I can do

Where TF is that spot they are surfing

Sorry the locals would kill me, on that day there where 30 kiters all down the lake a bit, its the best spot in NSW for flat water and learning, Buy a kite and I will tell you where it is.

I heard a little rumor that a certain kite shop would jump given the opportunity to support Australian brands

You cant get any more Australian than Griffin kites, re shops you make more margin on our kites than some of the well known brands and a RRP for a 10.5 is under $1200 + 350 bar and lines, re customers, you can pay $2500 to $2300 for a well known USA or URO kite, or 1500 or a Aussie kite that is built and flys just as well. Its not just about saving a grand on a kite the performance and build is top notch, read the review in the USA kiter mag coming out soon.

Checked out the Griffin Kiteboarding site and it seems a bit lacking in the product information stakes.

Yeah, I agree, we are working on the website, but its been windy! Website will be revamped soon,

I wonder if the kites take a one week sabbatical each month ?

When there is no wind for a long period, I get crabby, angry, shout a lot, grumpy, pissed off and eat chocolate. Must be a man period thing.

There was a guy standing on the island I was jumping over, he took some awesome footage, I will get it online shortly.

Any how, any Qs, contact me, I am very keen to get the griffins out there, we keep our costs down will little advertizing and not paying riders $100,000 per year to fly our kites, also have a simple distribution network.

If there are no griffins in your area and no shops selling our kites in your area I am keen to give great intro deals to get our kites into new places, The griffins are getting great reviews and they jump like a mofo (eg, good), excellent wind range etc.

Griffin top speed 53 knots, 4th place at PRKA world speed cup

http://picasaweb.google.com/christian.vanderplaat/2008WorldSpeedCup#

Snow Griffins

http://picasaweb.google.com/christian.vanderplaat/SnowKite#

Green water Griffins

http://picasaweb.google.com/christian.vanderplaat/Boaty14109#

Posted

Hey Chris.....

How about a demo day at Altona one weekend then? Or maybe labour day weekend at Sandy point? (prefer Altona).

There is a good sized crew at Altona every weekend now ripping it up and we are always up for trying new things. Joel made me try his 14m Vegas (literally demanded that I fly it for 3 hours straight he did) resulting in me ordering one on monday! I like new toys......and there is always room in my car for more kites.

If not then send a kite to me or Joel and I am sure it will get a whole lot of airtime with the extreme kites crew.

Final point - whats the bar pressure like as I my delicate and sylphlike physique suffers greatly from too much physical stress. :D

cheers

richard

Posted

I reckon getting one into Joels hands to send around to demo would be a good idea, and I would definitely put my hand up to have a play on one of those.

I knew we would not be told where that spot was ( I didn’t bother even asking), however we now know it is near a lake...and Google earth comes in very handy for things like that...lol:D

As for the kites...I have never seen one in real life and only have seen and read reviews from overseas kiters ...Kite Surf Warehouse etc.. It’s a pity they are not as popular in Oz as they seem to be overseas...I reckon more Australians would be more willing to support you mob if they were more accessible and/or visable....catch 22, I guess..

Also it must be quite flattering that you have been using kites with no centre strut for years and now in 09 a few companies have started using that concept...

The website needs to be updated that is for sure, I can’t criticize to much either ( I need to update mine) .. Talking to my uncle who owns Triple-x wetsuits and he said that online sales are going to go through the roof in the next couple of years, so one should position themself to take advantage of this.. A lot of the major online retailers worldwide were just starting to experience this before the economy slump..just food for thought..

Cheers

Barrie:D

Posted

How about a demo day at Altona one weekend then?

Its a bit far to travel from sydney, How about I send down some kites for a month or 2 for you to play with and demo out?

whats the bar pressure like

Excellent and adjustable, you can make it quite heavy for the wake and C kiters, or you can make it lighter than the rev2s bar pressure (very light with direct steering) I prefer the lighter bar pressure so I can kite for 5 hours and not get tired.

I reckon getting one into Joels hands to send around to demo would be a good idea

What sizes do you want? the 10.5 has more bottom and top end than most 11m and 12m kites and is the sweetest size for 13-14 to 30 knots. 14 is a great light wind like, 7 and 9 is a great strong wind kite, 10.5 is what I use 90% of the time from 13 to 25 knots.

I knew we would not be told where that spot was

Hint*** Look Up Muddies, its well known

It’s a pity they are not as popular in Oz as they seem to be overseas

Yeah, there are a few reasons for this, Aus is a smaller market and very aggressive, Other non Australian brands have threatened to pull there advertizing from places where we can promote our product in AUS. Overseas we are very popular and are the biggest brand in one or two countries with very loyal riders. I am into kiting for fun and have seen the kite politics get to a number of other people in the industry in AUS, hence I avoid it where possible. ok, no more negative stuff from me.

I reckon more Australians would be more willing to support you mob if they were more accessible

The next 3 issues of the USA mag thekiteboarder.com have reviews, tests and adds for our gear in it, I will scan in the pages, our stuff got ranked better than some of the other well known brands which is nice to see.

Also it must be quite flattering that you have been using kites with no centre strut for years

Yep, our family started with the http://www.zeroprestige.org/ project before most of the other brands poped up (my brother in law) we where the first with no center strut and also experimented with alot of kite designs and stuff, I think including battens on kites which where patented a few years later. Don’t get me started on patents.... We dont believe in patenting our stuff, as it holds up the sport and makes kiting more expensive.

Everyone should read this http://www.kite-stuff.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=615&highlight=camel

The website needs to be updated

Give me a month!!!!

For now I am happy to sort out demos and do deals to get our kites into new places.

Kitermag review and designers corner

KitermagAnalizeThis.jpg

kitermagDesignerProfile.jpg

Posted

i am impressed ..

it seems that you have listened to the "common" kite riders for a change and not the pro riders .

the kite design is fab and looks like it will withstand the rougher tests.

i am looking forward to seeing them in the QLD area when you get time ....

I was looking to unload my BEST kite and go for North ..i might have to rethink my options at those prices (and quality) ..

is there any more pix of the canopy and bridle on the net?

Posted

Hey Chris,

I see that Griffin/Monkey kites offer the option for a 'custom dezign' canopy

.... Awesome option :yes3:

Your kites look as good as any on the market .... time to start beating the drum here !!

Personally, I am interested in little tubes ... for use on land.

How does the 7m go ... is it insanely quick like some ? I have been using tubes on land for a year now ... and I love em. Great for so many different conditions, including rain :D

Marty

P.S. You could always just PM me that crispy location ;)

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