So my Bending Branches carbon-fiber paddle has a telescoping feature so I can adjust the length. As you know when you connect the two halfs- you just twist and they self-tighten. Well, mine is less than 1.5 years old and that locking feature does not work. When I connect the 2 all they do is spin and not lock.
My frustration is when I spend $180 bucks on a paddle, I expect to get more use than I have out of it.
Anyone have ideas? I thought I could just glue them together permanently…
Give BB a call.
They seem to be a decent company.
And let us know how they handle it.
More importantly, let THEM know you’ll be letting others know how they handle it. I’ve eye’d those paddles for awhile. I have one of their bottom lines paddles, and have been tempted at the carbon fiber plus series . . . .
YoS
Gummed up?
I imagine that the locking mechanism is just an eccentric cam. Probably the pivot for the cam is gummed up a bit and the can can’t rotate freely.
Take the two halves apart and clean things out.
Update-
They walked me through a couple of ways to fix the problem- I don’t have the paddle on me to try them. However, they did say if what I try didn’t work they would and I quote “Stand behind their product and do whatever is necessary to get it fixed.”
It seems that it just might be dirty from the type of use I put it through.
by the YOS- I have the Carbon Fiber Plus Slice
Thanks. Glad they’re standing behind it.
telescoping paddle
We have three telescoping paddles from Bending Branches and when one of them did the same thing yours did-despite cleaning-Branches sent us a new one through our local dealer. However, when another paddle slipped a bit-we washed out the inside of the shaft and lo and behold-solved the problem! So it made us think we should have done same with the other paddle. We were focused on cleaning the little cam thingie but it was most likely just slipping on dust on the inside of the shaft.
But great customer service at Bending Branches and still made in USA which means a lot to us here in Michigan.
See, now THAT’s what I like to hear
about a company. Heaven knows we gripe and complain enough around here when some company screws someone over. I like hearing the good CS stories. I’m still convinced there are more than the bad ones. It’s just that the bad ones spread more and are more memorable because they cause pain. . . .
YoS
cam replacement
Had this very conversation with the fellow that designed the mechanism for BB a few weeks ago at the Paddlesport show in NJ. He showed me a new cam piece they are using made out of white teflon rather than the black plastic they originally used. They will send you a new one if needed, the old on snaps out easily and the new one snaps right in. I’m on my third year with this paddle and it has been great.