B-Grade beauty with A-performance
Inflatable B-grade SUP and Surfboards
Here you can learn all about B-grades - why we offer it, how it is created and of course where you can buy it.
Why B-grade?
Every single inflatable manufactured by TRIPSTIX is handmade. At the same time, the product must meet our high quality standards. Therefore, it can happen that a board is outside a very strict tolerance range of various evaluation criteria. This can manifest itself in a small optical defect, a deviation from process specifications, etc. etc. Nevertheless, many of these boards are fully functional and ready for use.
We at TRIPSTIX are of the opinion that such iSUP and surfboards also deserve to be used. This saves resources and also offers the smaller budget the opportunity to purchase an optically almost perfect inflatable with premium performance characteristics. For this reason we sell the boards as B-grade SUP and surfboards.
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If you are interested in such a board, please send us an email to info@tripstix.de. |
Currently available B-goods
Wave Affair Kids SUP: This board is a very lightweight kids SUP in dropstitch construction. The board was made in Europe and is not a B-goods but a remaining stock. The dimensions of the board are 267cm x 68cm x 15cm, weight 6kg. The board comes with backpack, (coiled) leash and fin but without pump. If you are interested write us an email with the keyword KidsSUP. Price: €250,-
How is a TRIPSTIX B-grade board created?
We, the consumer, are often rather alienated from the development and manufacturing process of a product. We are used to seeing top-quality goods on display at the dealer of our trust or being able to purchase the same with a click on the world's major internet platforms. But what kind of work actually goes into an inflatable TRIPSTIX board?
Theory and material science
Generally, a lot of time goes into the development of a new product. Questions concerning the added value, feasibility and - in the case of a physical product - the material composition are examined. Design programs and telephones regarding material research run hot...
Prototyping, prototyping, prototyping
And now to the workbench: many material combinations and product ideas are analysed on the living object - the prototype -, reconsidered, thrown out, redesigned, cast into shape again - the next prototype - and so on and so forth.... And this loop is run until every material is selected and every design feature is defined down to the smallest detail.
Get to the line!
But the main work is yet to come: it needs a series production to manufacture the inflatable premium SUP / surfboard - not only once, five or ten times but in 100 to 1,000 times, in the exact same high quality again and again.
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Where are our B-grade SUP and surfboards manufactured?
Once upon a time: production in Far East
TRIPSTIX also took its first steps in Asian production sites, more precisely in South Korea. One of the countries where the Dropstitch-inflatable industry is at home and where most of the market giants produce. Without question, a wonderful country full of wonderful people. However, there have been many misunderstandings due to cultural differences and language barriers. With a complex new development like the TRIPSTIX technologies, this is fatal. In order not to jeopardize the project and also to realize our wish for a "greener" iSUP / iSurfboard, the TRIPSTIX team decided to take a rocky road...
2021: production in Europe
The decision was made to move the production to Europe - a very daring step, because there were no traditional manufacturers of inflatable goods far and wide to whom one could have simply gone. Fortunately, we found partners who were willing to take risks and who wanted to re-establish sophisticated manufacturing know-how in Europe.
Today we are proud to have taken on this pioneering role and, together with many experts in their field, to strengthen the European production location in the inflatable SUP and surfboard sector.
