Company History

Joe Matuska received his first kayak paddle and boat in 1973 as a graduation gift. After swimming several times during his first outing with them, he came home with a broken paddle and a broken boat. Figuring that someone with a degree in Medical Microbiology should be able to fix a broken paddle and boat, he went to work on them. The next thing he knew, he had a new hobby which lead to a lengthy career in the paddle sport industry. In 1991, Joe started Aqua-Bound in Surrey, British, Columbia.

Aqua-Bound quickly became the one producer of plastic-bladed kayak paddles and known worldwide for offering the lightest weight paddles at every price. Aqua-Bound was also the first to introduce gas-assist molded paddle blades. In late 2008, Aqua-Bound Technologies was acquired by Bending Branches, moving paddle production to Osceola, Wisconsin, where we still reside today.