Lots of paddleboard manufacturers say that safety is in their DNA. Or that safety is at the heart of what they do. Most of them say it just to sell you a paddleboard from our experience. Outside of a few brands there’s very little evidence that they actually mean it. Very few of them do more than pay lip service to safety, especially if it gets in the way of selling paddleboards.
We think we’re different. We DO really mean it. Whitewater paddleboarding carries a greater risk than many other paddleboarding disciplines, and we’ve been at the forefront of whitewater paddleboarding for many years. So we do really get the risks.
At any point in time we’re involved in multiple initiatives and conversations with national governing bodies, training providers, instructors, coaches and guides to see what we can do to improve paddleboard safety, without removing any of the fun, the spontaneity of paddleboarding.
Barry Hughes has been a friend to McConks for many years, testing our prototype products and giving us safety advice. And this is what he had to say when we caught with him on our One Way road trip.
