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I have noticed that many online vendors as well as some local shops have limited supplies of kayak equipment and accessories as well as new kayaks. The ability to walk into a shop and get exactly what you want or to order something without a backorder is uncertain at the moment. In Sept, my wonderfully lightweight Werner Ikelos carbon fiber paddle (8 years old) developed a problem with the ferrule (connector for the two paddle halves). I had very responsive customer support from Werner to diagnose the problem. They told me to ship the paddle to them (Washington state) for repair. I decided to wait until I was done trolling for the fall (I held the paddle together with a variety of Velcro strips -- a short term solution, but still a pain). I sent the paddle to Werner two weeks ago and expect to get it back before Christmas. I did not want to be without a decent paddle in the meantime and looked around for a good paddle on sale. The short answer is that I found nothing I wanted at a price I was willing to pay. I have a very basic, heavy aluminum-shafted paddle that is getting me around for the few weeks until the Ikelos returns.
Here is a second example. I am a big fan of NRS Chinook PFDs and have used them for many years. I am on my second PFD of the older Chinook style -- it is getting worn out. I began looking for a local shop where I could try on the new style of Chinook and some other alternate models. My local shop was out of decent PFDs in my size. After doing a lot of online research to learn about the new Chinook model, I decided to order one. In the past, I could always find a PFD in my preferred style and size that was on sale. Not so this time. I checked online several times this fall, and could not find any vendors that had the Chinook in stock in my preferred color. And all vendors were quoting the list retail price of $139. Last week I checked again with little hope of having success. To my surprise, I found a vendor in Michigan that not only had the Chinook in stock, but was offering a 20% discount and free shipping. I placed the order and received the PFD on Wed -- less than a week after I placed the order.
The point of this post is that there are major shortages of all sorts of things, including kayaking equipment, at this time. It does pay to be vigilant and keep checking both local and online vendors if you need or want something quickly. You may be surprised to find what you want and make arrangements to get it quickly.
Here is a second example. I am a big fan of NRS Chinook PFDs and have used them for many years. I am on my second PFD of the older Chinook style -- it is getting worn out. I began looking for a local shop where I could try on the new style of Chinook and some other alternate models. My local shop was out of decent PFDs in my size. After doing a lot of online research to learn about the new Chinook model, I decided to order one. In the past, I could always find a PFD in my preferred style and size that was on sale. Not so this time. I checked online several times this fall, and could not find any vendors that had the Chinook in stock in my preferred color. And all vendors were quoting the list retail price of $139. Last week I checked again with little hope of having success. To my surprise, I found a vendor in Michigan that not only had the Chinook in stock, but was offering a 20% discount and free shipping. I placed the order and received the PFD on Wed -- less than a week after I placed the order.
The point of this post is that there are major shortages of all sorts of things, including kayaking equipment, at this time. It does pay to be vigilant and keep checking both local and online vendors if you need or want something quickly. You may be surprised to find what you want and make arrangements to get it quickly.
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