Archive for the ‘Backwater Paddle Products’ Category

Backwater Paddle Company QR Code

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

Backwater Paddle Company in an effort to stay ahead of the marketing world, procured its own custom QR (Quick Response) Code.  These QR codes are instrumental in providing potential customers, with smart phones, an opportunity to access your website simply by photographing the code with their phone. 

This one step, easy application provides an unique interface with today’s technology and marketing tools to keep pace with our customers demanding thirst for product information and availability. 

These QR codes are presently found in print advertising, vehicle wraps, signage or any other marketing platform that sits still long enough to be photographed.

Backwater Paddle Company QR Code
Backwater Paddle Company QR Code

Simply take a photograph of the QR Code with your smart phone (QR Code app installed) and instantly you will be redirected to the appropriate site as directed by the code!  Amazing technology at our fingertips!

As our new Assault Hand Paddle makes its way to the paddle sports market this spring, our strategy is to embrace all marketing techniques that will educate our customers about our company and our paddle products.  

Backwater Paddle Company, staying at the front of technology to provide our customers with as much product information as possible!

The Paddle Matters!!  Paddle on my friends!

New Assault Hand Paddle Debuts for Backwater Paddle Company

Monday, December 19th, 2011

The Assault Hand Paddle by Backwater Paddle Company.  Change is always inevitable! 

What we really hope for, is that the change is for the better!  The Assault Hand Paddle reflects the latest changes Backwater Paddle Company is making to their legendary kayak fishing hand paddle collection. 

The latest designed BPC hand paddles will be made from plastic.  The Assault will replace the original, hand made, wooden Predator Kayak Fishing Hand Paddles.  The Predator lead the kayak fishing hand paddle evolution.   With the explosion of water sports, particularly kayak angling, the boats have grown larger to accommodate their environments.  Larger boats have made the shorter Predator paddle almost obsolete.

Assault Hand Paddle

New BPC Paddle...Assault Hand Paddle

 Below is the physical differences between the Assault and Piranha Hand Paddles.  The plastic Assault Hand Paddle will be 2″ longer and 1/2″ wider than the wooden Piranha. 

Assault Hand Paddle vs Piranha Hand Paddle

 The Assault Hand Paddles will be available Spring 2012.

ASSAULT…New Backwater Paddle Company Hand Paddle To Debut In Spring 2012

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
Sneak Preview of the Assault Hand Paddle by Backwater Paddle Company.
 
Notice the AWESOME graphics package on the blade!!
New Assault Hand Paddle by Backwater Paddle Company

New Hand Paddle Design

 The Assault Hand Paddle will be made from plastic, increasing its durability and fear factor!!

The Assault Hand Paddle will be available Spring 2012, with a MSRP of $24.95

The Paddle Matters!!

Backwater Paddle Company Survives 2011 Outdoor Retail Show

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
Ed and Kurt at the OR Show

 Backwater Paddle Company has stepped off the front porch and is now running with the big dogs!  After a trip out west to Salt Lake City, Utah August 3rd thru the 7th, this wonderful destination provided to be a pivot point of evolution and continued growth for Backwater Paddles.   We can see how and why Brigham Young brought his Mormon disciples to this area.   It is truly a place for the avid outdoorsman!!

The 2011 Outdoor Retail Summer Show is the largest and most significant trade show for any outdoor sporting company to be involved with.   This show is designed for the sports market manufacturer/exhibitor to meet up with prospective buyers and make deals.   As this was Backwater Paddle Company’s first venture into this massive show, we did not know what quite to expect.

2011 OR Show Room Floor

The size of the event is overwhelming.  You feel like a kid in a candy store as you walk through all the displays.  It is sensory overload.  Everyone has designed their booth for the maximum impact, both visually and physically.     It blows your mind as to how much money is spent by these large sporting goods manufacturers to grab your attention.  You think of any soft or hard goods sporting manufacturer, and they are here.

Fortunately our national distributor, Outdoor Specialty Innovations, was there to provide moral support for the show.  Having been to a number of ICAST Shows, OSI’s Ron and Pete, along with Kurt, Backwater Paddle Company’s vice president, provided the manpower to entertain all the potential customers of our paddles as well as the EAsy2Hook fishing products.

