I bought the new Hoku'ula model from Ian and Lauren in "mid-life crisis Ferarri red." As I understand it, it's Hypr's version of the Hurricane... and I wanted to say I am happy with it so far. I weighed all the options and decided if I wanted to be in the water on an OC1 this summer, going with Hypr was the best route. Yes, I had heard of some of the negatives but when I talked to Ian I was impressed that he was willing to admit that there had been some problems with subcontractors and design issues in the past and that those issues had been corrected in the new line. I do believe that Ian is sincerely interested in helping customers and provides good service after the fact. Every time I call him, he and Lauren are very responsive to questions, meeting up with you or problem solving. So after talking to a friend at my club who was happy with her Hypr Vantage, then trying out the demo for two hours, I decided to trust him with my business.
He's very accommodating and will let you demo as much as you want. Also, there were extras and goodies to sweeten the deal. The cover that comes with it is very nifty, well made and I think gives added protection to the paint job in our hot Kona sun. (Does it have the world's longest zipper??) The Hoku'ula is very stable and sweeeeeeeeet and fast on the water. I have had it about two months and have only huli'd once. It turns on a dime and is easy to carry. Other members at my club have tried it out and really liked it. Another friend who tried it out and liked it told me he would train on his OC1 but planned to "borrow" mine during race season. (Uh, not sure about that!)
As for customer service, I find them easy to work with. Ian gladly traded out my seat until I had one I was happy with. The rigging was a little tight at first but I think that better it be tight than too loose. A little soap in the sleeves and it was good to go. My 12 year old son uses it too. (see photo.) Great for kids because of the stability.
Ian takes a lot of bashing here, but I think he also deserves credit for supporting paddlers, our sport, and and offering affordable, good quality (in my view) canoes for the money. I think there are probably much easier ways to make a living than manufacturing canoes? In my opinion, I think they really do try to do a good job. So far, so good. I like my hoku'ula.
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Submitted by hoku.ula on Sat, 08/11/2007 - 5:15pm
Hoku ula
Good to see others happy with their Hyper canoe. My first hyper was a 2-man waveblade. it was the first generation canoe. not a problem in the world with it. Just a great canoe. no probelms with the yakos. (by the way we are starting to notice many other canoes are having similar problems with the yakos. either they are sticking or do not come apart after use. look ar the pegasus websites.) Canoe runs great everywhere I've used it. Ian and lauren has taken care of me as well as anyone i have recommended to them. At present it has amounted to over sixty people. Most are presently satisfied and there are some problems. so far we have resolved all but one. That person chooses to be bitter even though correction were made. Keep it up hope to hear more from you good or bad. Im sure like myself you are enjoying your new canoe. My next Canoe will be the new hoku lea, World Class boat ( The improved version of the Polaris) Ask Ian for a demo.
#1 Sat, 08/11/2007 - 7:29pm
Just happy--
As I was bringing my boat up one day, someone yelled, "hey, it has a Waveblade bottom!" Is that true?
I am definitely enjoying my canoe! Ian went out of his way for me, including giving me a rudder for an old Polaris that I was using and I thought I had damaged (turns out it was another problem) and has since been fixed by its owner. Still, Ian offered that to me just to be a good guy and I was impressed.
#2 Sat, 08/11/2007 - 8:06pm
Glad to see more peopel sticking up for their hypr canoes. Now I don't feel so alone. I love my waveblade oc-2!
#3 Sat, 08/11/2007 - 9:11pm
I am curious how the canoe is like the Hurricane, does it have a similar hull? Does it have the same volume in the deck?
Thanks!
#4 Sun, 08/12/2007 - 6:30am
ainokea
simalar hull with a rocker in the back.
great in the rough water, alos performs well in the flat.
surfs well without having to worry about nose diving on bigger swells. try it you will like it
#5 Mon, 08/13/2007 - 7:18am
Kewl! Thanks!
#6 Mon, 08/13/2007 - 11:15am
Thanks for all the suppport you guys ! I'm humbled by the comments.
As to Hoku'ula comment, the Polaris (Hokulea ) hull is derived from the original Waveblade hull design. And the Vantage is the "son of " the Polaris hull. Steve Blyth is the designer of this legendary hull series that has been a Molo Solo favorite for years prior and years to come. Steve also happens to be top notch paddler and Coach as well. His masters crew at States did a 7 min flat for the mile, not bad in any category.
