Manufacturing of special sports equipment and accessories

The core logic of manufacturing special sports equipment and accessories has never been to scale up general industrial products to reduce costs, but to make the ultimate adaptation to subdivided sports scenarios while maintaining the bottom line of safety - the ability to balance the three dimensions of safety redundancy, performance iteration, and user stratification directly determines the upper limit of a company's survival.

I went to Yongkang a while ago to have tea with Lao Chen, who makes rock climbing equipment. He still has half a box of scrapped quickdraws in his drawer, and it hurts to lift them up. In 2021, he rushed to order 618, and the cold forging process was skipped by tempering. This batch of quickdraws made of 7075 aviation aluminum were sent to the physical department for a load-bearing test. They broke as soon as they reached 8kN. If they were released on the market and a rock climbing enthusiast fell, his factory would have to lose money. There has been a lot of quarrel over safety standards in the industry. One group is the "redundant party", which believes that no matter what product is positioned, it must be made according to the standards of top international competitions. For example, a quick release must withstand a pulling force of 22kN to be qualified. Even if it is an entry-level model for indoor experience classes, it cannot be reduced. ； The other group is the "scenario group". They believe that the experience wall of the indoor rock climbing gym is only 5 meters tall, and the impact force of a fall is only 3kN. If they insist on increasing the parameter to 22kN, the cost will be doubled. Ordinary enthusiasts will spend dozens more to buy a quick release, which will actually push up the threshold for sports. In fact, it is just like making running shoes. The carbon shoes you make for professional marathon runners are rigid enough and have good rebound. But if you put them on the aunt who dances square dance in the community, she will feel that they are too stiff and painful. In essence, they still have to match the real usage scenarios of users. There is no absolute right or wrong. Everyone is based on their own customer groups.

Having high parameters does not mean it is easy to use. This is what Akai, who makes cycling equipment, has been saying to me for three years. In the past, domestic power meters either had poor accuracy or high latency. Amateur players would rather spend more than 2,000 to buy Garmin pedals, only to feel distressed for half a month if they drop them. Akai's factory worked on the sensor calibration algorithm for half a year last year. The accuracy of the pedals now produced is controlled at ±1%, which is no different from imported models. The price is only more than 600. Last month, it also made a customized version for the members of the Xiamen Triathlon Team. The bite angle of the locking plate was increased by 3 degrees, which is specially suitable for long-distance riding. There are currently two groups in the circle when it comes to performance iteration. One group takes the integrated route and stuffs all speed, force, and cadence sensors into the pedals to provide high-end players with one step. ； The other group takes a modular approach and makes a sensor accessory that can be slotted into ordinary pedals. For more than 100 yuan, ordinary cycling enthusiasts can also measure power. Both methods are selling well, and no one is crowding out the other.

Don’t always focus on major sports like football and basketball. Nowadays, niche sports are making money. This was my biggest feeling when I went to Suzhou last month to participate in the outdoor products exhibition. There is a boss who used to make basketball hoops for supermarkets. Last year, he accidentally discovered that many paddleboarders bought PVC boards to cut their tail fins. He simply opened a small production line to make fiberglass tail fins with adjustable angles. They also made quick-release buckles that can be replaced without using tools. This SKU sold 120,000 pieces last year, and the profit was higher than when he made basketball hoops for a whole year. There are also differences in the industry on whether to do niche customization. Some bosses think that the popularity of niche sports will disappear if they don’t. If a mold is launched for hundreds of thousands, if it becomes popular and then fades away in half a year, everything will be lost. ； Some specialize in small tracks like this. After all, the market for major events has long been taken over by giants. There is no competition in niche tracks, and the premium can reach 300%. Even if it is popular for a year, it will be enough to make money.

Of course, it’s not easy to make money in this industry. Last winter, a factory that made ski bindings suffered a huge setback. In order to promote the lightweight selling point, they replaced the base of the binding with carbon fiber. The parameter test showed that it can bear load at normal temperature, but they forgot to measure the low-temperature performance. After it was shipped to the Northeast market, the carbon fiber became brittle at minus 30 degrees Celsius, and there were more than 20 complaints about the binding breaking while sliding. The recall and compensation alone cost more than 2 million, and the ski line was cut off this year. To be honest, when making specialized equipment, if you don’t really spend several months in the user’s usage scenario, just measuring parameters in the laboratory, sooner or later you will run into pitfalls.

Nowadays, many people talk about this industry. In fact, the companies that only make general-purpose products and compete at competitive prices are the ones that are willing to pay. If you really work hard to understand the needs of a certain type of players, you can live a happy life even if you just make a small accessory. After all, sports are different for different people, so there is no standard answer for the equipment used.