Naish Makani Paddle Review - SNAP!!!

[DavidJohn]

Hey John.. bummer about your paddle.. I'm not sure what you intended to achieve by going to the trouble to join this forum and make the effort to post pictures and carry on as if Robby was a regular here and might reply in person but that's not going to happen and if you think this might speed up the Naish reply to your warranty claim it might even have the opposite effect now and it probably wasn't the wisest thing to do.. I do understand your frustration and I hope it's resolved soon for you.. It's a shame you aren't here in Oz because I've heard nothing but good things about any Naish warranty claims here.. I have plenty of friends with that exact paddle and I've heard nothing but good things.. It could be a manufacturing fault and I'm sure Naish will be wanting to have a closer look at it before they decide if it's a fault from manufacturing and if it is I'm sure you'll be getting a brand new paddle from then soon.. Hope it ends well for you..

[stoneaxe]

If there was a stress crack from an impact there is no way you would be able to tell after it's broken and you saying there was no impact or stress is meaningless. 1st...there are plenty of lowlifes that make false claims, not saying that's you , just reason for them to be skeptical. 2nd..very few people would remember 3 weeks ago they whacked their paddle on something, (I certainly don't). I thought my Werner had just folded without reason as well (basically the same spot as yours) then looked closely and could see the blue spot that matched my fin where it had taken a whack in a wipeout, absent that paint there was no evidence of it getting whacked. And why do you say there were no abrasions or cracks on the blade when I can see scratches/abrasions and scuff marks in the pics?

While there's no question it's better PR to simply take care of something like this and avoid angry posts on the web, manufacturers have to draw a line somewhere. I find it kind of strange that you would think a manufacturer would honor a warrantee after it has expired. If you were making and selling stuff that got the kind of use our equipment gets would you honor a warrantee after a year of use? If they haven't been seeing failures like this happen frequently all the more reason not to believe you. If that had happened to me a year after buying the paddle I wouldn't even contact the manufacturer, just fix it to use as a backup or repurpose as a kids paddle. I certainly wouldn't join the zone to make a post to put pressure on them and yell bullshit in the 1st sentence.

[yugi]

In the bike industry there's always a healthy suspicion when someones claims "just riding along ...".

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=%22just+riding+along%22+warranty+claims

[supsurf-tw]

To the OP:

Coming on the forum solely with the intent of shaming a very respectable company is out of line and uncalled for. I'll tell you right now there was an incident that caused the break whether you remember or not. Even possibly something that you were unaware of. The paddle being a year old, plenty of things may have happened.

[Chilly]

I’ve had two friends where there paddle broke in that same area around the upper part of the blade. Both remember seeing a nick were it snapped.  Both were two different brands. Things break especially when your trying to make them as light as possible. That's why I keep my paddle in a paddle bag when not in use.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFK4DS-eXvE

[John Doe]

it is what it is.  the thing snapped while i was paddling in open water (that is why the electrical tape along the edge of the paddle has no scuffs on it).  electrical tape is pretty soft, if it hits something you will see a scuff.

yes, i am trying to shame them cuz i think it’s B.S.  the first thing the naish guy on Maui said was “if it’s over a year we can’t replace it”.  i can’t imagine anyone would snap a paddle, while using it for what it’s designed to do, and not get pissed off.

I actually feel bad for the semi-local shop, the owner tried to help, cc’d me on the emails to Naish etc.  imagine his position, he’s more screwed than i am.  he has money on the line.  & guess what else?  I’m the only guy that rides Naish sup’s in a small coastal town where everyone knows everyone.  guess what our collective impression is of Naish now?  i had a party, the boys checked it out.

i won’t buy another Naish product from the semi-local shop & it’s not his fault.  i offered to bring the paddle down so he could check it out & am still happy to.  no one wants to look at it, isn’t that odd?  shit, i’ll even send to to Naish Maui at my cost if they want to see the thing.  they should at least look at it.

i don’t expect Naish to respond to this, they’ve had 3 weeks.  i realize it’s my first post & it’s a rant - but it’s honest, straightforward & backed up by facts & photos, so it’s informative.

[John Doe]

Problem solved.  Got a call from the local shop, who did go the extra mile trying to help as I mentioned before.  Said they will send a replacement & Naish stands behind their products.  I appreciate it, and I appreciate the comments from everyone.  Hopefully we can learn some things that keeps the costs down for the sport we all love & support the companies that make that happen!

Aloha,
JD

[pdxmike]

Hey John.. bummer about your paddle.. I'm not sure what you intended to achieve by going to the trouble to join this forum and make the effort to post pictures and carry on as if Robby was a regular here and might reply in person but that's not going to happen and if you think this might speed up the Naish reply to your warranty claim it might even have the opposite effect now and it probably wasn't the wisest thing to do.. I do understand your frustration and I hope it's resolved soon for you.. It's a shame you aren't here in Oz because I've heard nothing but good things about any Naish warranty claims here.. I have plenty of friends with that exact paddle and I've heard nothing but good things.. It could be a manufacturing fault and I'm sure Naish will be wanting to have a closer look at it before they decide if it's a fault from manufacturing and if it is I'm sure you'll be getting a brand new paddle from then soon.. Hope it ends well for you..

