Chinese Crooks Again

[shane]

You could always try contacting the manufacturer
https://u-boat.en.alibaba.com/

I'm considering it. The price of the whole yak is similar to a new mirage drive but I'd rather just get hold of a drive without the extra plastic.

[mingle]

That TI clone looks cool - I particularly like the improved bow, the far more 'flare' to it...

Mike.

[Steve_R]

You could always try contacting the manufacturer
https://u-boat.en.alibaba.com/

I'm considering it. The price of the whole yak is similar to a new mirage drive but I'd rather just get hold of a drive without the extra plastic.

Freight may be the snag. Normally China Post is inexpensive but if to big or they refuse to use it for other reasons (e.g. China Post registered is not scan tracked at every point in Australia) you may have no option other than air freight.

[Hammertime]

You could always try contacting the manufacturer
https://u-boat.en.alibaba.com/

I'm considering it. The price of the whole yak is similar to a new mirage drive but I'd rather just get hold of a drive without the extra plastic.

Freight may be the snag. Normally China Post is inexpensive but if to big or they refuse to use it for other reasons (e.g. China Post registered is not scan tracked at every point in Australia) you may have no option other than air freight.

I buy my cameras from China, usually about $40 for DHL, so not prohibitively expensive.

If the teeth on that drive are plastic, that will be ugly I recon... The issue I would see is, if anything gets caught in those teeth, say maybe a part of your dry pants, you'll be stuffed... not ideal... probably better engineering to be had, I should ask my old man, he used to design much more complex transmission systems.

[maverick]

Can't image warranty claims will be simple, easy or quick.

[Joshua]

I welcome any competition; No good someone having a monopoly on the market because it doesn't promote innovation. I wouldn't buy one today, but give them 3-5 years and they'll be along with a few other Chinese brands, good competitors.

It is just history repeating. Nobody use to buy Japanese bikes or "Jap Crap" when they first began manufacturing motorbikes and cars, and now they are the world leaders and build some of the most reliable cars in the world. The Chinese have low labor cost, and with proper quality control can make product as good and better than the American Market.

[bunyip]

Now it's Korean cars, wouldn't touch one ten years ago now we have two of them, very well made and everything on board.

[Steve_R]

Truisms like "Chinese rubbish" anchor us in the past. Apple went to China for reasons other than trashing their reputation, as did many other traditionally non-Chinese brands. Quality needs to be judged independently of a country.

The following video is now old but it gives some insight into modern China.
Competition is good up to a point. I could do without the lifestyle it brought to many Chinese:
lKseBx1YPgo

On the bright side, our grandchildren won't be doing that. Robots will be doing many of the jobs many of us do now.

https://willrobotstakemyjob.com/

[Yakass]

Old versions of the Hobie MD patent have run out but the newer ones not. Hobie will continue to refine it based on R&D, customer/dealer feedback, etc and as they release new versions new patents will apply. This is how they protect the future of their drive. Copy cats like the factory responsible for the Hobie knock offs and the like do not do R&D, ever. So expect issues with stuff they copy, because they will cut corners to meet a price point, and without the benefit of R&D, sometimes they make bad decisions on what corners to cut. This issue is rife in the outdoor rec industry. If you ever see me in person, ask me about the great Hubba Hubba tent copy disaster of 1999 for a great example

If you want proof that they just blindly copy stuff without fully understanding the design, look closely at their 'TI' and note the rudder. They copied it's form exactly... but installed the blade backwards. They went full retard. Never go full retard.

Can't image warranty claims will be simple, easy or quick.

Exactly... and I won't be surprised if there are many

Quality needs to be judged independently of a country.

This is true to a large extent. Chinese are capable of manufacturing some great stuff these days. You mention Apple as an example. For sure, Apple would have strict quality assurance going on with any factory they use to ensure gear is built to their spec. Now, if a 'me-to' opportunist took a simple I-phone to a Chinese factory and said; 'make this, for 'that' price'. Don't for one minute think you'd be getting the same thing.

The biggest determining factor in the quality of a production product is not the country of origin - it is the approach that was taken in order to put it into production. Yes, the chinese can make some good stuff, but rest assured they are still making plenty of junk. It just depends on who asks them to do it, and how they are instructed to go about it

Scott recently went on a 'pilgrimage' to china to numerous factories and trade shows and hew was looking out for well made kayaks that were good for the money. He found some good ones, but he was pretty picky about it because he also found a whole lot more rubbish. We had a lot of fun laughing at some of the catalogs and website addresses he returned with.

[Yako]

Truisms like "Chinese rubbish" anchor us in the past. Apple went to China for reasons other than trashing their reputation, as did many other traditionally non-Chinese brands. Quality needs to be judged independently of a country.

The following video is now old but it gives some insight into modern China.
Competition is good up to a point. I could do without the lifestyle it brought to many Chinese:
lKseBx1YPgo

On the bright side, our grandchildren won't be doing that. Robots will be doing many of the jobs many of us do now.

https://willrobotstakemyjob.com/

Steve I have had extensive dealings with Chinese wholesalers and manufacturers and I can tell you unless you have qualified people on the ground overseeing the Quality it turns to custard really easily. I've seen container loads dumped due to shoddy construction. A mate of mine importing water coolers & air conditioners had to dump half of his second container due to poor quality control. So yes China can "produce" but quality definitely is a concern. So my anchor as you put it is still currently very anchored in the present.
Talk about Robots in our kids life time - so what exactly will 7 Billion people be doing then