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Group Buy: Sept 2012 - Advanced Freeride Board

17K views 93 replies 13 participants last post by  timmytard 
#1 · (Edited)
Update 13-Nov-2012: This group buy is now closed. Order is in and money being paid. Can't wait to get the new boards!!! Stay tuned as I imagine once there is more exposure to these boards there may be more interest in another group buy again at a later date.




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13-Oct-2012


Please note the Kessler group buy is not happening. We are however trying to work out a group buy with several other companies. Oxess, Volkl and Virus. Page 4 is where the details begin to be hashed out regarding the new attempt at a group buy. Thanks everyone for their interest!


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Original post:

Just getting the initial details at this point. The board will be various sizes of Kesslers "Ride" snowboard. The board is discussed in detail in the following thread:

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/equipment-reviews/47211-review-kessler-ride-168-ultimate-snowboard.html

Here's the link to the manufacturer.Kessler Ski & Snowboards

At this point I'm trying to gauge interest in a group buy. I don't know pricing or details yet but this will be by the same people that brought it last time for $650 including shipping. I'm hoping it will be close to the same price. This board retails for $1300+ in Canada and the US.

I'm in 100% as long as it's not over $700 or so. Who else is interested? At this point I just want to give him a number so he can get back to us with some firm details.

Here is the e-mail from the group buy guys... They are based in Quebec and I'm assuming the items would ship from Quebec to the US and Canada.

"Hi Aaron,

I asked Veronique to pass your request on to me. I am responsible for our Kessler account and we have just begun planning with them for the winter season. Inventory at Kessler is always limited as these are very special pieces that are imported.

I would love to get you guys set up with the Ride board if possible but it would help to know how many you would be looking for as I am not sure we will launch this on the site. For example, if we can only get our hands on 5, and you want 5, then we will just do it that way.

I am waiting on pricing and availability.

Best Regards"
 
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#2 ·
I've seen this topic last year, and was vert interested in a board.
I've contacted them several times and asked to ship the board to US freight forwarder, as i'm in Kazachstan. Probably i shoud go with assisped purshase service, but i did not.

That topic was discussing at bobmeronline, that carving board, and as Kessler made alpine boards 1st they all know what this is.
All i can say, that later is that topic someone said, that pricing for this board was a mistake, and they will hardly ever do that deals with kessler.
I don't know if i want the "Ride". At least i'm awaiting for custom-made freeride snowboard for me. Can't say what is better, and even Kessler is definately a killer-board i doubt i need two freeride sticks, with "classis" geometry.

However I'd definately go for it, if they offer alpine board or BX board. I'm not sure what i want more though =))
 
#3 ·
All i can say, that later is that topic someone said, that pricing for this board was a mistake, and they will hardly ever do that deals with kessler.
Yeah I've been speaking directly with the people that offered the last deal. I had thought it was a mistake too but I guess not! Let me know exactly what size and model you're looking for and I'll ask. I'm not sure if they need X number of us to get the ride model, or if they just need to order X number of Kesslers.

Put your name in the hat and I'll see what they say about pricing and options! :D

For me it's a toss up between the Ride and the BX board, but I do a fair bit of off-piste riding to the Ride will probably be the board for me. If/when I get one I plan on doing a very thorough comparison against my T7...
 
#7 ·
Okay thanks all, I think that's pretty much the critical mass they were looking for. I figure there's always a straggler or two coming in at the end of a group buy so I may pick up an extra board and sell it to anyone that comes in late. I'll let you guys know what they say! Can't wait I was so pissed when I missed the GB last year only for prices to stay at $1350 a board here in Canada...

 
#8 ·
Okay told them we've got numbers now and here was his reply...

"We are working with Kessler to see what we can do this year. It is taking a bit of time as these boards are quite rare and not mass produced. Im optimistic I'll have some details soon."

I'll let you guys know as soon as I hear more...
 
#11 ·
Okay guys that puts us right on the money for 5 boards. If I don't hear back from the group buy guys in the next week or so I'll get in touch with them. I'm hoping they can get things rolling as it'll take time to make and ship the boards. I'm already searching for bindings so I can start the season on this board!