Pete and Kurt manning the Backwater Paddle Company booth.

Despite all the obstacles to get to this event, it has been quite the learning experience.  We have met some seasoned exhibitors and obtained some extremely useful knowledge for our future events.   Mostly we have learned…having a unique product matters!!   As far as displaying your product, size and being outrageous also matters. 

Although no orders were directly written, we networked with some of the industries leading retail buyers in the paddle sports market.  We obtained a number of solid contacts and will be working with them in the next few weeks.

Now that this experience is behind and we can look forward to next years OR Show with less trepidation, more imagination, and hopefully a new paddle product.  Our imaginations are at work already!

Time to get to work for the 2012 Outdoor Retail Summer Show!!  Paddle on my friends!!

ICAST 2011 Will Be Instrumental In Backwater Paddle Company’s Future Growth

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
2011 ICAST OSI Booth

The ICAST 2011 Showin Las Vegas last week was Backwater Paddle Company’s (BPC) first venture into the fishing sports marketing arena.  Our national distributor, Outdoor Specialty Innovations (OSI),invited me to attend as their guest.  Ron Baskett, OSI’s main man, and his crew helped soften the sensory overload by providing a booth chair  for me  to observe how the game is played.   I had to mention “chair” for the simple fact I spent a lot of time holding it to the floor, as I just blown my knee out earlier in the week.   Being in Las Vegas and confined to a chair was not the experience I had in mind for this road trip! 

Mind you, my full intentions in coming to Las Vegas was for the ICAST Trade Show experience.  I had to see and feel the atmosphere of an event of this magnitude.  Next week Backwater Paddle Company will be sponsoring our own booth (Booth MZ-163) at the Outdoor Retailer Show (OR) in Salt Lake City, Utah.  What a wake up call the trip to Las Vegas has been!

So being semi-incapicitated, I was forced to slow down, watch, learn and observe the tactics being displayed to posture your product before the respective buyers.  The atmosphere is electric.  You cannot imagine the scope of this venue.   It takes a couple of hours to saunter by and visit each booth throughout the venue.  Quite frankly, I’m not sure that I even saw every booth displaying their wares?  It was that massive.

The dollars budgeted for the displays alone by some of these well entrenched and major sporting goods companies is mind blowing.   Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent to provide the most attractive, ginormous and eye catching display possible.  Think Eagle Claw, Daiwa, Shimano, Rapala, Zebco all laying it all out for their buyers.  In this business, you do not get a second chance to make a first impression!!

So coming back to Florida was a bit titillating.  Now I had to face reality and the scope of the upcoming OR Trade Show.   Suddenly it was not just new ideas on how to market our product, but realizing how small BPC really is!   Now it becomes…how do we maximize our exposure without going bankrupt…basically, getting more bang for our buck.  Again, realizing that simply stretching our 3 x 5 BPC logo banner between two stanchions is not going to cut it! 

As we prepare for the upcoming Outdoor Retail Show in Salt Lake City next week, it is Backwater Paddle Company’s time to step off the porch, get down into the yard and run with the big dogs.  With great anticipation and some trepidation, we are hoping to make our mark in the paddle sports industry. 

At the ICAST Show we met, and will be networking with, some of the more experienced sporting goods manufacturers in establishing industry contacts for Backwater Paddles future growth.  As we work on a time frame for the introduction of our new Piranha-X hand paddle, these new contacts will be instrumental in achieving our goals. 

Now I sit here blogging, patiently waiting for my $2000 pop-up display to arrive here in Florida.  After observing the “minimum standard” of displays at the ICAST Show, we had to bite the bullet and not be the odd man out for the upcoming OR Show.  This short time frame between the events is all we had to work with in providing a unique and eye catching display. 

Actually, the graphics are what we hope to be the attention grabber.  This pop-up display is 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide, and collapses down into a shipping container.  My main man, Terry Griffin at Colossal Signs in Cocoa Beach, tightened up the graphics for the display.

So again, we wait patiently for the display to be sent from Rhode Island for our inspection and trial set up prior to sending it on to Salt Lake City.  How tight is the schedule you ask…the display is supposed to arrive August 2nd and we are on the plane August 3rd.

