2011 The Year Of The Etain

Here at Valley the New Year has seemingly came around rather swiftly, but the good news is the Etain is finally in production. In fact the first batch of composite boats has already left for the West Coast of America, much to the relief of our West Coast distributor! However with back orders, numbered in the hundreds, it’ll be a few weeks before we’re fully caught up. Hopefully nobody will be too disappointed by this small delay, the shear numbers of pre-orders catching us slightly on the hop but with additional moulds coming on line we will soon catch up.

For people who haven’t followed the Etain’s gestation this is our new expedition capable boat and sits alongside the Aquanaut in the current range. Its reason for being is to bring a more contemporary design to the current range and it should find favour with those preferring the feel of more neutral or Swede form hulls than Valley’s existing offerings. The Etain also features a fourth hatch incorporated into a removable deck hatch and improvements to the cockpits thigh-grip ergonomics.

The development of the Etain has been a 6 month project and has included several prototype versions and many hours of real world testing. This testing has included both single and multi-day trips in conditions as diverse as calm estuary paddles and trips in wild seas off the Scottish islands. Valley would like to thank all those who provided time and feedback during this process.

To find out more about the Etain contact your local dealer to find out when they will be receiving their first demo and initial stock kayaks