BTW, I'm planning on getting non-EST Burton C60 bindings as I'm already running the EST versions on my current board, and I really want to do a proper comparison of the Burton T7 vs. the Kessler Ride.

TLN, I'll ask them about the Alpine or BX but I have a feeling they'll want to keep it as a one board option. And I'll ask about the plates too but I have my doubts about that. I'd probably like plates for mine too...
 
#12 ·
Great!
TLN, I'll ask them about the Alpine or BX but I have a feeling they'll want to keep it as a one board option. And I'll ask about the plates too but I have my doubts about that. I'd probably like plates for mine too...
yea, i think that he perfer to make one type of board for the group.
Plates with some nice % off will be great, but i honestly doubt how much we can get off the regular price.

I've just mentioned the BX or Alpine, as i've already bought a big freeride-allround softcarve board, but i'd go for Kessler for $600-700 anytime.

P.S. I'd put my Ride CAD on this, got nothing to compare though. Only prior 4wd.
 
#14 ·
Not late yet! Just waiting on info back from the company organizing it... I've said we've got at least 5 interested so we've still got time to firm up numbers with him after.

I haven't tried the Kessler but if you read Dice's review thread (link in the first post) it seems right in line with the T6. Keep in mind I'm a T7 rider looking for something at least as good!

Only thing I'm not sure about is the construction. I know 99% of boards these days are wood cored, but I'm a fan of metal cores and really like the feel of the T7. It was also damaged when I moved out west, then driven over by an SUV at one of the ski hills this year, and it still rides like the day I bought it.

Based on it's heritage, it should be a board that can carve with the best of them! :D

I'm getting antsy so if I do hear back soon I'll get on their case again.
 
#19 ·
I would be interested in a board as well if around $600 shipped
Okay two more added to the list. I think that's 7 or so now... I'll shoot them another e-mail. Thanks guys!

Everyone waiting for the prices =)
BTW, what do you think, if this can be some kind of "simplified" version? I think that's quite possible, as this board all are hand-made and this is now what we all are looking for.

If this is same company as before, iget.it? Or another one?
Yeah it's iGet.it again. When I e-mailed them to ask if they were doing another Ride sale this year, they said if we could get a certain number together they'd just do a direct group buy for us. I think it works out for them because they're basically guaranteed sales before they even order the boards from Kessler.

Not sure what you mean by a simplified version? You mean a custom board for this group buy? What would you want different? Personally I'd rather a little more camber as they say the profile has "lifted tips" but that would probably take away from the freeride aspects of the board.

Well I'll e-mail them again and find out where we're at, I really want to get my hands on one of these NOW!!! :D:D:D
 
#30 ·
^^^ I hear you I just want to find out one way or another. I've already bought bindings! Here's the latest from iGet.it... Doesn't sound as positive as before. :dunno:

"Apologies for not responding sooner as I was away. We are still trying to sort out something with Kessler. The business has changed a little bit and it is taking more time to evaluate with them. It is unclear what offers we may do. If you haven't had a chance yet, check out the Lacroix stuff! Pretty cool as well.

Thank you for being patient and as soon as we have anything from Kessler I will let you know."
 
#36 ·
Okay well I guess I got what I wished for. Not going to happen for the Kessler. Anyone interested in trying for some of the other "exotic" boards out there? I'm thinking of the Oxess, Volkl, Virus Avalanche series... I'd love a Kessler Ride but I'm not paying $1350 from the Canadian distributor. So if they can get a good deal on another exotic I'd be up for that. I'm looking for the same thing as the Kessler. Stiff, freeride, with solid hardpack carving ability.

virus

Here's the word from the iGet.it guys. :(

"We, unfortunately, will not be able to cut a good deal with Kessler this year. They are being much more protective of their pricing policies despite the success of our offer last year. It is worth noting that we did do the offer towards the end of the season last year vs. at the beginning this year. This is NOT to say we will have less expensive Kessler boards later in the year as I do not feel we will.

