Seat buckle quality issue

Just wanted to share some info with everyone since I am not sure Hobie has volunteered the information. I don't know how widespread this issue is, but there was a batch of seat buckles made from inferior materials that shipped with some 2014 Mirage Kayaks. The plastic molded piece has slightly different geometry and the metal clip is made from a low grade steel that rusts very quickly. The plastic part has a different shape that makes it very difficult to attach the buckle to the attachment points on the kayak. It is pretty easy to identify these buckles and my Hobie dealer was able to get me free replacements for my kayaks. I attached a picture showing the poor quality buckle (one new, one used for a few trips) and the correct buckle. You can see the subtle difference in the mold geometry by the size of the small protrusion I circled in the picture. Just wanted to spread the word in case any of you guys have rusty buckles!

Our seat vendor took it upon themselves to copy the hook part rather than purchase our part from our molder... saved themselves some money I guess. They missed a few details... shape of the hook didn't fit the eyes in the boat and the stainless clip rusts.

I don't think that many made it into consumers hands, but if you did receive some... a simple call to your dealer will result in warranty replacement straps.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Just bought wife a Revo 11 and have had issues with the seat since day one. The problem is it doesn't want to clip in or unclip. It is very difficult and frustrating. Haven't noticed any rust issues.....yet. Have only used kayak about 6 times since purchased, and had the clip issue every time, only used in fresh water.

Thanks for the info.

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May the holes in your net be no larger than the fish in it. ~Irish Blessing
JFC
'13 Revo
'16 Outback x 2