Panicking…not yet.

Entertainment Engineering Does Piranha-X Story

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

Fossil

Ed Halm found himself fighting to maneuver his kayak through the swampy undergrowth in the backwaters of the Econlockhatchee River in Central Florida. As a retired Navy officer and survival instructor, he realized the problem he was having was due to the design of his paddle: fine for slicing through open water, but for gnarly conditions, he wanted something with a bit more grip—something with the teeth to negotiate the hazards of shallow water. Ed went to bed that evening thinking about paddle design. At 3:00 in the morning he got up, started drawing, and by sunrise he had a soon-to-be-patented hook-and-tooth design that launched Backwater Paddles.

He originally set out to produce a line of full-size paddles, but quickly realized that prohibitive tooling costs made it impossible for him to finance the operation on his own. So he put together a group of investors, only to be stopped cold by the recession of 2008. Backwater Paddles seemed to have run aground. Then he saw a story in an outdoor magazine about a guy who used ping-pong paddles to steer his kayak with one hand while fishing with the other. And it came to Ed that he could adapt his design to make a line of hand paddles, which because of their smaller size, would be much less expensive to manufacture. In fact, he could have a buddy make them in his woodshop. Soon he was cranking out Predator and Piranha hand paddles, and acquiring a cult following in the backwater paddling world.

In order to take the business to the next level, Ed knew he needed to get his paddles into big box stores. And that, he figured, might require modifying the product. “To stand out on the shelf you need the cool factor. We had been making the paddles out of wood, which has a nice rustic aesthetic. But rustic is probably not going to cut it aesthetically in that kind of retail environment. Besides,

wood is not ideal for use in saltwater conditions.”

Ed decided to make a version of his most popular hand paddle, the Piranha, in plastic, which would allow him to pump up the color and graphics, as well as enhance its performance. He turned to Mark Best at VectorCAD for help in producing a prototype.

Working from the existing Piranha paddle, Mark developed the Piranha X design in SolidWorks, making it a little wider and longer than the original, with finished dimensions of about 22 inches long and 5 ¾ inches wide. This was too big for standard rapid prototyping methods. Besides, Mark wanted to be able to show it to Ed in the actual plastic that the product would be made in—Delrin® acetal resin. So he decided to have the proof-of-concept prototype machined by Proto Labs’ Firstcut service. “Once the design was approved, Ed was in a hurry to have something real to look at and I knew Proto Labs would turn it around fast. And I was confident that the Firstcut process could deliver on the fine, grooved detailing on the handle,” Mark said.

Days after Mark uploaded his 3D CAD file to Firstcut, Ed was holding the first Piranha X hand paddle in his hands. Delighted with the result, Ed sent the prototype paddle around the country on the trade show circuit to get feedback from customers. Because it looks, feels, and functions exactly like the real thing, people can get a completely accurate feel for the product. Based on their responses, Ed plans to make small adjustments in the design before going into production.

Gift Ideas For the Kayak Angler, by TIDALFISH.com

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

Tidalfish.com, a website dedicated to kayak fishing in the northeast tidal areas, from Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and North Carolina selected our hand paddles for their “Gift Ideas” for kayak fishermen.

Hand Paddles

Backwater Paddle Company Hand Paddles
Backwater Paddle company has produced two hand paddles that allow you to maneuver the kayak while still keeping a hand on your fishing rod. I have been using them for a few months now and they are great inexpensive addition to you kayak fishing arsenal. Back water makes two version of this paddle the Predator, which has a square design, is touted for use on Sit In Kayaks (SINKs). The Piranha which has a longer asymmetrical design is the preferred paddle for Sit On Top kayaks (SOTs). Both paddles are designed with a built in Hook for retrieving fishing lines, anchor lines, etc. The Piranha sports a scalloped blade edge for pushing off of rocks, pilings, etc. What a great present for the kayak angler who has it all. MSRP is $24.95. Their website is www.backwaterpaddles.com.

