Good news! You can now order Vaikobi gear from TC Surfski in the US. No more uncertainty about customs duty!
I was looking for a new paddling short because my Mountain Surf shorts were chewing up my back where the drawstring and laundry tag was rubbing between my back and the bucket of my surf ski, and my NRS Hydroskin shorts were so hot I’d seek out water coming over the side of my ski just to cool off my ‘nads. So I was looking for something high waisted like the Hydroskin shorts, but with a lighter material. Most of the shorts I found on-line seemed to be made of some form of neoprene like the Hydroskin, so I was unsure if they’d be any better. Based on a post on Facebook, I thought I’d give Vaikobi a try.
Vaikobi is an Australian brand with no distributor here in the US, but they offer free shipping for any order over $150 AUD (about $140 US), so I ordered a few things to hit that mark. Their gear comes as either “V Heat” for warm weather, or “V Cold” for cold weather, and they had paddling shorts in the “V Heat” range which seemed ideal. Every item on their web order form has a drop-down for the colour, but there isn’t much point because everything only comes in one colour combination, usually some shade of black or grey.
The shorts arrived yesterday and I went for a paddle in them in 81°F weather.
First off, I should say that they look great. They really fit well, and they’re extremely comfortable. They have a flat waistband, and the waistband is high enough that it doesn’t rub between your back and the boat. The seams are well stitched without anything to rub on you or irritate and no stupid tags or hang straps. They have an inner pad, almost like a bike short chamois, but smaller and less stiff that doesn’t interfere with your ability to rotate in your seat. But most importantly, I kept cool, even when paddling hard in hot weather. And when I fell in, they drained and didn’t trap the water underneath. And after hanging in my bathroom overnight, they appear to be dry enough to paddle in today.
All in all, I’m extremely satisfied with them, and I’m planning to order another pair. I just wish they had a few colour choices.
Update: Three weeks after receiving my order, I got a bill from a customs broker who handled the order. They want about 25% in duty, plus two $15 handling fees, for a total of $95 on a $245 order (obviously I didn’t just order the one pair of shorts, more about that later). I’ve ordered a lot of stuff from overseas in the past, but never clothing, and never been charged duty, so I wasn’t expecting this. I don’t know whether somebody screwed up and misclassified the items so they got hit by a higher tariff rate than is normal, or if that’s just normal for imported clothing, but that seems like a huge extra charge that I was not expecting. Especially since I made another order from Vaikobi a week ago and I’m probably going to get another bill for that. I don’t know about you, but for me that really changes the dynamic of ordering. Not only are the prices going to be much higher than you’d think looking at the site, but also there is essentially a $30 per shipment “handling fee” from the broker. Before this bill, I was considering making a third order in the spring. Now, I’m wondering if I can re-purpose some running or cycling gear instead. And that’s too bad, because so far I love everything I’ve got from them.
Update 2: I’ve been contacted by Pat from Viakobi. He thinks that the short, because it’s made with a neoprene fabric, should be subject to a 4% duty rather than the 25.9% duty on other clothing made from synthetics. He thinks that might apply to the V Cold pant, V Cold Plus L/S Top as well, but unfortunately not the V Cold S/S Top and other items in my two orders. So that might change the balance of payments to the better for those items.
Update 3: Pat now tells me that they have their first US dealer, “TJ Surf Ski in Lake Michigan”, which unfortunately I can’t find online. Even better he says they’re importing their products into the US themselves through their own logistics facility. I have high hopes that this means the price you see on the order form will be the actual price you pay. Which is awesome, because I love their stuff.
Update 4: The US dealer is TC SurfSki, so now I order the best gear I’ve ever paddled without worrying about the duty. And so can you.