K2 and paintball - and skiing

[Lohman446]

I was just starting to look into a new pair of skis for next year as mine are getting outdated - and my initial leanings were towards K2 and there group - for whatever reason, understand that this was not fully researched yet, but I can't research everything and it seems to me that K2 and Head were the front runners at this time by name alone.

Now understand I ski for pure recreation, and any number of brands will suit my needs. When K2 bought WGP I was all for supporting a company that was supporting paintball. It was a back use of the WGP name, WGP had been important towards paintball, and to some degree a company I could respect.

Then I started seeing things - K2 and there "support" of paintball. To take WGP and the autococker, which others had "shown" to be possible and then protect great intellectual property rights of it to me was wrong. The Illussion and the Sniper 2 - very few people thought for a moment that WGP manufactured or had anything to do with the Illusion. Be it important or not, at this point I know where my next set of skis will not come from - and the gear I buy to go with it will be similarly effected. Does it matter? Likely not. My question is, does anyone else feel this way. I am not in this lets boycott them... however, when given the choice and quality issues are close, I am going to support the companies who's business practices and ethics exemplify what I want (at least when they touch on something I care enough about to notice). This is a personal decision at this point for me, what you do or what anyone else does I don't care nor do I think for a moment boycotting a company, as I boycott SP, makes me better than anyone else. My question is, does anyone else feel this way?

Am I going overboard, a lot of you may think so, and I would not blame you for one moment for that thought. The thing is, when I buy skis and it is recreation, it will be as much for name as anything else - the quality and performance of the skis I will look at will be so far beyond what I use them for as to not matter. They will have to meet certain performance criteria, but there are many skis that do just that. That being said, I am back to buying by name. If I am going overboard on this, it is my money I am spending and I see having every right to decide what company's product I spend it on based on whatever criteria I choose.

[tony3]

Ummm, welcome to real buisness practices?

[Lohman446]

That's the easy way out of it. And well I use business practice as a reasoning for some things in vital industries, the excuse just does not hold water in recreational industry.

Goodyear (as in the mans name) invented vulcanizing to make rubber stronger - and never profitted from the patent. There are hundreds of examples in American industrial history. Henry Ford paid his workers more than what was accepted, sure they bought new Fords, but he raised there standard of living.

The point is, as a consumer, I can choose to not spend my money on companies that do not support the ideals I want. So can you. Does this mean that I look at every company I spend money on? Not at all. Frankly, most of the time I simply don't care. But there are some things that I do have the willingness to know about. Paintball is one of them. The actions that K2 takes in the paintball industry mean something to me - I don't care about a lot of the other industries they are part of. Again, this may be shallow, some may look at it as wrong or naive. I assure you it is not naive, it is thought out. The point is, I have the right to set whatever criteria I want on how I spend my money - and the companies that are harming the historical "spirit of the industry" of paintball will not be getting my money.

[nippinout]

I've got K2 board, boots, bindings.

Not too happy with K2 now. I'll be removing the K2 name from said stuff.

And I was hoping that K2 would be a great contribution to paintball.

[Lohman446]

And I was hoping that K2 would be a great contribution to paintball.

Perhaps my point summed up. Had K2 not pulled this stunt, they would have had free points goign to them when I looked into my new gear - and they most likely would have gotten it from them because i would prefer to buy from a company that supports paintball. In fact, when K2 was seen as the savior from SP they would have had my business in there other departments even had it cost me a bit more than the competition. Now... they won't.

[MicroMiniMe]

The point is, as a consumer, I can choose to not spend my money on companies that do not support the ideals I want. So can you. Does this mean that I look at every company I spend money on? Not at all. Frankly, most of the time I simply don't care. But there are some things that I do have the willingness to know about. Paintball is one of them. The actions that K2 takes in the paintball industry mean something to me - I don't care about a lot of the other industries they are part of. Again, this may be shallow, some may look at it as wrong or naive. I assure you it is not naive, it is thought out. The point is, I have the right to set whatever criteria I want on how I spend my money - and the companies that are harming the historical "spirit of the industry" of paintball will not be getting my money.

This is just another form of the ideology to 'Buy American' made goods. Sadly its getting harder and harder to do it seems.
The funny thing is in the 80s we thought it was bad when many companies were being bought out by the Japanese. Now its the American owners/stockholders sending jobs overseas.
So how long before even Taiwan/China/Thailand/Phillipines gets too expensive, and goods start being made in Africa for a few bowls of gruel a day for wages?

[Lohman446]

Rogue, let me first state that the post I make is not in disagreement with any of the points you brought up.

What K2 did before now, frankly I never cared enough to know.

And yes, it is the cost of teh "sponsorhips leading to television pros, etc.".

But, I don't have to shoot what everyone else shoots. Should AGD not make my next marker due to their own business decisions I can always look to Palmer. I held the Oddyssey thing - the signature series the other day, and it was not bad. There are options out here, and until the point it becomes impossible, I will do what I can to not buy a paintball product from a company I do not like

[shartley]

And well I use business practice as a reasoning for some things in vital industries, the excuse just does not hold water in recreational industry.
No matter what industry the business is in, it is all vital to the business owner(s).. unless their business is not their main source of income. I guess it all depends on what side of the glass you are on… are you smelling the baking bread, or were you the one who got up in the middle of the night to make sure someone CAN smell the bread………..

[FlameboyC11]

You do know that the autococker name is a trademark. That's the main reason behind them sending cease and desist letters to all the autococker part producing companies. The illusion/sniper thing isn't that crazy to think of. I seriously thought that they were the same gun for the longest time, the illusion just looks nicer. They do have very similar styles. K2 is not SP, SP is suing almost half of the companies in paintball, K2 is protecting what they own, not taking on the industry. Go ski, ignore the people who whine at K2, most don't even know what they're whining about.

[bokraham]

if you just ski for recreaction then there are infinate possabilitys in companies. I've been skiing for 10 years, 4 years competitivly in freestyle. If you just want to mess around then any ski company makes the same quality of ski for that. If you want a powder ski, and think that you will be skiing lots of powder then I would recomend the pocket rockets. If you like turning alot then get a shaped ski, if you don't then go with a more straight ski. Reviews on skis suck because skiing is only ability. My advice to you is to go to a ski shop and check out all of the skis and see which ones you like, brand dosn't mean a thing

[Automaget]

Iv got a question on this does this mean that brass eagle ownes Autococker because they have the link to K2 on there homepage and k2 owns autococker or could K2 own brasseagle as well?