We do have some great relationships with other brands such as Lacroix and could find you some info on that board but the price point won't change as we are already at a very steep discount and the shipping from Europe is not cheap.

We love your enthusiasm for our site and the types of deals we try to deliver. Sadly, Kessler feels out of range at this point. It's a shame but if there are any other brands you guys are interested in we would be happy to see what we can do as a 'Private Buy' or an offer on our site.

If you guys are interested we could even position it as you discovered Brand X for us. I think we can openly discuss it with some new brands who might love to be a part of it. Timelines can be tricky and we will understand if you guys will look elsewhere but we are ready to do whatever we can, as fast as we can, to get you guys off to a great season. Most of us ride/ski as well here in Quebec and we can't wait for it to start."
 
#38 ·
at least we got an answer.
I vote for same: Fast, stiff, carving and freeride.

Oxess usually makes boards shorter: bx is 163 max(kessler got 168), freeride is 171 only (kessler - 176). Both are 1st class in racing and quite pricey.

I think Virus will be good, as they're cheaper (hehe) then Kessler a bit. So they can probably fall into 600-700 range. Honestly i hardly see a reason to pay more, because you can hit your board hard in freeriding and i don't want to put $1.5k on a rocks. So 600-700 is a best price, imho.

also you can take this manufacturers:
pogo
prior (why not?)
swellpanik (really want this!!!!)
virus (that's cool too)
etc...

Really it's a nice idea to look on small apline board manufacturers, because they do make some freeride board and this can carve really nice.

Swellpanik for me sounds great - premium handmade swallowtail boards. Not much people need this, so it won't me much people in line.

probably i'd write some more brands, but tomorrow. really wanna sleep now..
 
#39 ·
I'd still be in on something else. The Lacroix they have now is still stupid expensive sadly. At the current price point for the Lacroix, I'd buy the Kessler at msrp.

I don't really have a timeline for purchase/delivery as I have other boards. I'm mostly looking at this as opportunity to pick up something cool that I want, but don't need
 
#40 ·
Cool, and I'm with you 100% on the Lacroix vs. the Kessler. And I've got a board at the moment would just like to get something going so I can maybe move away from the old board and sell it (or keep as a spare).

Sounds like everyone who's still in is looking for the same kind of board as me. Well I threw it back to them and we'll see what he comes up with.

I think the Virus Avalanche FLP AFT or whatever it's called seems sweet. I'm all for the advanced materials in these exotic/small manufacturer boards.
 
#42 ·
Okay here's my shortlist of options: Let me know what you guys think. I'm going to try to post MSRPs in CAD/USD as well...

Volkl Coal XT (158/163/168) - $785
Virus Avalanche FLP AFT (160/168/176) - $1396
Virus UFC Ultimate Freecarve BX (156/162/168) - $1523
Oxess Freeride (151/157/163/168) - $1668

Possibly a Donek Saber with metal construction? Possibly Gentemstick Maxforce although it looks like it only comes in one size, and I can't find a price anywhere.

The Volkl actually looks like quite a decent carving/freeride board and it's cheap! (relatively speaking)



So at the moment I'm most intrigued by the Avalanche FLP AFT (or just the straight FLP), or the Oxess Freeride. If those end up being too expensive (I'd say the upper end of my comfort zone is $750 or so) then the Volkl might be my next choice. Thoughts? I'll throw these back to iGet.it and see what they say.
 
#44 ·
Volkl looks nice, but i'd prefer something longer then 168.. And it looks like top-level freeride boards, like a-frame-supermodel-raptor etc.. And kessler-oxess looks more exotic to me. that's only my opinion though...

Virus is sweeeet. (any of them). AFAIK there's vius UFC up to 180cm. that's UFC model. UFC boardercross is wider and for soft boots.
AFT and FLP AFT is a superb choice too.

you're right, we should make, liky you said comfort zone, and choose what board we can get with a discounts. $750 sounds right for me.

I doubt about Donek. Sean makes custom board for customers needs, and i doubt he will make a big discount. bigger manufacturers who makes not-custom board can go fot it.
Amplid max length is 163, that's too small for freeride and carving.
 
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