Visit Tidalfish.com at http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/content.php/756-KAYAK-FISHING-Gift-ideas-for-the-Kayak-Angler-Gifts-for-Guys-Presents-for-Men-Fisherman-Gift-Ideas to see the Backwater Paddles and other great gifts for kayak anglers!

We appreciate all your support at Tidalfish.com.   Paddle on my friends!!

World Fishing Network Posts Hand Paddle Reviews

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

Backwater Paddle Company Logo

All product reviews of our paddles are very much appreciated!!  Backwater Paddle Company truly appreciates all the time and consideration that goes into product testing and reviews of our paddles.

Jamie Pistilli, pro kayak angler of the World Fishing Network (WFN), provided an awesome review of the Predator and Piranha Kayak Fishing Hand Paddles earlier this year.

Jamie Pistilli has been fishing the waters of North America and the Caribbean for over 20 years, and although he has caught everything from tarpon to sharks, his specialty is trophy musky and carp fishing. Jamie is the host of WFN’s new show, Big City Fishing which is coming out in June 2010. Jamie appeared on The New Fly Fisher and The Kayak Fishing Show with Jim Sammons and was featured on the award winning DVD Game ON a Kayak Fishing Movie. He has been featured in numerous fishing publications including the cover of Ontario Out Of Doors and is a regional editor for Kayak Angler Magazine. He’s also a member of the Ocean Kayak Pro Team, and an active advisor, guide and fishing consultant in Ottawa, Ontario.

Below is Jamie’s review of the Predator and Piranha hand Paddles:

http://www.worldfishingnetwork.com/gear/reviews/piranha-kayak-fishing-hand-paddle-73063.aspx

 http://www.worldfishingnetwork.com/gear/reviews/predator-kayak-fishing-hand-paddle-72993.aspx

Thanks Jamie and the World Fishing Network for your continued support.  Paddle on my friends!!

Great New Florida Site – NativePaddler.com

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

As Backwater Paddle Company continues to grow and evolve, new paddle sites come online desiring to promote our products and company.  Any promotion about your products and company is worth its weight in gold.   Nothing beats target marketing than having an endorsement from fellow purveyors in your field, in this case, paddle sportsmen and paddle enthusiasts.  Nevertheless, you still want good representation for your company, as ultimately, your name is tied to your product.

The site Native Paddler, from Barb Langford residing on the west coast of Florida, is the latest site becoming involved with Backwater Paddles.   Barb, or Paddle Gal as she is affectionately called, recently put together this awesome site for the paddle sportsmen and enthusiasts in and around Florida.  The Native Paddler site provides weather reports, tide charts, fishing reports, tournaments and dealerships for the Florida paddle sportsman or sportswoman.  Where has this site been all along?? 

I went over to the “left coast” of Florida, as we Florida east coasters have denoted the west coast side, to have a chat and visit with Paddle Gal.  She was interested in becoming a sales rep/dealer/distributor for Backwater Paddles and our products.  Just being 2 – 1/2 hours away, the trip over was worth the time I would have spent sitting in my office, plugging away at my computer, wishing I was outside paddling somewhere.

Barb and I went for a paddle through Clam Bayou outside Boca Ciega Bay.  It was a quiet, overcast day, with wildlife in abundance.  We checked on the progress of some ecological rehab work being done in and around Clam Bayou.  Clam Bayou is a classic native mangar, thriving with all the natural species of plants and animals you could want to locate and identify.

As this was a semi-business trip, I brought along one of Backwater Paddles proof of concept/prototype Raptor Kayak paddles for Paddle Gal to beta test and provide some future feedback.   Paddle Gal took to the Raptor, like a fish to chum….maybe not such a good metaphor??

All in all, except for the trip back to the east coast (traffic jam for 50 miles) it was a great time and certainly a pleasure to have met Barb.  I look forward to bringing Paddle Gal onboard the Backwater Paddle Team. 

Visit www.nativepaddler.com to procure all the necessary information you need to have a great fishing or paddling trip around the great state of Florida. 

  Ed Halm Backwater Paddles

This is a photo Paddle Gal took of me on Clam Bayou

Again, for all you Florida anglers and paddle sportsmen, be sure you check out the Native Paddler site before heading out!!  There is a plethora of information on that site that will make your next adventure even more awesome!  

