Support American Whitewater! Support American Whitewater!

[please login to make this ad block disappear]

Articles

Innova Kayak

3474   0   1   0   0  
 
Comments (0)
Innova Kayak - 4487_innovalogo_1274896702

Brand Info

Core Products
Boats

Contact

Phone
+1 360.707.2855

Address

Address
11781 A Watertank Road
City / Town
Burlington
US State / Canada Province
ZIP / Postal Code
98233
Country
Innova is located between Seattle and Vancouver, BC, near the world famous paddling of the San Juan Islands and the Salish Sea. It is owned by partners Tim Rosenhan and Paul Neutz. Tim Rosenhan runs the day-to-day operations. When you call, there's a good chance you'll get Tim on the phone (except during the busy season). Why did we do it?

In the early 90's Innova introduced high-end inflatable touring kayaks to the North American market. Before these kayaks came onto the North American paddling scene, the only inflatable kayaks available were vinyl pool toys or whitewater specific "Duckies" for river outfitters.

As the walls of Eastern Europe tumbled down, Paul visited his hometown, Prague, and couldn't help but notice people in inflatable kayaks paddling the Vltava river which runs through the city. The quality of these boats were unmistakable. They were made of the same durable material as Zodiacs and whitewater rafts.

And the inflatable boats were bright orange, a legacy of darker times when the communist government demanded that the kayaks were made out of bright materials so that people trying to escape could easily be picked out as they floated down the river.

To Paul and Tim, who share a love of kayaking, it seemed that these boats were the perfect marriage of performance and portability...and they would be loved by North American paddlers. The Czech factory, which Paul and Tim later partnered with, had a long history -- they had been building inflatable boats for the world since 1950.

And we were right!

As we began selling Innova boats, people began buying them.

• People who loved kayaking but had no good place to store their boats
• People who loved to travel
• People who enjoyed the easy transport and quick assembly of an inflatable kayak

And as people began buying them, they began talking about them. And more boats sold. And people continued to talk about them and buy them and use them and love them. Innova has received more awards than any other inflatable kayak brand!

And although Tim would rather be paddling, he always gets a kick when customers send in photos and stories from faraway places involving water, fun, and Innova kayaks.

One of Tim's favorite stories is when real-world adventurer, Kira Salak, took her Innova Safari on a 600-mile solo expedition down the Niger River to Timbuktu. Deep into the Sahara, Kira had to outpaddle some threatening Toureg tribesmen as they chased her in their dugouts. Tim loves that Kira could count on her Innova in a pinch.

Paul and Tim helped raise the awareness of the value, durability, and performance of Innova inflatable kayaks. Recent innovations include the introduction of "PVC free" materials offering the same durability but a greener future.

Experience Matters

Innova now offers boats for every paddling niche -- from expedition sea kayaks to whitewater canoes.

Map

Swap Start/End

User comments

There are no user comments for this listing.
Already have an account? or Create an account

Surfrider Foundation
See the AUP for our Acceptable Use Policy and a Privacy Statement. Verein Playak is responsible for all editorial content on this site (including all graphics). No part of this site may be duplicated in any way without explicit permission from Verein Playak. Verein Playak takes great care to only publish original content, but since part of the content is user generated, we cannot always guarantee this 100%. If you notice any copyright violations, please let the editors know through the contact form and they will take appropriate action immediately. As a news and information platform, we republish small text snippets and thumbnail images, but always link to original content on other sites, and thus aim to adhere to a 'Fair Use' policy. If you believe we violate this policy in any particular case, please contact us directly and we'll take appropriate action immediately.