Camano vs Tiger Shark

Have you ever wondered what our paddles can survive?

We think about this a lot. And we run them through several tests challenging their strength and durability but here is one test we hadn’t thought of: How would the Camano do against Jaws?

Yes, we do mean Sharks.

We hadn’t tested our paddles against shark attacks, nor did we want to. In our mind, we hoped none of our paddlers would ever have a run in with one of the ocean’s fiercest predators, but paddling can take us on the most unexpected adventures, good and bad.

You may have seen the viral video already, but we were lucky enough to speak with Scott Haraguchi about his recent encounter with a tiger shark while kayak fishing off the coast of Hawaii. If you haven’t see the video yet, here it is:

Here is a close up of the encounter with the Camano paddle just to the left of the kayak.

A tiger shark off the coast of Hawaii attacking a fishing kayak

Scott shared this with us, “I had put the paddle in the water on the left side of the kayak because I was going to sit side saddle on the right side of the kayak to access my fish bag behind me. I spun back around, put both feet in the water when the shark attacked off the left side of the bow. It slid its way down the left rail of the kayak with its mouth partially open and I reflexively pushed it off the deck with my left foot (all subconscious).

It must've run into the Camano blade with its teeth and there's just some minor scratches and one tear in the fiberglass blade. The Camano paddle withstood a shark attack!

I absolutely love that paddle. Often I paddle 10 miles but with aid of a Bixpy electric motor. I'm 61 yrs old.”

Everything happened so quickly, and we are very happy that Scott was not hurt in the encounter and his instincts kicked in.

Not only was Scott okay, but the Camano survived with just a few teeth marks as shown in the next few images.

The Camano paddle with minor damage after shark attack

An additional image of the Camano paddle after being part of a shark attack

This specific Camano is roughly 6 years old and has many miles and adventures under its belt, but with it continuing to be structurally intact after this experience, we anticipate many more days on the water.

Scott made a second video detailing the damage to his paddle and kayak. He also shares why he uses a low angle touring paddle for kayak fishing.