This post is questioning what is going on with kazuma surfboards on Maui.I joust returned from a surf trip to maui and after seeing all these you rippers riding kinoshita surf boards I wanted to pick one up.So after doing a little reasearch by talking to some of the locals that I should not buy a Kazuma surfboard but instead by a “pake” or a “diversion” surfboard because they are all shaped by the same
person Kinoshita.So I go check out the big surf shop in town and sure enough they are all their Kazuma,pake,diversion.The only diferance is Kazuma’s brand is $150.00 cheaper than his other two lines, and after checking them out,the cheaper ones looked better.What the hell is this? If I went to Santa barbera and wanted to buy an Al Merrick am I going to find some cheap crap shaped by Al Merrick instead? Wow
can you check your spelling… was it Diverse or Diversion?
I do think it was a diverse diversion to to buying over priced
crap. Very disapionted
hello natedog,
how come you are so full of negative energy? what is your interest in putting Matt Kinoshita down? you should be smart enough to know that most reputable shapers sell under different labels and that the prices are determined by the produt costs which include many variables. I do know Matt Kinoshita personally and I do hold him in very high regards as a shaper as well as a fellow human. He is the last who would rip you off, just the opposite. He sleeps very little in his effort to give his very best to the surfing comunity. He spends a lot of time to get kids in the water and he helps them to feel good. He himself surfs like a top pro and his boards are exeptional. He is one of “us” and does not deserve your tactics. Why do you not ask him direct? In case you have difficulties to find his email address, send me an email.
I am vey sorry that I offended you beerboy,I was in no way aiming my comments at this guy as a person I just do not understand. So you are saying that all shapers offer a cheap line of surfboards that have someone elses name on them? I have heard of ghost shapers that are under the wing of established shapers, but this I have never heard of. I do not know any shapers in my town that put their name on boards that are not there own and then sell them cheaper. This makes no sense and that was my question.
hello Natedog,
the different labels have actually nothing to do with ghostshapers. different situations are addressed different so in Matt’s case its best to ask him direct. but here an example: I have a friend who is a very well known shaper, lets call him Mister Y. he personally concentrates mainly on the custom orders (the ones he puts his logo on) and it takes him sometimes 2 or three boards to get the order right to the degree he tries to achieve. nothing wrong with the other ones but not good (in his eyes) to match the customers order. so the ones that did not work out become “stock boards”. they get glassed with a beautiful label and end up in the shop to find a customer.
then he also does boards for the local shops, models and not customs. they get another label again and he signs them with his name.
each kind of board gets a different degree of attention with the custom board the highest and as his own label costs him most to produce and market, he charges more.the models are much easier to produce and sell, so they go cheaper. there is often much more going on behind the scene like finance, manufacturing quality, the kind of fins, designs and so on and its not possible to create a general rule. but I think you chose a great shaper and you just got started a bit wrong. I am sure Matt would not mind to spend the time to sort things out and explain and it could be the beginning of a great shaper/customer relationship.
ghosthapers are a different thing all together. a ghostshaper is a shaper who shapes boards for another label. you certainly can understand that someone like Al Merrick can not shape 500 boards every week so he has a little army of ghostshapers who shape boards to his requirements. in most cases the blanks get machined to a high degree according to Al’s designs and the ghostshaper only finishes them off. this system can work from excellent to miserable depending on the quality of design, the machining and the care and quality control taken. It has been part of surfboard industry since the 60’s, I remember G&S producing Midget Farrelly’s boards like that in big numbers here in California. many of the big names sin shaping today started off as ghostshapers.
good reason to build your own board.
…ambrose…
Nice Smoke Cloud beer boy
Like I said earlier sounds like a diverse diversion to selling crap surfboards. My advice, Know what your buying and make sure your you hear a planner whine with the heart and soul of an experienced surfboard maker in each and every board. Not a Machine shape with some chump ferral, pake,or kazuma label Thrown on. Or better yet learn to make your own.
hi natedog,
are you refering to my brand Diverse? Matt has the distribution of my boards in hawaii. they are totally designed by me here in Australia and glassed in matts Factory in maui! <a href="http://www.diversesurf.com.au" class="bb-url"><a href="http://www.diversesurf.com.au">www.diversesurf.com.au</a></a> or <a href="http://www.feraldave.com" class="bb-url">www.feraldave.com</a>
So feral Bueller
Your sending shaped blanks from Australia to maui? And your lifes work has led you to selling bottom of the Barrel priced surfboards over their? I can’t wait to go back and pick one up
maybe I can meet you in your shaping shop over their and we can talk designs.
I’ve got 2 labels , who hasn’t. one for performance and custom . One for minimals and fun boards.
why bother stating the obvious
btw there are consumer watchdog sites out there if your really concerned
this is actually a design forum
natedog,
I’ve read your posts on this thread and figured that I would not respond and hope everyone else wouldn’t either and then you’d just go away and take your snippy little attitude with you and never be heard from again.
Or just say something really nasty here and get this thing locked.
But NOOO, I just have to say that your tone is just what, at rare times, brings this site down - almost to the childish, illiterate, rude drivle seen on lesser DUDE sites.
If the best you feel you have is to mock someone’s username and trash their expertise without any qualified design and/or structural or performance critique whatsoever, all the while hiding behind a blank user profile, then, all I can feel is sorry for you because your attitude doesn’t seem like it will get you too far.
Bad attitudes make me cranky…
Pete