I’ve nothing but praise for Aquabound. My carbon fiber paddle (plastic blades) developed a crack in the female end of the shaft. I taped over the area for a temporary fix as I noticed it when about to launch. The duct tape worked well and got me out fishing and back in. That night, I emailed Aquabound hoping for information on how best to repair the paddle. Got a response first thing, for them, Tuesday morning, about 10 hours after emailing them.
The Aquabound rep said send the paddle back and the repair would be free. That was music to my ears. Though not an expensive paddle, paid about $125 for it two years ago, that’s a bunch of money for me. So, now, I’ve got to figure out how to box the thing up. Need a shallow rectangular box 50" x7" x 2-3", or cardboard to create one. May contact someone at a local paddle shop.
Make your own
Cut down a large cardboard box and make the paddle box triangular. Drives the shippers nuts but really protects the paddle.
Glad to hear it
I just bought a 200cm Aquabound paddle with a fiberglass shaft and plastic blades. I was a little hesitant to get a fiberglass shaft when I’m so abusive on paddles, but figured it’s the blades that take the brunt of my stupidity.
- Big D
Can’t gripe about the paddle, really.
Its my push pole, I’ve used it to pull in float jugs, and just about everything you can imagine. The blades are plastic, but have held up well. While I don’t have a lot of rocks (none) to abuse the paddle on, I have worked over a few logs and tree stumps. Though the plastic seems soft, it isn’t. Even my trips on a rocky river haven’t hurt it.
I’ve heard in the past that A-bound is a good company. One person said instead of repairing the paddle, they sent him a new one. I compared the shaft of my paddle with a Carlisle carbon shaft, Aquabound was thinner, but much lighter. As for the glass shaft, you should have no problem.