91 replies to this topic

[beach]

I'm having a slight problem and that is that after looking at the bags on the EXP it's just not cost effective to have
the pockets and mess and handle when I did not raise prices on any of the kites this year even though the raw
material costs went up a great bit on all of our kites...... So here's what I pose to the Family do you as
a group feel I would be letting you down if I went back to the old draw string or even a fold over plain bag? It's
just that the profits are small at best and I have to make some type of cuts and this is my feeling of the best place,
I will always give you a nice bag but to do those type of bags are hurting the company at the moment...... The kite
and handles and lines are what's important to me.......Ben help

[REVflyer]

beats "outsourcing"!

[big bri]

Thers the old saying
;;ya dont fly the Bag,Its the kite ya fly.

With the EXP as a Lead Model,i wouldnt expect [perhaps]a case/sleeve that was the same quality as a B Series or Custom .

Think the reaction may be diffrent if the more Exspensive models came with a Budget case/sleeve

BRIAN...5 GERUPS

[Choccy]

what about the 3 R's ? :-

recycling ? returning ?.... reusing.... ?

most of us have bought revbags, so what happens to all the spare empties the kites arrived in ?

Just a thought.

[big bri]

Wouldnt do for me Choc.I still bag all my kites in the bag they came in.Im quite particular about the bags and write the content of the bag on the sleeve.Love the Grey ones and the Masterpiece Red ones.The std Purple bags are OK.Hate the draw string ones personally.

I would want a proper bag to a kite that cost near £200.If i bought a Custom or Pro Rev.Then i would exspect a bag of a similar quality myself.

On a Budget EXP,Perhaps not.

BRIAN...5GERUPS

[FortFlyer]

Drawstrings work for me, Fold overs are good as well I can fit 2 kites in 1 bag with those keeps my pairs in order.

Never really liked the ones with handle and pockets they snag up in my kite bag I usually give those away.

[Kitelife]

As a flier, I don't care for the pocketed sleeves...

1. The packets and heavier material mean more mass, multiply that by your number kites, that's all space lost.
2. I never use the pockets, as I leave my handles on the lines and they won't fit.
3. The lighter plain sleeve material takes permanent marker better, and doesn't bleed as badly.

I'd be happy to see the lightweight sleeves become the standard for the SLE and EXP, as it is already for Masterpiece or Anniversary kites.

2 cents delivered.

[Harrier]

If its a question of reducing costs then no contest, hit the bag, don't use mine, they all end up in ripstop sleeves, as John says lighter and require less room.

[monkey]

I also never use the pockets on the sides either, my lines and handles are withing my REV BIG BAG!

[Sailor99]

beats "outsourcing"!

What like the pro series? Just a thought. Outsourcing need not necessarily be a demon to be feared.

[FortFlyer]

What like the pro series? Just a thought. Outsourcing need not necessarily be a demon to be feared.

I'd like to think of that as Prosourcing

[Stephen Hoath]

I also never use the pockets on the sides either, my lines and handles are withing my REV BIG BAG!

On a slightly different front, people who buy the Exp are probably buying their first kite and don't already have a load of kites to carry (I agree the pockets get in the way in the Rev bag and just take up space) and so having the pockets to put the lines and handles in may be a good thing.

What is the cost saving on a few pockets compared to the enticement of getting someone so impressed that they are going to buy another kite from you?

Just playing devils advocate

[Simon]

On a slightly different front, people who buy the Exp are probably buying their first kite and don't already have a load of kites to carry (I agree the pockets get in the way in the Rev bag and just take up space) and so having the pockets to put the lines and handles in may be a good thing.

What is the cost saving on a few pockets compared to the enticement of getting someone so impressed that they are going to buy another kite from you?

Just playing devils advocate

No thats not devils advocate thats a very valid point, a lot of flyers who get the top of the line kite will have a kite bag, so they dont need a pocket for bits & the kite. a Simple sleeve is fine, even better if its colour co=ordinate ie red,= SUL, blue Standard, green Mid vent purple full vent.

Like yous ay, give them extra with the introduction possibly, but question to traders how many Revs are sold to first time buyers?

[Choccy]

Wouldnt do for me Choc.I still bag all my kites in the bag they came in.

Yeah, but yer special Brian, like yer collection

It wouldn't have to be compulsary.
More of a gesture of goodwill to return any spare bags to a kite trader for reuse.

Tryin to be green.

PS I haven't got an EXP so don't know what bag they usually arrive in.

[Jim Foster]

We have several EXPs with the "old style draw string". They work just fine.

We have one EXP with the mesh pockets. The only time we use the pockets is when we loan the kite, a set of handles and a set of lines to someone to learn on, until they get their own REV(s).

