of course...
Posted by: NewbTastic on Sep-04-12 9:55 AM (EST)
...but that wasn't the angle I was getting at.
In this era of globalization and outsourcing, does it *really matter* if the Brits are master craftsmen, or second-rate?
In terms of local jobs in the UK, yes, it certainly does matter, but from the point-of-view of their customers (us), do we really care if the boats are built in the UK or Thailand, so long as the design is awesome and the quality of the build is high?
Just seems like the whole 'don't buy a British kayak, the quality is crap' argument loses some of its teeth when you have British companies like Tiderace out there, globalizing freely, and not to the lowest common denominator either, but rather to exacting standards, by all accounts.
Now, if ppl want to quibble over whether NDK is still turning out crappy, quality-inconsistent boats, that's fine, they've kind of earned the xtra scrutiny via past sins. =]