Don't understand the bad reviews for this business at all. My wife and I bought two Hobie kayaks with accessories from this establishment last fall and were treated fantastic from the start of the process to the end. I've even returned to purchase other "add ons" and inquiries on our current equipment. Seems most people that complain don't understand what "currently out of stock" means when they order online. Our in store experience was wonderful!!! read more

Great knowledge and service. They are the Kayak experts in WNY. The have high end camping equipment and can outfit any trip for you.

We came here to rent a few kayaks in early June. The owner helped us and was so nice! They had everything we needed and gave us a map of where to go! We had a wonderful time and were happy to support a small business. Also loved the "Cat Crap" lip balm we got there!!! read more

I fixed up an old Prijon Catalina and bought all the parts from Paths Peaks and Paddle. They were very responsive when it came to answering questions and shipping my orders. I would definitely give them my business again. read more

horrible customer service I been calling them for two weeks now and still haven't got a answer or call back and I order something online 2 months ago and still haven't got it read more

Goes above and beyond for the customer. I ordered a hobie mirage drive ST fin online and did not realize it was on backorder. When I realized it wouldn't arrive in time before a trip I called the store. Christine was super helpful, she broke up a set in a kit for me and expedited shipping to get it to me before my trip. Now that's customer service! Price was the best too! read more

Not sure what all the bad reviews are about?? We never had a single problem with either Chris or the gentleman outside getting our peddle paddle boards and kayaks ready for us! I will say they both sell and rent for the day! So they offer multiple options! I will say the only thing I found weird is you had to carry everything you rented across the busy street and put it in yourself, and return it back across the street upon returning! We are young and capable of carrying them ourselves! But my fiance and I had to carry all 4 of ours because they were to heavy for his family we were with to carry! So imagine if you are older and not with someone younger! But we had such a great time on the river and would return to enjoy it again! read more

They accepted an order from me in early August for a back ordered item and never told me. I've asked for a refund several times and was told they expected a shipment in September. Now it's two days from November and I don't have my item or a refund and they aren't responding to my request for an update or a refund. So basically they stole my money UPDATE - they did finally contact me and ship out the part i purchased. I revised my review from 1 star to 3 stars. I understand things being backordered and taking time to get it but I should have been notified of that shortly after ordering not a month later and I should have had an option to cancel. read more

Had a lovely experience here! I rented a tandem kayak with my boyfriend and spent 4 hours on the water. Really cheap to rent all day kayaks too! We explored Ellicott Creek and saw a bunch of great wildlife. Turtle galore!! Highly recommend perfect summer activity! read more

Paths Peaks and Paddles - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Tonawanda, New York

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I called for a refund since the product had been ordered for over 2 months, but was not informed it was on backorder until I called weeks after ordering. I ordered from this business because the product was out of stock everywhere else I looked. Paths, Peaks and Paddles did not disclose that it was out of stock/backordered with them as well, so that's kinda false advertising, but.... So when I called, the man who answered said my "refund was in process", and I clarified that "it would be on my credit card in a day or two, right?", and he responded "If you didn't call me, it would already been done". Crass, rude, unprofessional, bad customer service, and false advertising. read more

I avoid social media like the plague and have literally never written one review for anything, but seeing the negative reviews here compelled me to do so now. This place is wonderful. My husband and I took kayaking lessons with them and it was one of the best decisions we've ever made. We could tell that Christine and the other gentleman with us (I'm sorry, I forget his name) truly cared about our safety, and wanted us to have all the skills necessary to go off on our own. We had a great time paddling with them, hearing stories of their kayaking experiences, and learning. They knew we were taking the lessons in order to confidently kayak with our small children in the future, and Chris even scheduled a time for us to come back with the kids so that we could make sure we were all safe together. She was so patient when we brought our children, and we all had a great day. As someone mentioned earlier, you do have to carry your kayak across the road to their floating dock. I'm not athletic and quite weak, and I was able to do this. Actually, my husband and I were able to carry two at once. Of course, you would wait until the road was clear to cross. When we brought our children, Christine walked with them while we carried the kayaks. An experienced kayaker would have no issue with their dock. We were not experienced, so they taught us the proper technique. In fact, they even taught us how to get out on rocks and uneven terrain in case we had an emergency. If you go there for a rental, and you don't know how to enter the water using a floating dock, my suggestion would be to ask them. They'd be more than happy to show you. I can't recommend this place enough! Thank you Christine and PPP! read more

