The Pow Paddle, a “snowboarder’s ski pole,” may start appearing on the slopes in coming winters – including at Purgatory Resort.
The product, which got its start in Durango, was invented by snowboarder Ken Black. Black’s son, Ashton, who attends Fort Lewis College, and Ashton’s mom, Sandy, made it a family affair by signing on as co-founders.
The concept is simple but innovative: Snowboarders are often unable to traverse the slopes – especially flat portions – the way their skier counterparts can using ski poles. The Pow Paddle, which is made out of a stainless steel wavy tip mounted at the base of a carbon fiber shaft, allows snowboarders to steer, balance, push and conserve energy on the mountain; especially at resorts like Purgatory, which has gained the nickname “Traversatory” for its ample traverses and flat sections.
The paddle is more than just a glorified ski pole, said Ashton, who has taken on the business side of things: It’s a product designed specifically to benefit the stance and movement of snowboarders.
“The paddle allows for you to ... go and use your horizontal movement a little bit more, while standing up straight, as a snowboarder would,” he said. “... When you do propel through powder, it kind of (works) like a shovel … it compacts the snow behind it, and then allows you to propel off that powder.”
Ken, a lifelong snowboarder, got the idea for the Pow Paddle while stand up paddleboarding on a trip to Mexico. Shortly after, he showed up on the Purgatory slopes for the 2023-24 winter season with his snowboard and a Pow Paddle prototype in hand, built from an adapted paddleboard paddle.
Ashton, who is a skier, was skeptical at first about the concept – but that didn’t last long once he watched his dad traverse the Purgatory slopes with the paddle.
“I started seeing all the benefits,” Ashton said. “I started seeing how he's using (it) in flat sections, how he could use it to go up to the lift, how he could rest upon it … and that's when we kind of were like, ‘There could be something here.’”
Within a few months, Ken, Ashton and Sandy had applied for a patent.
Ashton called the paddle “revolutionary,” and said it’s already picking up steam in the ski and snowboard community ahead of its planned winter 2026-27 launch. The family plans to set up a demo tent at Purgatory this season to begin selling the product direct to consumers online through Shopify, with the eventual hope of bringing the paddle into retail stores.
Adaptive sports leaders and snowboard instructors and representatives from REI Durango and Backcountry Experience have expressed interest, and one early Pow Paddle model has already been sold to longtime snowboarder Bo Maloney of J. Bo Pizza & Rib Co.
Maloney bought the paddle off Ashton for $400 in cash following a Hawk Tank presentation – FLC’s version of Shark Tank. Ashton won second place overall and a $2,500 prize.
“After my (Hawk Tank) presentation … he was like, ‘I want one. How much?’” Ashton said. “We thought he was joking. … It was really, really cool because that was the first unit sold, and it was to a guy who knows business and definitely has seen the problem and probably felt the problem firsthand.”
The retail price for the paddle is currently set at $329 – though it isn’t officially for sale yet.
“The reason why (we chose that price) is because it's a premium gear pricing, and we're going for the best of the best,” Ashton said. “We're going to try and make it … the best strength and the best durability, so it lasts a long time.”
Because the paddle can act as a physical support, decrease the effort needed to get momentum and help riders avoid the constant sitting and standing usually associated with snowboarding, it can also be used as an adaptive sports tool and an aid for beginners, he said.
“It's going to be more older generation snowboarders and adaptive sports and whatnot, and maybe beginners as well,” he said.
The family is currently working on creating an official Pow Paddle mold to move on from early prototypes made from paddleboard paddles. The family plans to possibly take out a home-equity loan to fund the mold, rather than bringing on outside investors, with the intention of keeping ownership in the family.
Though the $2,500 grant from Hawk Tank was a significant help, funding is always part of the challenge, Ashton said.
No matter where the product ends up going, it’s important to the family to remember and honor Pow Paddle’s Durango roots.
Katz School of Business’s Michael Valdez, the Hawk Tank experience, Maloney, and everyone in Durango who has encouraged the idea is to thank for the product’s success so far, Ashton said.
“It really was the community that kind of kept us rolling ... It's really just (about) saying thanks to the community,” he said.
epond@durangoherald.com