As for the Hoku'ula itself, it is the smallest volume canoe we have and many have compared it to the Hurricane or even the Pahoa etc. There are too many differences to do an appropriate apples to apples comparison because the WATERLINE is much longer, rudder is much more forward, seating INTO THE HULL, nose deck volume ( anti-perling ), iako set up, very light ama ( to fly ) etc. You just gotta try it to see what works for you. Being that we paddle out of Kona, I cannot say I'm a good surfer ( not much surf to practice unless in winter season ) so I try to make sure the canoes we have give us as much surfing ability as possible without losing the "all round" capability.
Once again, thank you, any problems, comments or anything at all, feel free to contact me ianfoo@hypr.us or just call 808-960-4667
#7 Mon, 08/20/2007 - 9:54am
Not trying to start another pile-on-Ian thread but my understanding of the origin of the Waveblade hull is that Steve originally started with a surfski hull designed by Tom Conners.He modified it and that became the Waveblade. For me, the Waveblade was hands down the best downwind canoe ever built. The problem was the seat was sheer torture after about an hour and a half. Mercifully, Kai Bartlett redesigned it with the super comfy seat and that became the Polaris. Then the lawyers entered the picture..........But that is another less pleasant story.
Anyone have any more details on origin of this hull design? Tom used to build some really fast surf skis and canoes in his garage.
#8 Tue, 08/21/2007 - 5:01am
lowtide,
Was the Waveblade originally a surfski? or did it go by a different name?
Roscoe
www.outrigger.ca
#9 Tue, 08/21/2007 - 5:49am
I think Tom Connor made a boat he called the Cutlass once. It was "da Bomb" for one man time trials. It was a slender, delicate craft with a "not responsible once it leaves the garage" warranty. Jim
#10 Tue, 08/21/2007 - 5:54am
Open,
I was told by someone who knows more about this stuff than me that Steve Blyth bought a surf ski mold from Tom Conners. Steve converted it into a 1 man which eventually became the Waveblade. I don't know what Tom called it or if it even had a name. He used to design some really fast surf skis and one mans. One of the one-mans was the Cutlass that Jim was talking about and it was definetly the boat of choice for time trials..super fast especially in the flats. But like Jim said they weren't always the sturdiest of crafts. Both Tom and Steve designed excellent canoes but the manufacturing often left something to be desired.
#11 Tue, 08/21/2007 - 6:40am
Had a guy demo the new hoku ula the other day . wanted to compare to the vantage. for his size and weight he found out that the hoku ula perform very well. he now wants a hoku uka. He paddled hurricane. waveblade.kaimana and polaris. Now he just wants to paddle the new holu ula. You should give this boat a lookover and try it out. everyone whos tried it likes it.
#12 Thu, 08/23/2007 - 10:50am
Lowtide,
mahalo for the background. I had no idea that Waveblade's original working name was "son of Cutlass"...
kine kool to know that the genepool for Surfskis and OC-1's is so, ahem... mingled
Roscoe
watch for Goto's canoe reviews at www.outrigger.ca/forum!
#13 Thu, 08/23/2007 - 11:40am
My buddy just got rid of his disaster Hypr. Time for him to get a reliable rig.
Scott
www.fullblade.com - if you paddle, you owe it to yourself
#14 Sat, 08/25/2007 - 7:15pm
Here we go again.
#15 Sun, 08/26/2007 - 2:27pm
I own a Hypr vantage and was a part of the last thread that got too personal. After having problems with my boat, and posting on this site, there was a series of things that I didn't agree with. So I decided to stay out of it, with that said, Jon(the Oahu rep) gave me a call and we had a discussion that was productive.
Recently my boat has had more problems, and I have brought those problems up with Jon. We are planning to meet this week to hopefully alleviate those problems. so I just wanted to post saying that even though I am not 100% satisfied with my boat, I feel that Jon is doing his part and trying to work with the customers.
As with the problems I am now experiencing with the boat, they can be easily fixed and I am confident that Jon has the ability to take care of them.
#16 Mon, 08/27/2007 - 9:54am
Thank you iPaddle for your posts. The canoe you have is from a previous subcontractor and sometimes issues do come up that are unforseen. It was a different generation of canoe with a completely different build and accessories for seats and rigging.
In general though, given the number of canoes we've shipped, the percentage is about 1.5%. And we do everything we can to make sure the owners of canoes with any problems get taken care of.
I am constantly looking for feedback, feel free to contact me or any of our fantastic reps all over the world.