So, I gotta say that some of these reviews had me a little scared. Was this man the Gordon Ramsey of canoe rentals, and I was bound to be called a donkey and fall into the creek? Would my small children be seen as a detriment? Would they be called donkeys and pushed into the creek? Were my dad and I strong enough to carry a canoe across the street? What is the "right way" to climb into a canoe? So many questions. The store itself has several kitschy signs about unattended kids will be given espresso, kids watch your parents, and my favorite- a "your mom" joke hanging in the bathroom (I won't give it away here.) So between that, and the reviews, I knew I wasn't exactly getting the Willy Wonka of boats rentals, but I feel like there's some humor tucked away in this little gem of a store as well. So, I called and the owner was definitely a little gruff. Apparently you can't reserve a boat. It's first come, first served. But we were already in Tonawanda, and we rolled the dice. And it's a good thing we did, because they have plenty of canoes and kayaks (single and tandem.) We asked how this all worked, and the owner deadpanned "What do you mean?" but then was pretty helpful getting us outfitted with two canoes, paddles, life vests, etc. There was 0 wait time, and it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. You rent by the day, and it is priced accordingly. You can bring the boats to other landings, but there's a dock right across the street, and a pretty doable 5 mile loop on Ellicott Creek right there. We did see some wildlife- tons of turtles, a few ducks, and several types of herons (among my favorites!) We only began to see other boaters as we were ending our trip (near lunchtime) so it wasn't very crowded on this particular afternoon. If you have elementary school aged kids who are looking for a boating experience beyond the paddle boats at Canalside, but you aren't ready to put them in a kayak by themselves, this would be a great place to have a creek adventure as a family. We will return, and I am also interested in some of the other seasonal offerings, like snowshoeing, as we move into the colder months. And for what it's worth, I am pretty sure I got into the canoe incorrectly, but no one was watching, so my dignity remained intact. For now. read more

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I placed an online order 3 weeks ago and haven't heard back regarding an order status. I emailed them as well and never received a response. I tried even calling them and no one picks up. I would avoid this place at all costs. You have other options out there. read more

Not a good place to do business with. Sell items online that are not actually in stock, only answer their phone half the time, and when they do they staff are short and rude. Had to call multiple times to get a refund issued. Would not recommend. read more

The "team" is very helpful and accommodating. I've done the Tuesday evening paddles and a few moonlight Wine & Cheese paddles. Both were fun and plenty of staff to attend to the participants. Christine is great to work with when deciding which activities are appropriate for your level. The weather can impact the events so one must call for updates which I don't like. They could solve some of the communication/notification issues if they posted their events on FB and had a friendlier website. I find it difficult to find events. read more

Don't order anything online from them. They will take your money and sit on it without letting you know items are out of stock.

Ordered some parts to repair a Hobie "Click & Go" assembly. Was charged immediatlely, but had to call after a month of waiting. I was told it should be just a couple more days. Waited another month and called again. Was told that the person who handled this wasn't in, but would call me that afternoon. No call, but the next day I got notice of shipment and that the order was complete. I was sent one correct part, one part I didn't order, and three other parts that were ordered and paid for were not sent. I called twice over four days, but had to leave messages as no one answered. The first was a Saturday, so perhaps they were closed. My calls were never returned. Seems to me that this is pure theft since I was charged and clearly my items will never be sent. I'm sure glad these were not expensive parts. read more

