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#11
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Werner doesn't stand behind its paddles
" As for keeping your paddle and boat on your
vehicle, you can buy kayak and paddle bags. That will help protect both." You can have a functional and inexpensive (under $5) paddle bag by purchasing a Remington Gun Sock at the sportings good section of WalMart. Plent long enough for take-apart kayak paddles, drawsting closure, silicon-coated fabric. And it'll help a liitle to prevent dings and scratches during transport. |
#12
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Werner doesn't stand behind its paddles
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#13
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Werner doesn't stand behind its paddles
I had warranty problems with Werners. Broke 2 of their WW paddles, one was
my clearly fault, rock wedge, the other was a delam problem and they would NOT stand behind it. Love the paddles, but they don't hold up very well ( for me ). wrote in message oups.com... I have an odd problem with my paddle and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. I'm almost ready to pitch it in the garbage. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was using my paddle and said she didn't like it - it irritated her hands. She said when she finally buys a kayak and paddle, she won't buy a fiberglass one like mine. I thought nothing of it until it started to irritate my hands yesterday. The shaft feels prickly when I run my hand along the length, and my palm sparkled in the sun until I rinsed my hand in the lake. It is a Werner fiberglass paddle, and it is 3.5 years old. It cost $240. I splurged, but felt it would last a long time, so I am not happy. Werner refuses to replace it since it is out of warranty (1 year), but they are sending me some shrink wrap stuff to put on. The shrink wrap might work, but I'd have to cover the whole shaft - I don't even want to touch it to carry it. What if I accidentally rub my eyes with fiberglass fibers on my hands? After pushing harder with Werner, they still refused to do anything for me other than send me shrink wrap. They blamed me for leaving my paddle in the cockpit of my boat (exposed to sun and the elements) during our short (Vermont) paddling seasons. They say their paddles tend to last 20 years, but they take no responsibility when a paddle lasts 1/5 that time. So I am wondering, how many of you leave your paddle in your boat on your car for various lengths of time, vs. bringing it inside every time? Werner is being foolish because if I convince even one person to not buy a Werner paddle, they would have been better off replacing mine. I bought it from a local shop, and now I have dilema of where to buy a replacement. I try to buy local and support small business owners, but on the other hand, if I buy from EMS, REI, or L. L. Bean, I know I will never have to worry about equipment failing before it should. Any ideas? I am thinking that spray paint may work better than shrink wrap. Any comments? Cathy |
#14
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Werner doesn't stand behind its paddles
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#15
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Werner doesn't stand behind its paddles
wrote
SNIP REI and Bean carry many of the same standard kayaking items (Werner paddles), and I doubt that under the circumstances they would be any more supportive. In my experience a primary reason to purchase from a reputable retailer is that they will provide their customers with FAR more support than the manufacturer can. If my 9-year-old's composite paddle develops this kind of problem (and I don't feel like putting a light epoxy coating on the shaft), we will simply bring it back to Bean's for a refund, and replacement. It has always been my experience that they take seriously their founder's policy: "I do not consider a sale complete until goods are worn out and customer still satisfied." I have many times returned items that wore out "prematurely" after 5 years or more. Similar experience at Costco today - My wife's Ipod froze up, still under warranty. Rather than deal with the warranty policy, I went back to the store (with no receipt). After the refund was processed, a guy from electronics showed me how to "reset" it, to get it going. I was embarrassed, and offered to undo the refund, but they said no, it was now selling for $40 less, I might as well get a new one. Sal's Dad |
#16
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Werner doesn't stand behind its paddles
After reading all of this I am not sure it is sun degradation. It may
be some chemical thing going down. I am almost surprised Werner does not want to see this thing. |
#17
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Werner doesn't stand behind its paddles
I used to work for Werner and I'm pretty certain it's not a chemical thing.
I believe it's UV damage and vibration from wear and tear being in the boat on the car all the time. However I too am a little surprised that Werner didn't ask to have the paddle sent in. The warranty person I'm sure has their reasons. Courtney wrote in message oups.com... After reading all of this I am not sure it is sun degradation. It may be some chemical thing going down. I am almost surprised Werner does not want to see this thing. |
#18
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Werners are good to me, but Bending Branches......
I have 2 werner paddles and they have been flawless. I beat the living
crap out of them on the river and they have stood the test of time to me at least. I did have a bent shaft wooden bending branches paddle that broke while I was paddling. It was in teh water adn I was bracing, no rocks, nothing to hard (not like my use of the werners) and Bending Branches didn't do me as good as I thought they should have. I sent the broke paddle to them and they said it was from abuse, for once in my life it wasn't, I was making a brace move, and the best they did was replace the paddle for cost. I took it since it was the best I could do. Oh it was a canoe paddle not a kayak paddle. Still, I willnever buy another Bending Branches paddle but will buy another Werner any day. My $0.02 Thanks |
#19
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Werners are good to me, but Bending Branches......
Brian wrote:
I have 2 werner paddles and they have been flawless. I beat the living crap out of them on the river and they have stood the test of time to me at least. I did have a bent shaft wooden bending branches paddle that broke while I was paddling. It was in teh water adn I was bracing, no rocks, nothing to hard (not like my use of the werners) and Bending Branches didn't do me as good as I thought they should have. I sent the broke paddle to them and they said it was from abuse, for once in my life it wasn't, I was making a brace move, and the best they did was replace the paddle for cost. I took it since it was the best I could do. Oh it was a canoe paddle not a kayak paddle. Still, I willnever buy another Bending Branches paddle but will buy another Werner any day. My $0.02 Perhaps their products have improved in recent years, but around here, they used to be referred to as "Breaking Branches", as their wood paddles tended to snap like twigs. |
#20
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Werners are good to me, but Bending Branches......
Brian Nystrom wrote:
Perhaps their products have improved in recent years, but around here, they used to be referred to as "Breaking Branches", as their wood paddles tended to snap like twigs. It (Bending Branches) does seem like and odd name for a paddle. Maybe they should make a line of canoes called Leaking Logs. The only Bending Branches paddle I've seen was used by a guy who claimed "California has no class 5 rapids." So my buddy Boris invited him on our annual Deer Creek trip. After one mile, a wrap, and many swims, it looked like he was about to have a heart attack, so we urged him to camp at a nice spot and walk out (upstream) the next day. After the trip, he told us "Those weren't real rapids, there were too many rocks in there." On the plus side, his Bending Branches paddle did not break. |
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