Paddle on my friends!!!

Kayak Fishing Hand Paddles Capture the World of Paddle Sports

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

Predator Kayak Fishing Hand Paddle in action.

Since the introduction of kayak fishing hand paddles, paddle sports, particularly the sports of kayak fishing, hunting and photography has embraced these simple, yet indispensable paddling accessories with open arms.  Having open arms, at least free hands, while fishing, hunting of taking pictures is what every paddle sportsman desires.   Paddle sportsmen want to focus on one thing and one thing only.  They want success in getting close enough to catch, capture or photograph their prey.   The last thing a paddle sportsman wants to do is scare their prey away, or not be at the ready, before they have the opportunity to perform.

Kayak fishing hand paddles make it much easier to keep fishing, hunting or your subject within the camera view finder without spooking your elusive prey.   The problem all paddle sportsmen encounter is how to stealthily maneuver their boat within close proximity while still accomplishing their mission! 

Compact and lightweight, kayak fishing hand paddles allow you to stow those bulky, seven foot kayak paddles.  Simply keep an eight ounce kayak fishing hand paddles between your legs, or within easy reach, and with one hand, stealthily move your boat to within range without ever setting down your fishing rod, gun or camera.   Now you can easily fish, hunt and photograph while moving your boat!

Previously, the kayak sportsman got as close as he could with his seven foot kayak paddles.   Once on target, he commenced to do what he came to do.   As we know, wildlife becomes very skittish when man, whom they view as a predator, enters their protected domain.   The natural tendency of wildlife is to move away from their predator, with stealth if possible.  The more action you provide in your approach, the faster and further they flee.   Wildlife often watch with intrigue as you approach from a distance, however, encroaching into their fight or flight zone, wariness ensues.  Flailing seven foot kayak paddles while in close proximity to wildlife is tantamount to certain failure.  They will soon be gone.

Kayak anglers continually find it necessary to stealthily move their kayak short distances to stalk their prey.  Fish are always on the move.  Facing a common dilemma as how to keep fishing, move your boat and not scare prey away, became problematic.  Having to break out their seven foot kayak paddle and lay down their fishing rod just to move their kayak a few yards put them in jeopardy of losing sight or frightening away their prized lunker.  Fish have eyes, and believe me, those eyes are always looking for predators.  No matter how stealthy you are while flailing seven foot kayak paddles, it is surely to grab their attention and send your prize darting away.

Duck hunters find kayaks as the ultimate method of quietly sneaking across lagoons, lakes or ponds.  Getting your boat situated in the reeds or cat tails, sliding into a blind or silently slithering along the surface is paramount to successful duck hunting.   Turning your boat for the correct presentation to aim your gun without sending the flock flying is easier said than done.   Again, having to break out your seven foot kayak paddle and setting down your gun to attempt a stealthy maneuver without scattering the flock is a challenge most duck hunters wish to avoid. 

Water fowl, shore birds and marine mammals live in a very dynamic environment and are particularly hard to photograph unless you have a plan, or a huge telephoto lens.   Kayak photography has taken off as the innovative method for obtaining those natural habitat photos of wildlife.  Half the battle of getting that perfect photograph is being in the right place at the right time.   Paddle sportsman, particularly paddle photographers, are taking advantage of the stealth that kayaks provide in locating and snapping that once in a lifetime shot.   However, just like fish and ducks, marine wildlife is easily spooked by flailing objects.  Breaking out those seven foot kayak paddles to maneuver closer for your shot is a guarantee that your subject will be spooked.  Photograph missed.

Kayak fishing hand paddles provide the ultimate opportunity for paddle sportsmen to stealthily maneuver their boat in any scenario.  Whether you are kayak angler, duck hunter, or paddle sports photographer, having the capability to stealthily maneuver your boat determines whether you become a player or get skunked.

Kayak fishing hand paddles simply allow you to put away those awkward kayak paddles, stealthily move your kayak one-handed and successfully  keep fishing, hunting of shooting photos.    

Piranha Kayak Fishing Hand Paddle

Terry fishing with the Piranha Kayak Fishing Hand Paddle