Im wondering which shops support Australian kite brands like Catapult, New, Fluid and Monkey.
To tell you the truth I have never seen these kites in any shops.
Are there any other Australian brands I have missed out by mistake?
I know BalmoralBoards in Narrabeen (NSW) do sell monkey kites... Which state are you in?
Im in WA.
It would be interesting to list the retailers who support Australian stuff.
Kites
Balmoral boards NSW - Monkey kites
Kiwi Stonker VIC - Fluid kites
Windforce WA - Airush
AIrborne WA - Airush.
Margaret River kitesurfing WA - Airush
G SPot WA - Airush New
Kiwi Choice kitesurfing - New Best
Boards
Someone else needs to list the shops in the news section
i think SOS in freo still make the addition kite boards so you could say they support an aussi brand
p.s. addiction rocks hard!!! they **** on all the big brand production boards!!!
There are a few board makers:
Cardboards - stocked by quite a few shops on the East Coast
Underground - same
Delta - West Coast
Have not seen any Aussie kite brands on the Sunshine Coast.
underground is a NZ brand ya nugget
and i dont think delta make kiteboards anymore?? i know they still make some sick surfboards tho
i'm not sure but i think they started out in port melbourne years ago and then moved to torquay recently.
Are there any kitesurfers out there that support Australian brands ?
(Initial poster forgot cardboards BTW)
Airush qualify as they have their design centre set up in WA - and directly employ 4 people in Australia. (not including distributors - add another job and a half for that)
In fact they are probably more aussie than any of the other so called aussie KITE brands by investment and spend in Australia. ie running a full time design loft and office in OZ , employing crew on full time basis, aussie team riders etc etc
as many of you are aware - ALL kites are made overseas.
Wow Airush is Australian.
Wouldnt have known that. Seems like there's lots of Australian brand kites.
what???
airush australian???? WTF?? isnt airush just a sisster company of starboard windsurfing wich is owned by a german dude??? and dont they have "design centre" set up in thiland and hawaii aswell?? so i guess you could also say they are thai and hawian. just cos they employ "4" guys (such as yourself matt) to sell kites in australia doesnt make them australian! they dont even employ an aussi to design thier kites anymore 
(no offence to the new ben cos he is a great guy)
i would have thought that NEW is way more aussie than airush as it is owned by an aussie and designed by an aussie that lives in oz.
) to sell kites in australia doesnt make them australian! they dont even employ an aussi to design thier kites anymore (no offence to the new ben cos he is a great guy)
Select to expand quote
Airush do ALL of the design work right here in Perth in the loft in Osbourne Park. The loft employs Ben Severne, Benoir (Sorry don't know surname), Clinton Fillen and Mark Patterson whom all work on and design the Airush kites, bars, accessories and bags for Airush International. This includes the snow kites, trainer kites and all the regular Airush stuff like DNA, Flow, Vapor and Generator.
they designe thier snow kites in WA? doesnt that make it a bit hard??? (must just be great designers i guess)
You are correct in that Airush is a sister company to Starboard and both are owned by Sven Rasmussen (I think Swiss German). Head office is in Thailand so I guess that makes it Swiss German owned but based in Thailand.
So at least it has a healthy Aussie component, at least more Aussie than all the other top brands.
Good winds,
all jokes and **** stiring aside i actually think its great to see airush doing so much here in OZ and i love kiteing with the guys when they come down to woodys. a great bunch of blokes heaps of fun and inspireing to see that they are doing what they are doing and doing it so well now too. some of the new proto types i have seen them flying at the beach have blowen my mind away. airush kites are coming along in leaps and bounds. keep it up fellas
and big ups to any kite brand that is supporting oz kiteboarding.
And G-Spot in Gero stock NEW as well.
(Waiting for my commision from both Tim and N8)
What's this about design lofts? Do they work in some sort of attic? I design things too, but generally in an office or the study at home. This loft idea sounds great! Bohemian even. I suppose they'd still have plotters and light tables everywhere though, I wonder if they're interspersed with pot plants, quaint bookshelves and funny coloured lampshades? N8 do you have a loft?
Fellas
- just to clear up a few misconceptions.
As far as i know The head kite designer at Airush is PAtto - an Aussie. Top bloke.
Benoit (from france) does alot of the snow kite stuff -those designs get sent over to dedicated snow kiters in Europe / canada for feedback / r and d
Benoit also works with Patto on the core range . Benoit is a top bloke too.
He is employed full time here in oz. I imagine he has to shop for food and pay rent here in Australia.
there is also a very talented graphic designer that you forgot to mention working out of the loft.
I am not employed by Airush to sell their kites. However there are additional jobs created over and above those mentioned above via distributors / local agency marketing and retail. I havent included those in the estimate given above.
Readers can decide for themselves if thats Aussie enough for them.
The Flying objects brand has nothing to do with the design loft - it is entirely its own entity. tHowever If you havent tried an FO flight control harness or FO wetsuit yet - you dont know what you are missing!
to answer the original question- in WA Windforce and AIrborne kitesurfing stock Airush. Margaret River kitesurfing sells them at margs/ down south. G SPot in Gerro. Check the Airush website for stockists in other states.
And lastly - C kites still rock!
When you break down the $ component of a kite sale then most of the money stays in Australia.
9% GST
25-30% Profit to retailer
10-25% Profit to wholesaler
?% transporting the kite around the place
0n a $1800 kite thats a total of at least $900 that stays here.
If companies like Airush employ people here then a larger proportion of $$ stays here and we should support these brands.
This is usually the last consideration when I buy a kite. Performance is first, price is second, colour is third, Aussie input is last. It's a shame really. Maybe I should give myself a swift kick up the rear.
At least I ride Cardboards.....conscience is at rest......
Certainly is a robust debate generated here!
If you want to look at it that way - There is a spectrum of "aussie ness" to kitebrands - with kites designed , manufactured and marketed in oz on one end (i dont think any brands qualify) and kites bases overseas with not even any distribution in Australia on the other (a few there) - i'm sure you can import them via the internet for a bargain price.
The more Aussie brands are definitely easier to get spares and bladders for - not too mention advide on set up etc. As evidenced by the presence of those brands on this forum.
With the right info at your finger tips you can decide where on the spectrum a brand sits. And add it to the matrix of performance ,style, image and yes even color.
And considering we all live on the one planet - and Australia is a very wealthy country - globally speaking - thinking globally vs nationally is a whole other debate.
i liked that quote wave slave - very thought provoking.
So i guess that would make Best an Australian Kite company too.
Founder, Shannon Best is an Australian Aborigine,
Kites such as the Yarga and the Waroo are Aboriginal names (Waroo = Fire) not sure what Yarga means.
Best kites are designed and tested here in WA.
Thats right.
Also North!
They test in Western Australia and Drew Beavis is a team rider.
will there ever be an australian made kite?i know it would cost more but anyone can start there own company through china kite and say there aussi and sell cheap **** not havin a dig at anyone just that there is one of these so called aussi brands near me who bags all the big brands and claims his is better (and the crap he tells people is unbelivable) and sells it to people who dont have a clue next minute there's some dude in real trouble who ends up making us all look bad. and when something breaks he's nowhere to be found and they come and hastle us.
