Wow inexpensive boards finally here?

I've been making my own boards to get around the cost of these $900 boards... but then Best just came out with a new board... it's $369 COMPLETE.

That's super cheap!

Looking at the construction (poplar and foam core, biax, triax) it looks to be similar to most of the other modern step decks these days, and the size (129x40) is perfect for someone in the 170-200lb range. This is basically a cheap copy of the flexi, nobile, etc. Thin tips, stepped rails, and poplar for extra pop, and even airex foam core!

I am wondering if Best is now getting boards from the same factory as Nobile and Flexi. If they can sell this board for just over $300 how much were those other boards marked up? 200%? 300%? Crazy! The days of inexpensive kite gear are on the horizon!!

http://www.stpetekites.com/catalog/p...products_id=45

Okay, I will bite.
Whose site is that? Bayflite's?
If so, 'bout friggin' time, since he's had a shop forever and most don't even know since he is so low key about sales.
Kind of the opposite of the "in your face, buy a kite" experience most receive at the SW.
Also, Bayflite's had Best and supported them from way back in the Hellfish days, before they were simply a "meal ticket" for some to latch on to as an easy sell.

Good luck if that's you, Bayflite.

Yeah, that's bayflite's shop... he's been selling best since like 2004 but no web store until recently. I noticed this new board when I was helping him get the inventory uploaded to the store.

I was like !!!?# is this price right?? $369 complete? That can't be right!?

I'm surprised they are selling boards that cheap. I guess it's to be expected since Best has always been the first to drop prices like that.

That's a hell of a deal even at full retail.

I agree, some of the boards at 800 or 900+ seem off the charts to me in terms of price.

[Steve-O]

The Spark has been out since last spring. Where have you guys been???

Obviously this board has been shown to many at the SW and I have seen it at EK.
It may well be new to Tom though, he rarely looks at boards since he build his own that are better than most production boards for far less.

Guess it slipped under my Radar... that's a killer deal. Half the price of the float and the drive and it's a much better board.

[Sean B]

There's still deals to be had. Today, I bought a 126 Skywalker Skyfaker (brand new, complete) from KittyHawk for a whopping $325. My quiver of boards is now complete....

That's an awesome deal too... nice score. But this isn't a discounted price. That's Best's retail price for a complete board!

I hope more companies follow... liquid force sold cheap boards but they sucked. They were practically wake boards with straps (heavy with a lot of rocker). Best's boards have typically been just average, but this latest one looks really good. I don't understand why they didn't mark it up instead of down but hey who's complaining... I think boards SHOULD be in the $200-$300 range complete. That's still a 100%-200% markup over cost, probably even more than that.

[Sean B]

Originally Posted by Tom Stock

liquid force sold cheap boards but they sucked. They were practically wake boards with straps (heavy with a lot of rocker). .

You're not kidding either. I've got an old Liquid Force Truth 160 that fits your description to the "T". I'm thinking about making into a bench for the backyard. At least I know it will hold the weight and fit a couple people at once! lol

I agree with your thoughts regarding the retail tags of boards. There is nothing about any board on the market that, to me, is worth demanding a $600-900 price tag. Way overpriced....kites too. The problem is too many people are willing to buy them at those prices and thus, the market flourishes at the expense of a few of us.