The highly anticipated 2025 Product of the Year Awards Ceremony made its exciting return to this year’s Paddle Sports Show in Strasbourg on September 25, 2024. Featuring a wide array of innovative boats, gear, accessories, and products, the ceremony showcased the latest advancements in paddle sports technology and design!
A big congratulations to Aqua Bound for winning the Dealer Buzz Category for their revolutionary technology – LamLok! The Dealer Buzz category is awarded based on online votes cast by dealers.
See It. Believe It. Experience the Difference.
Lam-Lok™ mechanically bonds the laminated blade layers together with an aramid thread, dramatically extending the life of your paddle by resisting impact, abrasion, and delamination.
What led Aqua Bound to launch this revolutionary technology? For that we’d like to introduce you to Mac Sandberg, Aqua Bound’s Director of Revenue Growth and Innovation. Mac is a key member of the Aqua Bound team who oversees the development of innovative technology.
Let’s hear from Mac as he shares an insider perspective on how Aqua Bound creates high-quality products that push the boundaries of what’s possible…
Mac: At Aqua Bound, we are all about fun, taking risks, and exploring new horizons. But when it comes to product development, we take customer needs seriously. That’s why we’re stoked to introduce our new Lam-Lok™ technology, bred from consumer and market research.
We talked with people at every level of the whitewater kayaking community—from beginners to seasoned pros—to find out what they love about their gear and what they wish could be improved. We then used that information to develop the Aerial lineup and Lam-Lok™.
When surveying whitewater kayakers, the number one priority that rose to the top was durability. Here’s what they told us when we inquired about the primary durability issues they face with their current paddles:
Delamination: The blades delaminate—the layers peel apart and become susceptible to water. Once water intrudes, it’s game over. The blades become ineffective, resulting in a discarded paddle.
Abrasion and Impact: Whitewater is a sport that constantly takes kayakers through rocky areas, gravel and debris. Not to mention the concrete of man-made parks. The constant scraping, rubbing, and slamming against rough surfaces can lead blades to wear down to the shape of a Q-tip or become chipped, uneven and unstable.
The Task: Design For Durability
Mac: With durability being the priority for most kayakers, paddlers need to have confidence their gear can handle the physical demands of the activity, especially when navigating rough and life-threatening waters.
So, we took this feedback and set out to develop new technology for whitewater paddle blades to address this most important need.
How Lam-Lok™ Delivers Game-Changing Durability
Mac: After we determined to pursue a design that could both prevent delamination and be more abrasion and impact-resistant, our team began exploring existing technologies used in other sports, such as golf and hockey.
Revolutionary Technology for Enhanced Durability: Lam-Lok™
Aerial’s blades are reinforced using a groundbreaking technology called Lam-Lok™. This involves the use of aramid thread sewn onto the crucial edges of the blades, using a specialized sewing machine. During the initial stages of development, some of the prototypes were hand-stitched and given to field testers.
This technique proved to be so effective at preventing delamination that the testers are still using them, even after 100 days on the water.
Our aramid stitching technique is performed on dry fiberglass or carbon material, before the resin application process. The blade edges are stitched back and forth with over 33 feet (10 meters) of aramid thread per paddle.
Throughout our in-house testing, we’ve found Lam-Lok™ to be 5-10 times more effective at fighting delamination and resisting abrasion than other paddles currently on the market, including our own Whiskey and Tango blades.
As we’re sure you’re aware, there are a ton of whitewater paddle brands out there. But we’re confident that Lam-Lok™ technology puts Aqua Bound and the Aerial among the best of the best.
It’s a game-changer, folks!
Find out more on Aquabound Lam-Lok here!
Check out the Industry Party video below ⬇️
