BayAreaKiteboarding.com

Hello all!

Ocean Rodeo is contemplating the launch of a newly designed Go Joe Pro leashless board recovery device. The new lower profile Go Joe Pro is designed to complement the already hugely popular inflatable Go Joe.

For photos, a video and a chance to win an Ocean Rodeo hoodie please visit our forum and leave us a note with what you think of this prototype design!



John Z - OR

mehhh, $229??

when my girlfriend was learning, i put a gojoe on her board, but she found it was more of a hindrance than anything, the extra flotation made the board hard to handle, and it floated so high in the water on her feet that she couldn't see the kite during a relaunch. We took it off and she did much better.

this design, while cool, seems overly complex. re-attaching the magnet seems like it'd be difficult for a beginner while the kite is flying and waves are crashing. the whole flipping up and down as well...just doesn't seem necessary...and i could imagine it not working as sand gets in there.

most riders i know use a go-joe for a few weeks at most. I think the price is too high for what's basically the training wheels of kiteboarding. i can't imagine OR would be able to realistically recoup the cost of tooling for what would be a really limited market.

if you want to sell more go-joes, make a smaller cheaper version not a bigger more complex and expensive one.

Don't know if I would want to be the company to reinvent the Go Jo. Just saying....

My grandmother has something similar on her wheel chair in case she falls out the wind will blow it back to her.

$229.00 could buy you a lesson to learn to drag to your board.

Do you have a video of that wheel chair assist in action? :-k

Prototype test on a light wind day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G0D313Zd-M[/video]

Pretty slick design, but the price point is too high. Maybe a better approach would be to lease them out by the season? ("for just $10 a month get go-joe pro protection on your new board purchase!") Depends how durable they are.

Still, I could see them getting some traction in niche environments, like where the current runs against the wind, or maybe demos of high-end boards.

What if you don't have an Ocean Rodeo Handle on your board? How much weight does it add? What if sand gets in the mechanism?

I think you would be better off selling $10 bright orange stickers that say "I'm a beginner help me get my board"

similar to ramsey's idea, how about a giant sticker that says "I'm a beginner, please help me get my board, I will pay you $10 each time you do"

you'd have to lose your board 23 times before you recoup the cost of the go-joe.

as for the argument of "what happens if there's no one around to rescue your board"? uhh, you shouldn't be kiting alone dummy.

I can't imagine anyone buying this due to the cost, it would make a lot more sense to have a smaller and cheaper version of the first model.