2018 SIC Bayonet 17

[805StandUp]

SIC did a press release today on Connor winning the M2M on the 2018 SIC Bayonet with FAST...interesting how Mark has always provided unlimited boards to the big paddlers for the race but generally SIC remained quiet in the background but this year there is a press release--BIC influence?

http://www.sicmaui.com/blog/connor-baxter-wins-maui-2-molokai-on-the-new-2018-sic-bayonet-170-with-fast/?imt=1

[digger71]

They've done it before as well.  Seems to pop up from time to time

http://www.sicmaui.com/blog/the-sic-bullet-dominates-in-the-8th-annual-olukai-hoolaulea/

[Area 10]

Mark is really going for this thick-railed full volume concept. First the FX, and now this. He must think there is some real advantage to it because standing so high above the water might feel like balancing a log, and there's a lot of side profile to be catching side winds and chop. Not to mention the weight disadvantage of so much volume.

But it's nice to see a new UL that isn't a canoe.

[Bean]

Right on A10.  I'd also suspect that the board was built with the specific attributes and abilities of Connor in mind. 

[burchas]

Not to mention the weight disadvantage of so much volume.

As far as weight goes they don't carry any penalty. The 14x26 Bayonet I tested was 22LBS
and that board is THICK with lots of volume, probably 330L.

[gone_foiling]

 It would be interesting to compare bayonet versus bullet in the similar conditions. Imho, it is all bs, just an attempt to have people sell their older boards and buy new ones. Call me conspiracy theorist 

[PonoBill]

Given your quiver, I'd say it's working.

BIC might get a lot more serious about PR and advertising, though I've never seen them market well with the brands they have. They ain't Nike. Mark's biggest challenge when it was just him, is the same as craftsmen everywhere--no understanding or appreciation for marketing. SIC is one of the easiest brands on the planet to market. Passion, technology, craftsmanship and character, maxed out and turned up to 11, all in one spot. The old Ding King location would have made the perfect setting for the opening of any Hollywood surf movie, the current location is nearly as good.

Flow did very well on the operations side, but still no coherent marketing strategy. Strategies don't last, but without one you can't reliably answer the question "what do we do now".

[Area 10]

Not to mention the weight disadvantage of so much volume.

As far as weight goes they don't carry any penalty. The 14x26 Bayonet I tested was 22LBS
and that board is THICK with lots of volume, probably 330L.

Well, if the bayonet was less volume but same construction, it would weigh less, right? If that board was 22lbs it must be pretty fragile.

[Area 10]

It would be interesting to compare bayonet versus bullet in the similar conditions. Imho, it is all bs, just an attempt to have people sell their older boards and buy new ones. Call me conspiracy theorist 

Hmm... I'm certainly open to that sort of cynicism. And the incessant need for a new model each year much mean that some good designs or features occasionally get left behind. But there seems to be a deliberate attempt here to explore a different design concept. Mark has to find an answer to the dugouts. This is it. Whether I actually enhances performance or enjoyment in people who aren't elite ocean athletes though is another question altogether. Personally, I'm going with the low volume concept for DW these days. But I don't have to race for a living. If Indud, I'm sure that all I'd care about was that extra 0.01% of speed, at any cost. And since the development team for these brands is usually their elite athletes, this is the way the designs are going IMO: Sod fun or efficiency, give me speed at any cost, even if it results in a ride that is akin to putting a large sprig of holly in your underpants and then running a marathon with it bouncing against your meat and two veg all the way.

[805StandUp]

More info on the Bayonet from Anthony Scaturro at Outdoor retailer... that is a young interviewer!

s

[Area 10]

Looks good. That 14 looks like an evolution of the Bullet 14v2, and the rails don't actually looks especially thick.