Like Big Bri says, you don't fly the bag. Well sometimes. If the wind is high enough. Like at WSIKF last August. Didn't even have to take the kite out.

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[Jynx]

My (Newbie) opinion ~ No need for pockets! BUT I prefer flap closures over drawstring. I even place Velcro on the flaps which makes a real secure bag....

In the past, I did like the fact that I could store my one set of handles, line and winder, in the same bag and just take off for the field (complete).
Now, winding the line along with the handles (thanks John!) I no longer use the pockets.

The bags that come with the Revs now are nice. Even though I live in Wisconsin, I would hate to see Cheesy Rev bags.

[jburka]

I only ever use the meshy pockets on my 2~4's bag. The only other Rev I keep in its original bag is my 20th Anniversary, and that's only because of the patch...

As for the rest of my Revs, they're just stuffed into the sleeves in my rev bag; never saw a need to put the kite into a bag so I could put the bag into another bag.

A thought: I carry my Rev IIs around in a custom draw-string bag that's big enough to hold the line and handles along with 3 kites. Would it be at all cost effective to give up on the external pockets and just make the bag slightly wider? It doesn't really need to be any longer to hold the other gear.

[spotter]

When I am paying over $380 for a SLE, I would expect it to be in a decent bag. Having the pockets on the outside was good for a while but once I started leaving the handles on the lines (as other people have said), I dont use them any more. The pockets are nice for new flayers to store things but if anything they are something that "could" go from the bags. The cheapers new SLE I can buy here in Aust at the moment is $385. For that sort of price, I would feel that the people from Revolution dont care about the presentation of their kites and the quality is not the best as a new flyer.

When looking at the B-series or the Signature series kites around the $450 mark, you would expect a good bag. After paying that much money, a crappy looking draw string bag, to me just does not show any pride in the product.

I understand your need to cost cut, but think about how you want to present your kites to new flyers when they either recive it in the post or pick it off the shelve.

My 2cents worth

[andelscott]

So here's what I pose to the Family do you as
a group feel I would be letting you down if I went back to the old draw string or even a fold over plain bag?

I quite like the design of the bag with handle and pockets, but sitting back: I don't use the pockets (apart from leaving the 20th anniversary sticker there - so it's more of a "if found, please return to.... " window), nor the handle as the kite tends to be tucked under my arm whilst unwinding the lines. (The lines are carded but left attached to handles, as for many other respondents).

So - my vote is for plain fold-over bag, no handle, no pockets. If the heavier bag material is used, a couple of lateral elasticated or bungee straps around the circumference might permit the carded line with handles to be slipped in and held securely. (May need a note in the instructions to help new users) Probably more useful to the EXP owner than the multiple-Rev owner where lines are not dedicated to one kite.

Do run the costings. The heavier kite bag gives a nice quality feel and may be a market differentiator but ultimately this isn't the reason that users buy the package.

[Jeepster]

Ben,

I got into the Rev sport several many years after I should/could have because the initial cost scared me. I could easily afford the kite, but was worried that after a few flights the kite would end up in the back of the closet. Absolutely hate wasting money. Although used kites on eBay offer a low cost entry point, I think it's more important to form a connection to your local kite shop, the Rev company and fellow flyers in the area. Thus, I think it's very important to keep the cost low on an entry level kite. Cost reduce anything that is secondary to flying ... the kite bag doesn't contribute to getting air time. Handles might be able to be cost reduced. Put the entry level video on the Rev web site ... write it off to advertising. DON'T skimp on the sail, frame, and lines ... that's where quality needs to be retained.

The pockets on the B-series sleeve aren't very conducive to storing lines and handles. I found a small gym bag more useful for the lines, handles, stakes and other stuff. I never used the fabric handles ... took them off so they weren't in the way. Since I only had three kites, I simply stored them in their sleeves and threw the lot in the back of my Jeep.

Santa brought me a kite bag, so I now use that bag to keep the kites (four now with JB's gift of "Victoria") together ... yep, in their sleeves. The sleeves are labeled to speed up pulling the correct kite from the kite bag.

Cheers,
Tom

PS ... this is slightly off topic, but maybe not ...

I don't store spare rods in a single pocket and pull individual rods from the pile to change frames ... I take pains to keep original frame sets together. I've made storage bags for all frame sets with the number of wraps written on the front. When my vented has 4-wraps installed, I place the storage bag for the 4-wraps in the mesh pocket of the sleeve such that the marked "4" can be seen. The unused 3-wraps are in their storage bag in the sleeve for the vented kite. The advantage is that I can find my vented kite in the kite bag quickly .... "Gold" is written on the sleeve. I can then look at the mesh pocket and see which frame set is installed ...and empty rod bag with a "4" marked on it indicates the 4-wrap frame set is installed. It works great for me, but your mileage may vary.