This store is very close to where I live and conveniently on the creek. But the man who checked us out was not the nicest. And from reading other comments I can tell that's not a first. I have never kayaked or anything and upon entering the store I asked what the difference was between kayaking and canoeing. He looked at me like I was dumb and said "the boat...". *Obviously* then after a minute he vaguely pointed toward the upside down boats outside saying which was which. That didn't help and he never said how they were different. I was expecting more like how to ride in them or which is harder or something. I guess I'm left to Google it. We rented a tandem kayak and he did a quick demo of how to get in and out. He seemed to warm up a bit after we bought the rental. Once we got into the water we had a great time. You just have to decide if customer service would make or break your experience. I probably would just try another store before going back. read more

3.5/5 Hubs and I took a long bike ride to "the candy store for outdoor people". Hubs found this store randomly. He was looking for a place that could supply the canoeing materials that we needed and could provide information on various places that we could "put in." The guy at the store was very helpful. He didn't have the materials that we were looking for and or they were ridiculously overpriced (according to hubs.) We came with a list of 3 things but we ended up leaving with a book on the local paddling areas in WNY. When hubs questioned the guy about places to put in, he kinda didn't answer the question. The store rents, sells and does group paddling, snowshoeing and hiking treks. So it does seem like a locale for outdoors folk to get together. Overall hubs was looking for a local place with info and we didn't get what we came for. I don't know if we'd trek out there again. read more

Ordered a compass loader in October and was told that it would be in within the week and shipped to me. Called after several weeks and was told that it had not come. I cancelled the order and asked for a refund. Today I received the order. When I called, the guy that answered simply said, "ship it back." When I told him that I should not have to pay postage for the return his just kept saying that I had to ship it back to get a refund. He also said that he had already shut the computer down so he could not look it up. When I asked why the order had not been cancelled as requested, he blamed it on Hobie and Covid. Looks like I better just keep it and sell it myself on ebay since these folks can't keep their business straight. Do not trust them to give a refund and they seem shady. read more

I purchased a Hobie item from this company's website in mid-August 2022. Unbeknownst to me the item i purchased was on backorder. The seller never advertised or announced that until i called them in late September 2022 asking for an order status. I expressed that I'd continue to wait for the item until late November when I emailed the company twice asking them to cancel the order since I found the item elsewhere. I never received a reply from them so i called them on 12/07/22 and asked them to cancel my item. The person i spoke to told me the refund would be provided the same day...It wasn't. I have now elevated this issue with Paypal and will let them handle my refund. This company will not let you know if your items are backordered and will not refund you. They will literally lie to you. If you do buy anything from them be sure to do it using PP or other company that will help you get your money back. read more

I placed an order on their website for a Hobie Vantage chair on Wednesday, 7/22/20. I call PPP to check the status on my order and why it still haven't been shipped out on Tuesday, 7/28/20. They tell me that the item is not in stock and it will take weeks for them to receive this from the manufacturer. I told them to cancel my order as I don't want to wait weeks. They didn't refund me the full amount since I canceled the order. They never updated me with a delivery date status update. That due to Covid the manufacturer is running on 20% capacity. I understand all that, just return my money in full. PPP tells me that I will be unable to buy this Hobie chair anywhere else due to Covid. However, I was able to order from Southwind Kayak Center in Irvine, CA the same day including the chair being shipped on the same day. overall, PPP is very suspect on their business dealings and charging customers for items that they don't even have in stock. Conclusion: Paths Peaks and Paddle, Zero stars Southwind Kayak Center in 17855 Sky Park Cir Ste A, Irvine, CA 92614, 949-261-0200, 5 starts. read more

