10451059_10154310095685048_51120261498137518_n

Who are Canoe and Kayak Store? Tell us a little about the company and its history.

Canoe and Kayak Store is an independently owned, specialist trio of paddle-sport stores based in Gloucestershire, Cardiff and most recently, West Midlands.

Our roots trace back to the year 2000 when Richard (having paddled since he was a child) was offered the chance to buy a canoe business. Loving the industry but not liking the company he decided to set up his own – opening a shop in Gloucestershire and leading to where we are today!

Is there one unique selling point you guys want to shout about?

I like to think we are genuinely passionate, not only about the sport and industry but about our customers, which means we offer more in a number of ways, for example; we strive to make sure we select the best kit for the person rather than our bottom line and I feel that’s reflected in just how loyal some of our customers are. For online orders, we understand that our customers usually want the kit fast and therefore send out all deliveries we can with next day couriers to make sure it’s in their hands before the weekend. We understand they want stress free returns and exchanges so we do our best to make that happen as fast as possible, free of charge. Finally, the small things, like a cup of tea or coffee when you pop in to one of our stores, outfitting your new boat to get the perfect fit (free of course) and having a store open every day of the week so you can always give us a call if you have any problems.

We all love paddle sports, love the industry and are glad to be playing a part in it.

10409417_10154258171510048_4141288327675989102_n

Which product/brand does every staff member have in his or her kit bag?

Ronnie (our Cardiff Store’s Manager) leapt at the chance to answer this one. 30 minutes later I managed to pick a few of his favourite bits of kit out of the list! His absolute favourite piece of kit is his Kokatat Icon Drysuit, coming in a close second is his 15 foot Wenonah Prospector, in third place is his Grey Owl Paddles Haida, which he firmly stated he wouldn’t paddle without.

Richard’s current favourite bit of kit is the NRS Zen, you won’t see him on the water without it, whether Canoeing or Paddle Boarding.

Darren (our West Midlands Store Manager) is particularly fond of his Palm Aegean jacket, perfect blend of features to allow him to use on and off the water

What is your best selling product?

Wenonah Prospector 15

10655297_10154745560265048_3366738011466757721_o

In terms of new products what are your predictions for the next year?

Good question!

One of the things we’re most excited about is the eruption of stand-up paddle boards both for whitewater and the sea. Manufacturers such as C4 Waterman are really starting to pump out some incredible boards. We often take the demo boards out to the local canal for a cheeky staff paddle.

As sad as it is to be excited about boots, we’re actually really excited for the new FiveTen Canyoneers, which are the newly updated version that should be available soon! Another pair that caught our eye at Paddle Expo was the Palm Gradient boots, we’re expecting those to be really popular.

Can you try before you buy?

You certainly can, and we encourage it! We have an ever-changing and updating selection of demo boats/paddles available.

905846_10154310095690048_1992306085880997571_o

What kind of kit do you have available on demo?

We have a demo page on our website which is the best place to look.

As you can see, we try to keep a vast amount of whitewater boats at Cardiff so our customers can try them out on real whitewater, which is a rarity in this industry!

We also strive to get the latest boats in for our customers to demo – for example we had our hands on one of only two new Pyranha 9Rs in the UK at the time! Make sure you keep an eye on our Facebook or Twitter pages to ensure you don’t miss out on anything.