Costco Has a Surprising Recall Over Safety Issue

Consumers should immediately stop using the paddle boards, safety officials say, as they can come apart and posing a growing risk.

Paddle boarding has been around for a long time and it has been growing more popular in recent years.

The reliability of the equipment is, naturally, paramount, but there have been problems recently with paddle boards that were sold exclusively at Costco Wholesale  (COST) - Get Free Report and are being recalled.

The recall involves Body Glove Tandem Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Boards, ULI Inventor Inflatable Paddle Boards, ULI Zettian Inflatable Supyaks and ULI Lila Inflatable Supyaks, which is a combined stand-up paddle board and kayak hybrid.

About 13,300 are being recalled, according to a filing with the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, which noted that roughly 7,000 of the Body Glove Boards were sold in Canada.

The glue on the inflatable paddle boards can separate at the seams and the paddle boards can deflate unexpectedly, posing a drowning hazard, according to the agency.

The Body Glove Tandem Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board is silver and black. The Body Glove logo is on the top and bottom of the board. The word “Tandem” is on the side rails. The Body Glove logo is on the black carrying bag. 

The ULI Inventor Inflatable Paddle Board is light and dark blue with “ULI” in dark blue on the nose of the board. “Inventor” is on the side rails. The ULI logo is on the black carrying bag.

Three Reports of Paddle Boards Deflating

The ULI Lila Inflatable Supyak has a hot pink and blue yoga mat traction pad with “ULI” in white on the tail of the board. It has a black inflatable kayak seat. “Lila” is written on the side rails. The ULI logo is on the black carrying bag.

Consumers are being asked to immediately stop using the recalled boards and return them to Costco for a full refund or to contact Surf 9 for instructions on how to receive a refund. Costco is contacting all known purchasers directly.

Surf 9 has received three reports of the Body Glove boards deflating. No injuries have been reported.

The Body Glove boards were sold from December 2021 through July 2022 for about $630. The ULI boards were sold from July 2021 through July 2022 for between $700 and $800.

The paddle boards are made by Jiangxi Aike Outdoor Sports in China and imported by Surf 9 LLC, in Bonita Springs, Florida

For more information, consumers can call Surf 9 at 1-866-696-9257 from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm ET or by email at [email protected].

The affected products were sold from December 2021 to July 2022 in the United States and March 2022 to July 2022 in Canada.

Standup Paddle Boarding Becoming More Popular

Founded in 2005, Surf 9 is an official licensee of Body Glove, Nautica, Spyder, Airwalk and Eddie Bauer brands, according to the company's website.

The company's footwear division features an assortment of water shoes, sandals and lifestyle footwear for both men and women. Surf 9's water sports division includes stand-up paddle boards, kayaks, surfboards, wakeboards, and towables.

Surf 9 describes itself as one of largest manufacturers of paddle boards in the world. The firm has been listed on the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies in both 2018 and 2021.

Roughly 3.7 million people took part in standup paddle boarding in 2021, Data gathered from Google Trends shows that searches for paddle boarding were up over 300% in 2021 when compared with 2019.

The current form of standup paddleboarding originated in Hawaii in the late 1940s, but records of earlier forms have been found as early as 3,000 B.C. and its iterations span over many regions such as Peru, the Levant, Italy, and China.

Costco posted weaker-than-expected first quarter earnings last month as membership revenues missed Wall Street forecasts amid a pullback in sales over the final weeks of autumn.