Three of these have been broken so far. Always on the left side of the yak. I swap another in and then end up breaking another. I think mmiller hit the nail on the head with the problem, the carabiners I added are adding a lot more leverage to the part and just overwhelming them. Not a Hobie issue at all.
![Image](http://i64.tinypic.com/24b6eer.jpg)
Broken seat strap clip, ended up replacing both sides with carabiners.
![Image](http://i67.tinypic.com/73kl13.jpg)
Paddle blade broken off, flush with end of shaft. You can still see the part of the blade inside the shaft.
![Image](http://i66.tinypic.com/n5hrnk.jpg)
Local dealer didn't want to help when I called asking about the procedure to get them looked at for warranty since the kayak was purchased from a different dealer ( I just moved here recently). The owner said "I'm way too busy to mess with kayaks I didn't sell". The Hobie personnel were great on the phone and worked it out where the local dealer would help me and to bring it by their store.
I still would rather not step foot in that dealer and I wish Hobie had a way that small stuff like this could be handled directly through them. As of now it looks like I will just buy a new paddle (I have numerous but they are all a bit short for a 34" wide kayak), figure out what upgrades I can do for the plug/loop thingies and keep using carabiners for the seat straps.