Valley Etain orange 536 HV sea kayak

VALLEY Etain RM

Valley is Europe's most famous and probably the oldest kayak company.

His British-style kayaks, manufactured strictly in England (Nottingham), were benchmarks for all sea kayak companies, kayak instructors and expedition kayakers.

Along with the world-famous Nordkapp, the Valley Etain RM is the Valley's flagship expedition ship.

It is a very fast, very directional, very long kayak, yet it does not lack the technical playfulness that Valley kayaks have always been famous for.

It can be maneuvered superbly and quickly when tilted, it can be kept at the front with incredible finesse, and its secondary stability is very serious. Despite the fact that it is a professional kayak for many polar expeditions, I would recommend it to any beginner who wants to buy a fast, stiff high-speed kayak. Four watertight cargo compartments provide extremely rich packing possibilities. It's fun to paddle with it in huge waves, and it's also a great river kayak.

The equipment is simple and robust in the kayak: they put in the Dagger Mamba thigh support, which for me is the best thigh support in the world (the kayak can easily be Eskimo!). Bulkheads cast from special plastic, which greatly stiffen the kayak and make it especially easy to drain the water of an overturned kayak. It looks puritanical, but it's still a very comfortable seat, with good thigh support and a low backrest that helps you lean back.

It is equipped with a metal footrest and a deep-reaching steel bowden skeg. (The steering wheel is not factory equipment, it is optional, the English are big fans of skeg) The day compartment in front of us is surprisingly large, and it is protected against water even in the event of a capsize.

And to this comes Valley's particularly strong unbreakable HDPE polyethylene, which is the stiffest 3-layer sandwich polyethylene in the world, as stiff as Carbon, only unbreakable. Only they can produce such 3-layer quality in the world, it is light and very resistant.

Length: 536 cm, width: 54.5 cm, height: 33.5 cm

Rower weight: 85-135 kg