Press Releases

Klean Kanteen® doesn’t just release colors onto the market willy nilly. The old “pick a color, any color” strategy isn’t really the company style. With the new color line, as with all Klean Kanteen design decisions, there is way more behind the bottle than meets the eye.

Read more: Klean Kanteen’s New Spring 2010 Colors are More than Just Eye Candy

ARCATA, Calif., (March 9, 2010) – Madison will soon be abuzz with paddlesports junkies as the annual Canoecopia exhibition takes over the Alliant Energy Center on March 12-14. Kokatat, the 38-year old independent paddlewear manufacturer, is a presenting sponsor of Canoecopia and will have staff members on-hand to answer consumers’ questions and showcase its sponsored athletes through a variety of paddlesports’ presentations.

Read more: Kokatat Sponsors Canoecopia Paddlesports Exhibition

The Canadian Outdoor Equipment Co. is proud to present a great opportunity to learn about water safety and cold-water rescue. Our friends at The Peel Police Marine Unit have offered to demonstrate the skills needed to perform a cold-water rescue and how to prevent an accident from happening in the first place. They will cover all aspects related to water safety and carry out live demonstrations.

It is the perfect learning experience for anyone spending time near water or on ice. Paddlers, snowmobilers, skaters, campers and even dog walkers are welcome.

This FREE presentation will take place at the Peel Police Marine head quarters located at 135 Lakefront Promenade Mississauga on March 13th. Presentation will start at noon and end at about 3pm. Following the event everyone is invited to head over to The Canadian Outdoor Equipment Co. at 199 Lakeshore Rd east Mississauga.

Read more: Cold water safety and rescue with The Peel Police Marine Unit

For Immediate Release

Darren Bush
Rutabaga
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Sutton Bacon
Nantahala Outdoor Center
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Madison, Wisconsin, Mar 06, 2010 - In response to the paddlesports “town hall meeting” at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, an informal Paddle Advisory Council was formed to address issues with Outdoor Retailer. The Paddle Advisory Council has worked with Nielsen and Outdoor Retailer to address issues related to timing of the show and other areas of concern to paddlesports manufacturers and retailers.

Read more: Paddle Advisory Council Meeting to be Held at Canoecopia, Madison, Wisconsin

Boulder, Colorado,-- GoLite, the premier manufacturer of lightweight, high performance, sustainable apparel and equipment designed specifically for outdoor athletes, announced today the GoLite Product Take-Back Program, a first of its kind in the outdoor industry. GoLite will take back and reuse, repurpose, recycle, and/or store for future recycling any GoLite apparel or equipment, regardless of its condition, that the company manufactured since its founding in 1998 (This does not include GoLite footwear, which is made by a separate company).

Read more: GoLite Announces “I’m Not Trash” Product Take-Back Program

The 5th annual Reel Paddling Film Festival premiered last night at the Bloor Cinema downtown Toronto, hosted by The Complete Paddler. The largest premiere audience in festival history was treated to the first screening of this year’s award winning films. The winners are:

Read more: Reel Paddling Film Festival Winners Announced

Sparta, TN, January 14th, 2010 - Freedom Hawk Kayaks is switching its manufacturing home base in a move aimed at improving quality and customer service.

Freedom Hawk’s unique patented kayak fishing boats will be manufactured and shipped out of the Jackson Kayak production facility in Sparta, TN. Freedom Hawk President David Hadden said the switch to Jackson Kayak was easy. "We toured several operations and they seemed to have some of the highest quality around,” Hadden said. "We also share common business and customer service strategies. I know with Jackson, our customers will receive the highest quality boats possible. "

Read more: Freedom Hawk, Jackson Kayak ink manufacturing partnership

As a leader in paddlewear innovation, Kokatat has a history of partnering with ground breaking expeditions. The lastest sponsorship from Kokatat, a 38 year old independent company, was granted to Hayley Shephard for her to attempt the first solo kayak of South Georgia Island.

Kokatat and Shephard have also joined in creating public awareness for the devastating decline in the world’s albatross species. Shephard’s expedition, called “Kayaking to Save the Albatross,” will bring light to illegal fisheries and the outdated techniques used in the current long line fishing industry. As albatross habitat, South Georgia Island with its rugged beauty and abundant wildlife is home to a number of species.

