Who do you get your stuff from?

[lucabrasi]

Most of us have a local shop of some sort. We go in, check stuff out, check things out, get the scoop on this or that. Hopefully get some stuff from them too. We all browse the internet and check things out. Different shops, reviews, feedback, manufacturer sites, etc. There's some good places out there. There are some shysters too.
I have been trying to get stuff from Zoners or Zone sponsors for my last few board purchases. Great service, fast shipping, fair prices, etc. Stuff I was interested in getting that I knew or thought Zoners were dealers for.
Huge shout out to Ralph at Sup Position, the oar on dude. I inquired about a board. Yep, he was a dealer. I had questions on paddles too. Traded emails, etc. and paid for the board. Tracking info etc. Wait, board appears to be held up in Kentucky for 3-4 days. "Hey Ralph....." He checks it out and it is moving again. I get the board. New stuff. Yay. Weather and other stuff makes it till Sunday before I can try it out. Get to the lake and as I am getting ready to go it appears a warranty issue comes into play. SHIT! And I am leaving on a trip in less than a week, with the board in mind for the trip. I email photos Sunday evening. He is right back to me and let's me know he will be all over it Monday morning. A few more emails and a warranty form later and that's it. By mid day Monday he is letting me know it should be covered and will get with me on tracking info. Going to try for a rush delivery. Tuesday morning I get the tracking info. "Wow, really" I think. Thursday evening I get the board. Warranty claim, cleared customs, and in my hands in Whoville, USA in a couple days. THANK YOU Ralph. He doesn't know me from Adam but he went right to bat for me and got me set better than I could have hoped for.
Support your Zoners. There's a reason to.
Writing this made me think. I talked to Jim K. on the phone. He gots one of those Joisey accents. I remember when I hung up I started to wonder......does that whole crew up in NE talk with those thick Boston accents? Is Pono going around Maui and Hood River with a Boston accent. I don't think I have heard that in his videos but maybe it's there. Does Ichabod talk like Bugs Bunny? Enjoy your summer out there.......
Thanks again Ralph.

[stoneaxe]

Good reminder....thanks.

[SUPflorida]

Jim K is my "go to" for Ke Nalu paddles. Just received My second one this past week...an 84 Konihi...hope to try this weekend. I will continue to buy from him in the future.
1) Great product
2) Great zoner price
3) Solid information
4) Quick shipping right to my door.
5) No Drama

[Kojack]

Jim K-bought three KeNalus from him over the past few years.  Always outstanding service.  I bought a factory 2nd blade from Lane and it was here in two days-also great service.

I bought an L41 from Kirk and he also provided great service and have two custom infinity surf sups that I am picking up next weekend so will see how all of that works out.

[PonoBill]

Big Winds and Shortt supply in Hood River.  Gorge performance in PDX. hi Tech and Hawaiian Islands in Maui. boards i buy direct from the shapers usually.  kirk--super service. bill Foote-builds you exactlly what you need next even if you dont know what that is.

Big Winds and Gorge Performance are simply the finest watersport stores ive ever experienced--hands down.

no, my Boston accent got laughed out of me in the navy. I pretend to have one when im here on the east coast, but i dont. 

Had.  A.  very.  Slow.  talking . buddy from Tennessee in the navy. One day i said to him "Ray, we need a  translatah. He said "Aaaaa whaaaat" i waited three minutes for him to stop saying that and said "A translatah".

Aaaaa whaaaat?

So yeah.

[1tuberider]

I just got a killer deal on a drive and all-star from Big winds.

I usually shop at home but killer deals get the better of my wallet. I am happy. The drive is a long board nose rider and the all-star a fast paddle board I am going to use for fitness and the occasional local race. Both have been wet already. I bought them this week.

Big Winds also set me up with a sic bullet for a fabulous downwind experience.

Great crew. Sydney, Matt and Brian were all fantastic and made for a good experience. I am sure all there are just as helpful.

[Califoilia]

Boards directly from the shaper/factory.....Chelu Performance, and "Corran" Addison (before he move to Canada )

KeNalu Paddles, a BIG shout out to two Zoners....Ralph ("Sup-position"), and most recently Chris ("capobeachboy"). 

All have delivered excellent customer service, great prices, and are awesome to surf (ie. demo boards) with....sounds like the perfect trifecta to me.

[pdxmike]

Other than a used board from Urban Surf in Seattle (a shop I also like) and a fin directly from Larry Allison, I always go to Gorge Performance. Went there the first time because it was 100 yards from home, because I'd seen a photo of Laird H. on a board and it looked interesting, and I knew they were a surf shop.  They not only knew what standup was, they turned out to be as great a shop as anyone could imagine, as PonoBill said.  Bob has taken in a board of mine for repair, and walked it over here himself the next day for personal delivery.  The advice alone I've got from Bob is worth 10x whatever $ I've spent there.


It's nice to read how many people all over have similar local shops that they love.

[Gramps]

Big Winds, at 150 miles, is as "local" as I can get.  I've purchased a board and a couple of paddles from them and had excellent service. Gorge Performance would be the next closest and Bob has responded to my emails promptly, so I'm sure I'll do business with them in the future.

I've emailed SUP Sports a couple of times and have also gotten prompt replies and good info.

[supthecreek]

I have a couple of great SUP shops within walking distance. "Nauset Sports" and "The Pumphouse"
Between them, they cover a great range of boards and gear, and both Phil and Matt and his wife Jaime are all excellent SUP surfers.
It's great to have so much, so close

Bob (also a Zoner) at "Matunuck Surf Shop" in Rhode Island, is my goto when surfing the southside

Dave at "Cinnamon Rainbows" in New Hampshire is as fine a dealer as can be found.... I NEVER go through NH without stopping in his well stocked shop.
His employees are fantastic, and he hold SUP demo hours on the beach across the street.
I have made that trip many times to buy boards from Dave.... great service and price.

But..... my main goto guy, since I began riding Fanatic Allwave and Prowave has always been JimK.
Super knowledgable, as stoked as anyone I know, the best "Zoner" pricing and great service.
In fact....I just got back from a 4 day road trip to JimKland.
Now that Jim is the goto Sunova dealer, I have even more reasons to make that 900 mile round trip. (that's local.... right?)

[bts]

I've come real close to buying from a couple of different site sponsors, but have yet to pull the trigger.  Time zone change from Hawaii to the mainland is part of it, but mostly it comes down to shipping cost and time.

Maui to Oahu air cargo usually runs 42$, and the board is at the airport tomorrow. Mainland non air cargo door to door shipping runs around 300$

The opposite way is not necessarily as expensive. The local guys tend to use air cargo for mainland shipping as well, rather than ups or whatever. I think that runs about a hundred bucks, or so.

Where I shop tends to be a question of who's got the boards I'm interested in today, or who builds the board I want. The last 2 production boards I bought I got from hi tech. I did demo other locally available boards beforehand, but did not find anything "just right"