I would think that more often than not, this is more about ignorance than willful flouting of safety (maybe hiring photographers and faux paddlers with no real paddling experience). I mean, it’s not, I wouldn’t think, that depictions of kayakers with proper gear would somehow lesson people’s interest in buying a boat or paddling. Am I wrong?
Many companies show paddlers with proper gear - so why not Oru? Oru says that kayak safety is one of its “core values”. Oru also says that they welcome input about safety. And yet, they appear oblivious to fundamental safety principles and produce ads that depict very unsafe behavior. And when other paddlers or an organization like the National Center for Cold Water Safety criticizes their ads, they ignore it.
What are we to make of such a company? I understand that the sole purpose of their for-profit corporation is to make money selling their products. However, they shouldn’t do so at the expense of paddlesports safety.
Ignorance vs willful flouting? I’d put my money on ignorance. But again, what kind of company is ignorant about something that they claim is one of their core values? And when criticized, blows off the criticism?
So…Oru has been around about 10 years. Does anyone have any data as to how many documented fatalities have been with Oru kayaks? curious…
You can hound companies for their role in ignoring safety, but the fact is you can’t prohibit customer stupidity.
Example from my first paddle of 2022, today. Air temps high 50s to maybe 60, partly cloudy, a COLD wind. Water temp, I didn’t measure or see any readings on it. I always assume it will be very cold so early in spring here, probably mid-40-ish.
I wore 7mm neoprene booties, knowing that feet would get cold with anything less. A thin (about 1 to 1.5mm) neoprene long-sleeved shirt with a 2mm long-legged Farmer Jane. These clothes plus the PFD were adequate (this is a surf ski—body totally exposed). However, I did not consider them warm enough to do anything but paddle steadily in. A dunking would have been really cold no matter how fast I could remount.
So definitely not a role model though my risk of a dunking was very low. And then…I saw a woman sitting on her SUP board. Wearing nothing but a bikini. No PFD, either.
You can complain about bad ads, but the bottom line is that some people will do whatever they want. She must have wanted to get a tan.
I would say there are two types of paddlers of course there are many in between but the two major groups are experienced and new. The experienced will ether notice the problems in the ad and look past it knowing if they used this product they would have to correct all the short falls or they see the problems in the ad and it turns them off to the product totally.
Oru is marketing to the group that for most here have to think way back to even relate to. That is the person that knows almost nothing and is being drawn in by the simplicity of the design and not seeing the flaws. Then they are being moved by the simple fun the people in the ad seem to be having without ever seeing the danger involved.
Oru could have done a lot IMO if they would have just made all their photos shown in warm weather situations. I guess there is the need to appeal to the trendy cold weather crackling fire part of the brain as well like LL Bean used to do so well with their clothing. They are trying to advertise a lifestyle almost along with their product coming in second or being if you want this lifestyle you need our boat.
Will most people even after they have been talked into buying one of these go out and try a long open water crossing in frozen waters? I doubt it. They will take the thing out in a little lake or stream on a warm spring day ill prepared for falling in and be surprised how hard if not impossible it is to swim 100’ to shore with just their swimsuit on.
Oru is really bad at trying at all. Almost like they might need all the help they can get finding and accruing their next costumer. The industry as a whole is better but for me the lower price point they are marketing to the less they are interested in including true to life depictions of how the product should be used. The same is true at the point of sale instruction and making people aware of additional gear they may need.
What’s your point here, Pikabike? Granted, we can’t reach everyone with safety messages. But that’s not a valid argument for not speaking out about irresponsible advertising. Also, there’s a difference between ignorance and stupidity. Education is our best defense against ignorance. Some people won’t listen. That’s their loss. But the history of paddlesports safety education shows that education is effective in building a more robust safety culture.
Nobody knows, and short of a mandatory requirement for reporting the brand of kayak involved in a fatality, there is no way to find out. However, the issue isn’t just how many Oru kayaks were involved in accidents, it’s that the advertising Oru does undermines paddlesports safety in general. Same goes for the other images we show on our website: https://www.coldwatersafety.org/icebreakers
This thread got me curious and I Googled “Winter SUP.” A plethora of stuff came up touting it, such as this:
Oru is far from alone.
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The point is that although eliminating irresponsible advertising is commendable, “you can’t fix stupid”, or a person’s willful disregard of what someone already educated them about.
Starting in 1964, the Surgeon General’s health warning was printed on every cigarette package, yet millions of smokers took up the habit anyway. Eliminating TV ads and shows with people smoking did help reduce the “coolness” factor. So did getting lung cancer.
No, they’re not. And the woman I saw in the bikini was far from the first such example I’ve seen. She was just this year’s first. There will be others this spring (and late fall, too).
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Agreed. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t call out companies like Oru.
I went to the local REI yesterday. to my surprise they had an Oru Kayak there. For some reason I thought they are direct-only…
I’m sure there is more to it, but the above comment about it being like the USPS mailbox material seems right. I can envision tree branch puncturing it. I don’t have a lot of experience paddling and only do calm waters… but I wouldn’t use it for any rough water. Even if you add flotation bags, I bet pumping out that huge boat will be a pain. For a regular kayak you at least are limited to pump out the cockpit. And entering from the water likely takes a lot of skill. Scratch that… people without PFD likely don’t have a pump to begin with.
I’m sure they have their place, but that place is not what the ads show.
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KB. The parent company of that branch of Remington settled as a part of a ongoing bankruptcy. They needed to get it out of the way and they are writing it off as part of the loss as far as I understand. Its hard to sue a company that no longer exists.
As to stupidity bringing regulation. Pick up a box of suppositories and it will have a warning not to be taken by mouth. Chainsaws have label not to stop the chain by hand. All of which are required because people are idiots.
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Don’t forget 30 years ago the owner’s manual for your car told you how to adjust the valves. Today it tells you not to drink the fluid from the battery.
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Nothing quite like paddling an overgrown “bandit sign” on a dead still day. I’ll pass!
If it’s cold enough that she’s wearing that hat and the dogs are bundled up, then it’s a sure bet that the water is cold enough to require a wetsuit or drysuit. But let’s be clear about it. Oru doesn’t care about safety. They claim it’s one of their “core values”, but that’s clearly just bloviating hot air.
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Thanks for sharing that article. Another example of irresponsible hyping of winter paddling with no mention of the danger and the pix all feature paddlers with zero thermal protection. I commented. Remains to be seen whether they will let my comment stand or delete it.
It’s not there as of now. Pretty shoddy.