in the beginning no one worried about the good and bad.
then business got involved and with that comes politics and company spiel.
the free spirited seabreeze sup heyday died years ago
for my money whether its a 'pro' board or not. when you fork out thousands of dollars for what's basically a big surfboard it ought to be pretty dam good.
if a model or a run of boards is faulty it should be known, not hidden.
ITS NOT THE BUYERS FAULT
Select to expand quoteSlab said..
Yes....Gong certainly had a rep for fragile boards....all of them not just the pro models But there are some fantastic surf designs...ahead of many others.
If you read the Gong forum, it is all explained there: the bamboo models of end of 2012 / start of 2013 were less reinforced. So they gave some bad rep, but it was limited to a specific construction and timeframe.
But, they were light! To give you an idea, I bough a 2014 8'1" which is bombproof (more than many $2500 boards), but I exchanged it with the same model but in the "Fragile" construction with another owner. Why? Because it was noticeably lighter, more important for me, as it was a board for my daughter, than being able to drop them on concrete or rocks and get no dings. It is an example of brands having constantly to adjust the weigth/resilience/price compromise towards the "sweet spot" for the customers, that involves a lot of guesswork, as a lot of people wont give feedback.
Anyone have any Gong forum links handy? My searches often lead nowhere for some reason with Seabreeze.
Much appreciated.
Select to expand quoteTalkToMe said..
Anyone have any Gong forum links handy? My searches often lead nowhere for some reason with Seabreeze.
Much appreciated.
They are based in France and do most of the selling direct from there...after the boards come in from China.
Hi Colas...yes....I know most of the issues they had...used to be a Gong owner.
Select to expand quoteAli Cat said..
However as JB said, your first post is open to interpretation - the defects that you describe in your board were clearly beyond the standard deck impressions you would expect with the lighter weight pro construction and my interpretation from that first post alone was that Naish had informed you it was normal - end of story. So if I was a potential buyer I would be discouraged by the possibility of paying top dollar for a Pro board if I could expect to be able to push my thumb straight through it.
Knowing from your follow up post that your board was abnormally soft and was warrantied would change my interpretation of your earlier comments significantly, making me aware of the issue you raised but confident that if I did purachase a pro construction board and was unlucky enough to get a really soft one that didn't hold up at all - I would have a valid claim for a warranty (even though the process can be a hassle) and not be told it was simply normal.
No. The softness of the bottom IS normal. That is why they decided to redo this board with a hard bottom. They have also agreed to warranty the board because they knew they made a mistake in the original construction of this line. I didn't get 1 bunk board. A slew of bunk boards came out of the 2014 LE series. I have now talked to 3 others with the same experience. I am done with this thread.
Moral of the story? Naish is a solid company who boofed it once and is willing to make it right.
Select to expand quoteCraig66 said...
DavidJohn hello...... no comment 
You know what my mum used to say..
Select to expand quoteDavidJohn said...Craig66 said...
DavidJohn hello...... no comment
You know what my mum used to say..
If you can't say something nice...
Say it in a positive way?
Select to expand quoteDavidJohn said..Craig66 said...
DavidJohn hello...... no comment
You know what my mum used to say..
I never met your mum, so do tell, what did she say ?????
Select to expand quoteBrisbud said..
I'm a Robbie Naish fan and have a few awesome sailboards that Mistral made
and they were the shizzle.. So I bought 2 new Naish sailboards in 2012 and all you get is a bit of foam laminated
with no real strength where it's needed. You pay for the name but the product is fairly average
compared to a lot of other brands.. Just my opinion after a few years in the water...Select to expand quoteAli Cat said..Sup44 said..Ali Cat said..
I think JB is right, a forum isnt the best place to discuss your concerns, and thereby degrade a brand, unless all other avenues for resolving the problem have failed. In your second post, you say that Naish is replacing the board under warranty - doesn't that tell you something about their service and integrity?
I know you've said you were a fan of your old naish boards so you don't have it in for a brand, but your first post could be very discouraging for anyone considering purchasing an LE board - many people won't read on to see you later say the brand did the right thing and offered you a warranty, they will just take your first post and reconsider their purchase.
I was clear that I have been pleased with Naish in the past and spoke to the integrity both as a company and their GT models. Whether or not that was included in the first post is irrelevant. As far as deterring people from purchasing a potentially defective 2014 LE? I can say that I wish I had been better informed. So no, I won't censor my posts, both positive and less positive, regarding my SUP experiences with SUP companies on a SUP forum. I will say that I will most likely will buy from Naish again and reiterate the fact that Naish has held up to their reputation in keeping good with the warranty. I do hope they learn from their mistakes and produce the great boards we know their capable of producing.
I'm sorry if my comments offended you, that was not my intention, maybe it's my aspergian traits but I get the impression that maybe my comments, as yours, we're open to more interpretation than I thought.
I know you made it clear you're a fan of naish and you would still buy their boards in the future. The discussion you've opened up about the pro construction boards sacrificing a little durability compared to the GT in order to get a lighter weight board is definitely a valid forum discussion and could help many people in their decisions with future purchases depending on whether their priority is for weight or durability. I'm not asking you to censor your post in this respect.
However as JB said, your first post is open to interpretation - the defects that you describe in your board were clearly beyond the standard deck impressions you would expect with the lighter weight pro construction and my interpretation from that first post alone was that Naish had informed you it was normal - end of story. So if I was a potential buyer I would be discouraged by the possibility of paying top dollar for a Pro board if I could expect to be able to push my thumb straight through it.
Knowing from your follow up post that your board was abnormally soft and was warrantied would change my interpretation of your earlier comments significantly, making me aware of the issue you raised but confident that if I did purachase a pro construction board and was unlucky enough to get a really soft one that didn't hold up at all - I would have a valid claim for a warranty (even though the process can be a hassle) and not be told it was simply normal.
For someone just flicking through the forum and only reading your first post it could appear that although you're a fan of Naish boards, their follow up service was poor, when in fact, once a significant durability issue was identified their service was very good in providing you with a warranty - to me this service would be a major difference in considering a board purchase.
If the simple comment regarding the warranty was included in your first post, the possibility of misinterpretation would be reduced and the rest of this discussion, as well as JB's details on the change in construction to combat this issue, could be very helpful for many others considering a purchase.
Very well said "Ali Cat" - my thoughts exactly.!!!
I think it'd be fair to say there's enough Naish fanboys out there to tip the scales on any negative vs. positive forum posts. Censorship belongs in China with the manufacturer :-)
When I bought my Nalu - can you believe it? - the guys were really honest about limitations. They were quite open that the adjustable carbon paddle thrown in was known to have some bad batches and possibly crack at the shaft occasionally, but in the unlikely event it happened they'd replace it on the spot.
Can't complain with that, I'd say any associated bad press is well worth the positive endorsements you'll get from people who are looked after if something goes wrong. Same attraction for Burton snowboards back in early 2000s.
Sorry...couldn't let it go...you should be aware of your rights...
www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/consumer-guarantees
