Re: [Paddlewise] Patagucci PFD's

From: Michael Daly <michaeldaly_at_home.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 17:00:10 -0500
Doug Lloyd wrote:
> 
> Fine, I'm nobody - just a paddler looking for lovely gear in all the wrong
> places.


You're not alone.  I find it amazing the degree to which I spend inordinate
amounts of time searching for good gear to no avail.  I know the products
exist, the technology exists, the materials exist, but the manufacturers
and/or retailers can't deliver.  And I'm shopping in the largest market
in Canada - Toronto and surrounding areas.  I'm not just talking about 
kayaking - this is true of all sports and activities I enjoy.

I was talking to a Salomon ski rep a few weeks ago about the Pilot boot-
binding system.  I told him if they added a adjustment bolt here and 
attached the other end to this it would make a binding that would adjust
for different weight skis and snow conditions.  He told me his sister and
father, both engineers and non-skiers, told him the same thing when they
saw it.  I then told him I said the same thing to the rep _last_ year.
Do you think that the info gets back to R&D or headquarters?  

The problem may be that there is no incentive for the reps in the field
(who contact the consumers) to feed info back to R&D.  And there may 
just be the Not Invented Here syndrome at work.  After all, the R&D guys 
schmooze with the elite atheletes so why should they respect the opinions
of the stiffs who actually _pay_ for the stuff!

Grumble, grumble...

Mike

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
Received on Sun Dec 12 1999 - 19:08:48 PST

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:17 PDT