Warranty

GONG Manufacturing

For information, a Board or a Paddle that would have a defect will break in the first few sessions, from the first strokes. Similarly, for Kites, Wings and Foils, a defect is detected very quickly.

The composite materials and the assembly technique used for the production of Boards and Paddles guarantee a constant solidity for many years provided they are cared for. It is, therefore, very rare that the guarantee can intervene after several weeks of use.

We pay the utmost attention to the quality of our products during their designs, their testing and their serialization.

First of all, every GONG product is developed and tested by a Team with a Shaper and very high level Riders. Our know-how has been proven and validated by years of irreplaceable experience. However, mass production may have hidden defects on a particular piece. We work every day to limit the number of these defects.

To date, on Boards, our perfection rate exceeds 99% of marketed products. We carry out numerous tests and tests on the series in order to provide customers only with products that are reliable and free from defects. Products with detectable defects are downgraded. As far as possible we repair them and offer them for sale in Second Rate at a reduced price and clearly identified as such in order to limit the waste we produce. They NEVER return to the main sales category.

To perfect this sorting out and to increase the quality, all our products, going from the beginner product to the very top of the range, are tested on the water all year round, in real conditions of use and often far beyond the regular conditions of use or needs of our customers.

Random products are used by our Team permanently. The returns of use of these products are analyzed scrupulously in order to increase the quality.

Terms of the Warranty

GONG offers a 2-year Warranty that applies to the following GONG products:

• Surfboards
• Inflatable SUP
• Rigid SUP
• Paddles
• Kite Boards
• Kites
• Wing
• Foil

This Warranty is limited to manufacturing defects that appear in the first hours of use. In no circumstance, will the Warranty be valid for misuse or use outside normal use.

We henceforth remind you about the power of the elements and the constraints in which we face with water and how we progress. It goes without saying that nothing can withstand these constraints if we do not take the utmost care of its equipment and if we do not carefully avoid critical situations that may jeopardize the integrity of the equipment.

For example :

• Putting your equipment under the lip of the wave,
• Exposing your equipment to the lever effect within the wave,
• Exposing your equipment to the lever effect behind the wave,
• Leave a Kite flapping in the wind,
• Send the Kite in the trees / rocks,
• Regularly crashing the Kite on the ground or full face on the water (frontal)
• Hitting the sand or the rocks with the Foil
• Falling with the paddle wedged between the Rider and the Board
• Etc.

Note that the use of Surfing material, SUP, Foil, Kitesurf and Wing has limitations as well as your skill level. Some conditions are dangerous for you. They are also dangerous for the material. In these many cases, the Warranty does not cover damage to equipment. This also applies to some tricks/moves that are dangerous for you and your material.

Use can be created by aggression. They are of two main types:

• Punctual traumas: shock on a sidewalk, shock on the edge of the trunk, shock on the rail falling etc. … a lot of small trauma that will have the effect of damaging the quality of the fibers and thus create fragility. Therefore, the Board and / or Paddle will probably break during the next big effort in/on or around the area concerned. A Bag is MANDATORY. Considering what it costs, do not hesitate.
• Extreme trauma: too much bending (during a fall or under the lip, for example), leverage effects (Board stuck at the bottom or the nose stuck in the sand and the water that pushes on it), heavy shock (from falls on the Board), the violent jumps, heavy passage through the chop, the passage through the waves with excessive force, the impact at the bottom hitting the Fins etc … All these big traumatisms can lead to a rupture, right at the moment or a little later. Indeed, you exceed the allowable constraints for the product.

For Kites, repeated impacts on the water and on land are a huge aging factor. The waves are a real danger for your Kite and you.

In these cases, the “manufacturer” warranty cannot be used.

Indeed, to overcome these problems, one must be exaggerate the  reinforcing of the Board and / or Paddle. All our Boards are designed to withstand heavy use. But strengthening to resist poor usage would mean adding a lot of weight, really alot. No customer would accept this extra weight. We can indeed make boards of 25 kg or paddles of 4 kg unbreakable for our purposes but who would want tehm? On a 10 kg board, add 500 g or on a 600 g paddle, adding 50 g more reinforcement compared to what we set as an intensive use frame would have no noticeable effect. It is therefore the use that must be framed and measured. It’s exactly the same for Kites.

In order for your equipment to last as long as possible, do not do unacceptable things with it, care for it and take care of it and it will take care of you.

For information, a Board is cups under the feet. Your weight, but especially the shocks will damage this area. If an indentation is formed, it is normal. There is nothing to do.

The Handle and Blade of a paddle should be inspected and maintained regularly. It is necessary to check the tightness of the Handle, its good adhesion, the absence of roughness or sharp pieces, the general solidity. The Blade is built on the same technical basis as a Board but with three times more reinforcements, so make sure the airtightness of the Blade so as not to have any infiltration of water that would rot the internal foam.

As for the Kites, it is necessary to check the condition of the SPI to make sure that the Kite is not perforated or showing signs of damage.

Avoid leaving your gear in the sun, be it a Kite, a Foil, a Paddle or a Board because the composite products as well as the Kites hate it. This can create visible bubbles on your equipment and can blow up the Bladder of a Kite. In addition, the sun causes premature aging of the material which will make it much more fragile.

Avoid storing your equipment in damp places or in contact with permanent moisture (in the water, in a damp cover, in the rain, etc …). So, let your equipment dry and dry it before storing it.

In addition, being in the wrong place at the wrong time can happen to anyone, especially when in the water. It must be obvious that no Warranty will be made for damage on land or within the shorebreak, on the water you must also rely on luck to avoid falling into a hazardous position and damaging your equipment.

You must of course anticipate this type of situation as much as you can but it is not always possible.

However, in case of breakage, the qualities of the material cannot be questioned.

Be careful and extremely careful to avoid any collision. GONG disclaims all liability for damage or damage caused by improper use of GONG equipment (surfboards, rigid SUPs, inflatable SUPs, kite fenders, kite boards, foil, wing, etc …) or carelessness.

All the items listed above are not covered by the Warranty.

Manufacturing defects are, therefore, the only ones covered by the Warranty. They are beyond our control and will have passed all the filters of our quality control. It can be a bubble hidden in the stratifications, a glue or other fault. In all cases, these defects are visible after the breakage.

We kindly ask you to return the broken product at your expense and carefully packaged at the following address:

GONG SUP 1
19 rue Fernand Nouvion
ZA Brais
44 600 Saint Nazaire
France

We will conduct an assessment to determine if your concern may be covered by the Warranty. In all cases, we will do our utmost to provide you with a satisfactory answer within reasonable limits and our means, we do our utmost to leave no one in any trouble.

If you accidentally break your equipment, and/or do not know how to repair it yourself, we are at your disposal to evaluate the price and technical impact of a repair.

Contact our after-sales service because 90% of the cases of breakage are repairable.

For advice and repairs, we advise you to go to our Forum.