Werner Paddles announcement

[starman]

It's bad enough to have a handle shear-off, but Werners policies on replacement handles is just plain stupid. They will sell you a replacement handle only if you ship the paddle to them and pay to have it installed. They say it's a "liability issue". You can get them from a dealer assuming they stock the handle. Otherwise it can be a long wait. Nice paddle but stupid parts policies and they poor customer relations regarding the handle breakage issue. Having the handle break in the middle of an ocean paddle is not a liability issue but selling you a replacement is. I certainly have no interest in anything new from them. There are too many great paddles out there with far better customer service after the sale.

[addapost]

Their kayak paddles are probably the best on the market. Their SUP paddles? I have two Ke Nalu's

[PonoBill]

I don't know if Warner has changed this policy, but they used to void your warranty if you used anything but hard setting epoxy. Seriously. I hot glued a handle in and showed it to Gavere when he was the Warner rep and he said "I didn't see that. You know that voids the warranty." I thought he was kidding me, so I looked it up. Yep. The even had a list of permitted glues.

That's the kind of thing you do if you have the market to yourself and you're not too bright--creating opportunities for your competition to pee in your shoes.

[UKRiverSurfers]

I approached Werner about making me a custom paddle but they palmed me off.

I wanted a handle that can swap for another blade making it into an emergency kayak paddle.

I've since found a company in the UK,  VE Paddles  that have offered to make what I want.

I've heard ZRE would also make custom paddles too.

My ZRE PowerSurge is by far the best paddle I've ever used.

[Fog City Rider]

They've definitely fixed the handle breakage issue, and the carbon fiber paddles now come with carbon fiber handles. 

Their policy is a bit weird, we cannot sell someone an uncut/unglued paddle - we must do it ourselves.  Some people come back and want to go shorter after a while, I've had luck using a heat gun to get the handle back out. 

Oh, and I think the big secret is the addition of a small shaft.