Aloha
ianfoo@hypr.us or just call 808-960-4667
#17 Mon, 08/27/2007 - 10:54am
If a manufacturer acknowledges a customer has a faulty canoe from a "bad batch" or faulty work from a poor choice of previous "subcontractor", shouldn't that customer have his canoe replaced with one from a "good batch"? That would be the least I would expect from a manufacturer who fully supports their product.
I don't agree with a full refund of the purchase price as the customer should have done more "homework" before making a decision on what to buy, unless of course they were misled by false advertising or dubious sales methods or a "good batch" doesn't exist anymore.
If you release faulty products into the market place without thorough quality controls in place, then you must accept the cost of "testing" these products on your customers, money that should have been spent on QC, prior to release.
Bad news travels fast in close knit communities like outrigger paddling and the manufacturers that do the "right thing" will gain respect and brand loyalty, the ones that don't, risk alienating themselves from the community and being hounded out of business.
Let's lift the bar and keep the sport a noble one.
Cheers Rambo
#18 Mon, 08/27/2007 - 12:11pm
being somebody who is entering the oc-1 market. I think all the negative press towards HyPR has deterred me form their products.
Especially by the last post by Rambo, and the previous threads that have been beaten to death. I agree with Rambo's last post and that is why I choose not to deal with HyPR. Yes I have never contacted them, but I feel that the grass roots characteristic of paddling is what makes the sport great, and word of mouth is more powerful than a sales pitch. Sorry guys, but I think you lost a potential customer.
#19 Mon, 08/27/2007 - 12:33pm
I look forward in anticipation in reading posts that has a tendancy to flush Ian out to defend his product. His editorials make for entertaining reading and certainly adds excitement to this website.
I have known Ian for a couple of years and paddled in the same canoe with him on several occaisions.
I don't own a Hypr... Probably, never will due to the simple fact that I have the patience to wait for a custom boat no matter how long it takes. Although, even if the opportunity presented itself... I still wouldn't purchase a Hypr.
With that being said, I would like to point out through reading the numerous posts regarding both Ian & Hypr that the guy is certainly trying (his best) to improve on his product. More importantly, I have to applaud his Oahu rep for providing much needed damage control once Ian enters the stage. I hope that he is being compensated well for being a spokesperson in addition to his role as a Hypr salesman. Ian, you should be fortunate that you have this person on your side.
Hypr is still in its infancy and will certainly go through growing pains. Fortunately, no one was killed in the extreme cases where canoes fell apart during runs. As for product warranty, yes I agree with Rambo that upon acknowledgement of faulty work or product that the canoe be replaced with one that is fully functional. Best to think of it in terms of pleasing the customer and paying it forward, rather than thinking, oh $%@, I'm losing $2800 of potential earnings.
Just my 2 cents...
#20 Mon, 08/27/2007 - 2:02pm
Hi Rambo,
JFYI, these canoes that you are referring to are still competitive boats. And some of them have won overall races in the past couple of years. The main purpose of changing factories has to do with an improved and cost effective canoe with changes that should surpase our competition. True we may have a long way to go but soon, very soon you will hear more and more positive comments about Hypr. They may have more hurdles to jump. But they are willing and still learning. As we all know, changes are made as technology improves. That is our goal, to be up to date with the latest and the fastest. As well as the “Safest†as safety is our priority. I know this as Ian and Lauren has made it their focus to put out a product used not just for the average paddler but also family programs and youth programs. This would require a diligent research and study of present conditions of canoe to prepare for the future.
All I ask from you is be patient and see what the future holds out to Hypr. You will be impressed.
#21 Tue, 08/28/2007 - 10:28pm
waa luva
Thank you for your comments. However , may concerns is for the love of the sport. I have look over Hyprs boats extensively and have found for the most part to be satisfied with its quality. As I said earlier, we have replaced canoes due to the fact that the customer did not know what they were buying (meaning the boat did not meet their needs or the canoe did not fit their size) So Ian was convinced to exchange the canoe so that both customer and hypr would be able to move on to greater and better things like r&d to improved our canoes.
I own my own canoes, and some are from hypr. They did not know which one I was purchasing. And so I myself am a random customer and I would stack it up against the best. As to quality, reliability and performance. All in that order as these are my main concern.
The only way anyone will know how good or bad these canoes are is to find out for yourself. I welcome any and all to check it out for them.
Presently some of the manufacturers for "Kaimana, Pahoa, Polaris and Vantage" have contacted us to do a complete examination. I will be asking them to post their findings. Wait and see guys you will be plesently surprise
#22 Tue, 08/28/2007 - 10:43pm