Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts — we completely understand your frustration. A valve failure is a rare but real inconvenience, and we’re sorry it happened to you.

To answer your question about materials: nearly all inflatable SUPs, including ours, use the H3 valve, which is built from a high-strength plastic. It’s the most reliable option currently available that resists corrosion, seals airtight under pressure, and stays compatible with standard pumps. Metal sounds tougher in theory, but in practice it corrodes easily in water and salt exposure — especially around threading and seals — which actually leads to more problems long-term.

As for carbon, that’s a material we love, but there currently aren’t any proven, commercially viable carbon valve systems out there. If one existed, we’d be very interested — but for now, we use the most durable, time-tested valve option available.

Again, we appreciate you calling this out — and if you haven’t already, feel free to reach out to us at warranty@halagear.com. Broken valves are covered under our 5-year board warranty.