I will never return to this company because of their incredible rudeness and bullying. I can't believe this is how people run a business. Rude when calling to make a reservation, Rude when signing in, rude getting us set up with the kayak, and yelled at us for not knowing how to properly enter the kayak. They have no patience, hate their jobs, and seem incoinvenced and burdened by the customers. My friend actually fell in the water and they screamed at her about listening to directions. She was already embarrass and now was being punished like a child while soaking wet bobbing in the water. It's sad that the company and employees are such horrible people because the actual adventure was great. read more

I chose to wait a month or so before doing this review in the event that my opinion may have mellowed. It hasn't. I started teaching canoeing and kayaking over forty years ago. In the past decade I earned an ACA Kayak Instructor certification and I am a licensed NY State Guide. No part of that makes me an expert. There's always something to learn or a better way to do something. There's also a welcoming and friendly way to interact with customers and potential customers. Evidently these people didn't get the memo. Perhaps the sycophants around them lead them to believe their way of doing things is OK. I don't know, but some of the other reviews on here seem to reflect my experiences. Despite a less than welcoming experience at a PPP open house last season (where a friend with us chose to NOT buy a boat because of the attitude shown), but being unfamiliar with the Ellicott Creek area I decided to join this group for a Tuesday evening paddle a month or so ago. I don't announce my experience - I simply go with the flow - but this outing started with a cursory (at best) greeting from the owner of the shop. Next I waited around for the rest of the group to arrive at which point we began to launch the boats. When my turn came it appeared that my totally conventional entry into the boat didn't comply with the owner's thoughts so he threw his hands up in the air and yelled that he wouldn't assist any more if people wouldn't listen. He had a bad back. We were stupid. It was all very dramatic. Then we started out. I tend to hang back and let the group move ahead to set the pace. As it turned out a fellow just 10 feet from me tipped over just as we got moving. Not a big deal as he had a PFD on and we were just 50 yards from the launch and 50 feet from shore. Instead of taking the man to the shore a complete in-water rescue ensued involving three safety paddlers and included pumping out the boat. Going to shore would have been much quicker, easier and simpler - especially for the guy who had to get back into the boat. Anyway - then the tour guide (owner's wife) had the man continue on the trip. Now the weather that evening was nice - maybe 70 degrees - but it was very breezy. After an hour or so we reached the halfway point where it was clear the man was suffering from hypothermia - and we'd been going with the wind at that point. By the time we got back to the launch and after paddling into the wind for an hour the man nearly had to be helped up the hill to his car. Other than bad judgement there was no reason for this. The man should have been advised to scoot back to the launch accompanied by a safety paddler or two to put on dry clothing and grab a dry PFD. To have encouraged him to continue on otherwise was just plain foolish. Based on a total of three interactions with this shop I will make every effort to look elsewhere for products or services offered. There's plenty of other options in the area. read more

We called ahead and asked what the rental times were to make sure we had time to kayak and were told by a woman that we could pay for an all day rental, but upon arrival and meeting friends there we found that all day meant till 5 pm which wouldn't have been a big deal had we been told on the phone the time limit. Then upon arriving our two friends rented a kayak and my self and a friend shared a canoe. Instead of unloading the canoe across the street and carrying it we were told there was a launch site across the road so we backed our SUV up and unloaded from there. The woman from the shop came running down yelling at us. Literally yelling. Because our car was by the launch. I am unsure why that was an issue. We just gave her business money and immediately started to profusely apologize about not knowing we shouldn't do that, but she was just irate. I will never give her business money ever again. Had she walked up and said please move your car then that would have been different. No. You have forever lost my interest. I will never recommend this place. If you scroll further you can see other reviews that have had the same experience. Please learn customer service before starting a business. read more

So much better than shopping at a Big Box. Went to the snow shoe demo and had the opportunity to walk about 4.5 miles total in 3 different styles of snow shoe. Made the decision of which to buy so much easier! read more

I have rented from here a few times. Service: Great. They set you up, show you a map, and you're ready to go Prices: Fine, especially if you're up for a longer paddle Equipment: we rented kayaks and canoes. They were fine. Experience: I love the water. Ellicott Creek is not paradise by any means but it's very close. Within 30 minutes from leaving home, we were paddling away from the dock and leaving our troubles behind. If we had wanted to take the kayaks to another place, we could have. But walking across the street and getting in the water is just too easy. read more

Awesome place. The owner is knowledgeable and cool. If you need a kayak or other outdoor equipment this is the place.