That's all good advice, and 100% true.  One funny thing, though, it reminds me of a few years ago when a certain group was trying to get manufacturers to stop making narrow, light racing boards. I contacted Naish to see what they thought, and Robbie Naish himself replied immediately and in depth with his thoughts.  So did Svein of Starboard.  I felt like I'd called Microsoft tech support and got Bill Gates.  I'm still impressed by them both for doing that.

[Quickbeam]

Congratulations and good for you. I would have been upset if I’d been in your shoes and I think you did the right thing. When companies take care of their customers, I want to know about it. I also want to know when they don't take care of customers. There was a thread on here a while ago about drysuits and it came up over and over again how Kokatat goes out of their way for customer service and routinely ignores their warranty limitations. Service like that gives companies good names. So good for you for pursuing this and good for Naish for coming through for you. Too bad you had to go through all the frustration, but at least in the end they did the right thing.

[pdxmike]

A friend of mine had exactly the same problem with a Starboard paddle, and within 24 hours of contacting them they'd photoshopped him a totally repaired paddle. 


Seriously, that's good they came through, and it's one more story of why so many people who support their local shops become so loyal to them.  It's not to say the manufacturers aren't responsive (because it seems like they can be very good) but the local shops give you someone on your side who knows how to get through the process.   

[Eagle]

yes, i am trying to shame them cuz i think it’s B.S.  the first thing the naish guy on Maui said was “if it’s over a year we can’t replace it”.  i can’t imagine anyone would snap a paddle, while using it for what it’s designed to do, and not get pissed off.

I actually feel bad for the semi-local shop, the owner tried to help, cc’d me on the emails to Naish etc.  imagine his position, he’s more screwed than i am.  he has money on the line.  & guess what else?  I’m the only guy that rides Naish sup’s in a small coastal town where everyone knows everyone.  guess what our collective impression is of Naish now?  i had a party, the boys checked it out.

i don’t expect Naish to respond to this, they’ve had 3 weeks.  i realize it’s my first post & it’s a rant - but it’s honest, straightforward & backed up by facts & photos, so it’s informative.

As noted - a paddle should not just snap at that location.  And sometimes it just makes sense to send a customer a replacement if they know internally of a specific manufacturing defect.  You can be sure Naish warranty has seen many other breakages to compare to.  And just maybe Naish is aware of a problem in that batch of paddle made.  Maybe - only they know.

Sometimes it does require a bit of gentle persuasion to get a problem like that solved - especially if a retailer is involved and it is backed up by facts and photos.  Just like my problem with Gore one time.  Had a membrane delam and the retailer balked initially - but then replaced after it was escalated to Gore.  It was an obvious delam manufacturing defect.  To make my point - we brought in another Gore jacket model bought exactly at the same time - and it was perfect.  So balking does happen unfortunately from time to time.

But Naish did the right thing to stand behind their product.  Nevertheless frustrating the customer from a lack of response after 3 weeks was a silly move and a major customer service error.  All retailers and manufacturers can learn from this.  This should have been addressed and resolved before JD had a need to post and rant.

Another on this forum - even had a manufacturer replace a board because it dented too easily.  Posting and ranting was the impetus for the replacement.  Bottom line is that retailers and manufacturers need to listen and take action vs not respond.  And not all posting on this forum have no affiliations with manufacturers or retailers.  So not all posts are completely unbiased.  That should be kept in mind.   

[yugi]

...
Things break especially when your trying to make them as light as possible. That's why I keep my paddle in a paddle bag when not in use.

Yeah, that’s exactly Mtn Bike’s mad scientist, Kieth Bontrager’s philosophy. He say’s parts should be light and then do risk breaking when taking a force they aren’t meant for. (He’s all for making parts durable for their purpose and is the big of testing parts). Especially wheels which are strong in the same plane but very fragile for impacts from the side. No point making them burly from the side, he says, they aren’t ever going to be strong to blows from the side.

[exiled]

A friend of mine had exactly the same problem with a Starboard paddle, and within 24 hours of contacting them they'd photoshopped him a totally repaired paddle.

lol

[supsurf-tw]

Many times even though the problem was caused by forces other than a defect, internet shaming works to get the manufacturer to cough up a brand new product and not because they feel there was a problem with their product but because they need to not be painted in a negative light even though the issue is not really their fault. So now does Naish need to replace every broken paddle? THIS is what drives up costs, it doesn't lower them as the op eluded to.

As far as one of the shaming posts in regards to an issue with a board "defect" that was awhile back, I had a conversation with the poster and gave an education on ordering super light boards and other points on ethics within the industry. He understood and was very grateful (it seemed) for the inside info.

[SaMoSUP]

John Doe - What's the name of the local shop that went the extra mile for you? Give them some props here.