Read more: Kokatat Supports First Solo Sea Kayak Attempt of South Georgia Island

Spot LLC is dedicated to providing the highest quality and best performance products to our customers, therefore, Spot LLC will be conducting a voluntary return on any new model SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ (SPOT 2) purchased since October 1, 2009. During recent testing, we discovered that some of the new SPOT 2 devices might not meet battery and messaging operating specifications. Affected Units

Read more: SPOT-2 voluntary recall initiated by SPOT

Effective January 1, 2010, Nikki Rekman, our Western Canadian Sales Rep, will add the North-western states to her current territory. In the Customer Service Department, Jessie Towne has joined the Team to handle the Southeastern territory.

“The coming year is looking strong and it was important for us to look strategically at our Sales Rep Force and Customer Service Team to support the additional demand,” says Doug Ragan, Werner Paddles Sales Director.  

Read more: Werner Paddles Adds New Northwest Rep and Expands Customer Service Team

St Louis, MO, December 17th, 2009 - Budweiser American Ale today announced it signed Olympian and four-time world freestyle kayaking champion Eric Jackson as an ambassador for the brand.

Beginning in 2010, Jackson will be featured in Budweiser American Ale print and point-of-sale marketing, and the brand will have a presence at professional kayaking events throughout the year. Budweiser American Ale also will work with Jackson to host private training sessions, offering both experienced and novice kayakers once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to learn from the most successful competitive kayaker in history.

Read more: Budweiser American Ale taps champion kayaker Eric Jackson as ambassador

Arcata, Calif., December 16th, 2009 - Kokatat, a 38-year-old, independent paddlewear and accessories company, is proud to sponsor “Tierra del Fuego,” the latest expedition from sea kayakers Marcus Demuth and Biff Wruszek. On December 16th, 2009, the pair will set out to the southernmost tip of Patagonia to attempt the first circumnavigation of Isla Grande Tierra del Fuego - South America’s largest island. Demuth and Wruszek will use this expedition to raise funds and awareness for an athletics-based non-profit.

Read more: Kokatat Sponsors Circumnavigation of Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego

The Board of Directors of the American Canoe Association has appointed Chief Financial Officer, Wade Blackwood, as the fifth Executive Director of the ACA.

Founded in 1880, the ACA is a member-based nonprofit organization that promotes fun and responsible canoeing, kayaking, and rafting. The ACA actively advocates paddlesports education as well as recreational access to and stewardship of America’s vast water trails. ACA is also dedicated to providing people of all abilities the opportunity to paddle on America’s waterways. Under Blackwood’s leadership and with the support of regional and local volunteers, the entire ACA national staff will continue to diligently represent the interests of over 50 million people in the U.S. who kayak, canoe and raft annually.

Blackwood is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras and earned an MBA from William and Mary’s Mason School of Business.

Read more: Restructuring to our Strengths, ACA Announces New Leadership

Arcata, Calif., (November 24, 2009) - Kokatat, the independent paddlewear and accessories company, launched its official blog recently: http://blog.kokatat.com. The Kokatat blog will offer readers unique content from Team Kokatat (sponsored whitewater and sea kayakers), Kokatat Ambassadors (supported athletes from within the disciplines of paddle sports), press announcements, product reviews, event reports and more. Fans new and old now have a resource for Kokatat news from its office in Arcata to waters around the world.

Read more: Kokatat Launches Official Blog For Paddling Community

Beachburg, Ontario, (November 25, 2009), The Heliconia Press, a leading publisher of books, and producer of TV and DVDs on outdoor pursuits, is thrilled to announce the release of its latest book, Kayak Bass Fishing by renowned bass angler Chad Hoover.

Although the book provides a great introduction to kayak fishing , all anglers, whether interested in kayak fishing or not, will benefit immensely from the bass fishing secrets and strategies that Chad shares-tricks that he's learned from years of catching trophy bass.

Read more: Heliconia Releases New Kayak Fishing Title