This was 3 years ago and it still makes me cringe when I think about it. We went with my 3 kids, my brother and his wife, and my father to enjoy a beautiful day canoeing. Getting things set up at their shop was fine and we enjoyed a great couple hours on the water. It was the wife who got us started and fitted and going. After we finished and were carrying our boats back up, my brother had pulled his truck along the public road to load his canoe as they brought their own. The husband (owner) completely flipped out and while yelling at us (and my 9 year old son who was right with me), he dropped the "F bomb" right in my face. Apparently, he was incredibly upset that my brother pulled his truck up on the side of the road. It was very clear that this guy has no social tact and no customer service concern. I was happy that we had a nice day on the water, but rest assured, I will never allow anyone I know of to go back to their business. It left such a sour taste in our mouths and I can still feel myself cringing from having him use such foul language with children right in front of him. Some people just don't deserve to be in business. read more

Whoever drives the black pick up needs a lesson in driving. He made an ILLEGAL UTurn and cut me off causing me to slam on my breaks. I had my two dogs in car and they could've been hurt if I hadn't been more of a defensive driver. Terrible representation of your company, and the next time you or your employee wants to drive like a scumbag, don't use a company car. Based on this encounter if ever faced with needing services from a company like yours I will make sure to find help from another. When your in that company car you REPRESENT your company!!! read more

I have shopped and rented from this company on numerous occasions and I am very surprised at a few of the reviews here. I have never had anything but favorable experiences with these people, and I consider myself to be a discerning, even demanding customer - far from a "sycophant". One of the reviews is highly suspect in my opinion, it smacks of being from a competitor. The other, well, that is something I never saw myself. Yes, the prices are slightly higher than chain stores, but the quality of the merchandise is very much higher. The staff (Orren and Christine) are extremely knowledgeable and you will have good service on any concerns about the products you bought. Their sunset paddles at Wilson are really beautiful and contemplative in my view. As a small business they can get short handed in a rush, but a little courtesy and patience goes a long way toward having a very good experience on the water. Wherever you go, you bring yourself. read more

Paths Peaks and Paddles - Sunset, Lake Ontario at Wilson. - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Tonawanda, New York

Store staff are knowledgeable. Does not pressure you to buy. Kayak instruction was friendly and helpful. Top of the line gear and informed staff. read more

I will never be returning to Paths, Peaks, and Paddles for a number of reasons. We tried to kayak at Canalside and the wait was too long so we looked up alternative places to go. Drove out to PPP to check it out after calling and finding out there was no wait for kayak rentals. The female behind the counter kept bringing up the fact that she had our credit card information, should anything happen. She brought up the fact that she had it several times, which did not ease our concerns for our financial security. We were renting a tandem kayak, which she then explained how frustrating it would be and how we would want to kill each other - not a great way to start out. We were told there was a kayak launch in the creek and we could go outside to get our kayak and get started after signing a waiver - fine. We go outside to find that we need to carry this ridiculously heavy kayak, all alone, across a busy street - really safe! We then go down a hill to see this "kayak launch" that is actually a floating dock and have to find a way to get both of us into the kayak. No wonder he kept mentioning that "one wrong move and we would be with the fishes." With the state of that creek and how disgusting it was, I doubt any fish are even alive in there. We kayaked for a couple hours and getting out of the kayak safely on to the floating dock was even more of a disaster. Save yourself the possible injury and over priced kayak rental and avoid this place. He even asked for a good review and to tell our friends that he is a hidden gem for kayaking! Yeah, okay buddy. No thanks. read more