Slim Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 A bit o' industry news... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utahcarver Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 ...for the new Fish! Maybe CarpenterCo will expand next year into NASCAR! Now appearing: The Number "13" Burton Surf/Saturn Hemp-Burning Hybrid (Car of the Future COTF) opening at Daytona, February 2007!!! Driven by the Flying Tomacco, Shawn WinstonCup Stewart Gordon Earnhardt, Jr. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 just love tom curren's 1988 board in merrick's left hand!! this must worth now lots! As for the merge burton - channel islands deal... not sure what it will lead to... Merrick takes a big risk of seeing is fame and reputation fall down among surfers if anything really "commercial appears"... Wait and see! N. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 I wonder if its got something to do with major shortage of Clark Foam boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 I wonder if its got something to do with major shortage of Clark Foam boards. I'm sure it's their Tuflite Tech boards that will be mass marketed with Burton's distro, which is smart since that is a much more durable and easily shipable product than a normal foam board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pow Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 ...for the new Fish! unfortunately, i have seen the new fish and am dissapointed. they have strayed from the surfy direction they were headed and instead made the topsheets replicas of their old 1983 powderguns. and their malolos have a freestyle grafiti topsheet. the only products of theirs i still like... ruined:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 Okay, how many years in a row did the Burton catalog open with a preamble by Jake himself pontificating "we don't make surfboards or skateboards or skis, we are a pure snowboarding company and that's what makes us so core" or something like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ken D Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 Jake grew up surfing Long Island NY and from what I know... still does. He also travels with his family for surf. Mind you, I ain't no Burton fan when it comes to snowboarding (just my opinion) BUT I think he does understand the core surf market. The surfing industry has gone through a recent boom and a major manufacturer of foam for surfboards closed its doors causing a lurch in production and expectations. Boards from China and Australia have underminded the industry by dropping the prices way too low to compete. CI (merrick) has great shapes and I am guessing is looking for a financial backbone. Maybe he sees what the foreign market is going to do if he waits?. If anyone thinks surfboard builders are rich, they are off by a mile. Hardgoods don't pay the bills for most shapers. Other names in the surf industry have gone to Nike and others have re-branded their ID's just to stay afloat (tee-hee) Billibong, Hurley, Quicksilver. I surf... and work in a commercial industry based in branding... what a polarization. The fact is if you stay "core" you will most likely perish. Sad but true, fashion will win over quality most of the time. I think Burton knows to tread lightly, he is not a dumb guy. That being said, hopefully, I won't be seeing any I-pods embroidered into wetsuits. Kooks stand out, he knows it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 But kooks pay the bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kipstar Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 The surfing industry has gone through a recent boom and a major manufacturer of foam for surfboards closed its doors causing a lurch in production and expectations. Boards from China and Australia have underminded the industry by dropping the prices way too low to compete. Other names in the surf industry have gone to Nike and others have re-branded their ID's just to stay afloat (tee-hee) Billibong, Hurley, Quicksilver. I surf... and work in a commercial industry based in branding... what a polarization. The fact is if you stay "core" you will most likely perish. Sad but true, fashion will win over quality most of the time. Just down the road from me, a company called Cobra churns out most of Bic's pop out surfboards and most of the world's windsurfers. Surfing is one of the few sports where somehow the mystique of a hand shaped board and resultant higher price has held the imagination for a while, but I think you've hit the nail on the head; the number of 'core surfers' is actually relatively low now; it is a supremely marketing driven sport and so people will just buy whatever is cool and fairly functional. Quicksaliva, Billabong and so on are completely expert marketing companies selling clothes to guys who haven't yet lost their virginity. They aren't exactly 'core'; they are in shopping malls and dept stores! There is no real reason why a pop out can't be as good as a handshaped board if the initial design is right; and with a big price difference I think you'll see people realise that if it is 1/2 the price (which is the gap in NZ) that maybe a pop out is better (just like the comparison of an oxygen to a Donek). Except that pop outs AFAIK are made with Epoxy and vacuum bagged so maybe are stronger than hand laid up boards? Maybe? Can a surfer confirm this? Surfing is a super cool sport in its pure form, but now with a massive dose of marketing to appeal to teenage guys and try hards. Burton would seem to fit that market really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 yes cobra makes 95% of the world windsurf production now... crazy! As for hand shaped laminated makers, they will be like the small brands in snowboards, in favor of bigger molded out boards made by larger companies... Surfing has finally in the last decade been brought to industrialisation, it took much longer than snowboarding incredibly. First came the shaping CNC, then Bic's molded surfboards, then every big name using replica machine to clone and pre shape the boards ( saving time and to be frank avoiding at the same time lots of bad shapes...). Now that Clark decided to bail out of business, everyone is facing the truth: China, australia and cobra are going to produce 90% of the boards the world needs. Only local shapers will still be able to sell to the local grommets, the kooks buying molded boards that are stronger, last longer, and cost less. Who needs a cutting edge tool when you are riding few days a year. I used to shape my own boards etc...still have them but are tired of repairing the dings. My next board when i get the time to surf again will be for sure a bic or equivalent since i'm not core or living close the the beach ( you can't have all ;).. Then for that special day or surf trip the hand shaped jewel has to be brought out :) N. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willywhit Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Burton Surfboards ? C'mon.We got to hang out with Shannon Best from Best Kiteboarding last weekend. They don't sell surfboards and most big kite companys do now.Dinner at Hooters, fireworks in Hyannis and tons of wind on Sunday.Shannon was amazing to kite with.He jumped a giant rock jetty while jaws hit the sand. Never been done before at West Dennis.They're on Kite tour with this RV all over the US and hung out on the Cape for the weekend.Great July 4th festivities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 There is no real reason why a pop out can't be as good as a handshaped board if the initial design is right; and with a big price difference I think you'll see people realise that if it is 1/2 the price (which is the gap in NZ) that maybe a pop out is better (just like the comparison of an oxygen to a Donek). Except that pop outs AFAIK are made with Epoxy and vacuum bagged so maybe are stronger than hand laid up boards? Maybe? Can a surfer confirm this?Surfing is a super cool sport in its pure form, but now with a massive dose of marketing to appeal to teenage guys and try hards. Burton would seem to fit that market really well. Popout boards blow in comparison to a quality hand shape. The details of the shape notwithstanding, they suck because the flex is ****ty. PU boards have a feel to them that is impossible to duplicate with other materials. EPS epoxy's pretty nice too, but higher prices, and they can get a little chattery in DOH surf. I can't imagine why you would want a popout, when you could go over fine details with a shaper and have it how you like it. And it's kinda nuts right now if you go in a surf shop b/c prices tags went up after Grubby Clark's exit, and everybody freaked out over availability of blanks. Now Walker Foam and Just Foam are blowing up in terms of orders, prices have stabilized, but in the shops the prices have not dropped. call your favorite shaper, and get a board you love for the same price as one off the rack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willywhit Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 http://www.jimmylewis.com/mainframset.html pop outs are junk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Doug M Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 Channel Islands is a 31 person company.It is a minuscule company .There is a saying that you either grow or die.This is Al Merricks way of making sure his name and designs continue.If he does not have the business know how or capital to grow it is a wise decision.Jake Burton has always been a surfer first.Then a really good business man. Doug M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skatha Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 If Burton let's them stay independent, then good for them..... Burton seems to be more interested in clothing than snowboards now anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted July 11, 2006 Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 I wonder how many team riders Burton will keep on the payroll. hehe I'll have my EPS epoxy from the shop (Freeline) near my house in 5 more days. Just like to give my friends and neighbors the business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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