What a summer!!??

Well, cant believe that it was March when we last blogged! So what have we been up to?

The summer season exploded on us with an ever higher demand for our canoes than we had imagined possible. (Which was nice!) It seems that there is a great swell of people wanting to get out on the water by canoe, and many of those people also appreciated a well designed, well made, British product. So firstly and most importantly, “Thank You” to all our customers! Please believe me when I say one of the biggest buzzes the Hou crew get is seeing a Hou Canoe on somebody else’s car or van, driving off to another adventure! It always makes us smile…

We had some great times with our friends @Glenmorelodge, especialy the Canoe Symposium, great times with our friends @windermerecanoe and not fogetably some awesome trips down the river Wye. Next year it has been suggested we have a ‘Hou on the Wye’ weekend. Give us a shout if you would be up for that!

Now the fantastic Autumn weather has broken we are hunkering down and making lists of all the things we want to achieve over the winter, ready for next season. So if you have any good ideas, just let us know and we will add them to the list!!

Thanks for reading, more again soon!!

The Hou Crew!

“Inside the deal”: Glenmore Lodge, Dave Rossetter and Hou Canoes.

So, enough of all the ‘Official Press Release’ and blah blah blah, whats it all about and why have we been shouting about it so much? Well, simple, it’s a big deal for us all!!

We know at Hou Canoes that we have great boats, the designs are tried and tested and the manufacturing process is the very latest and the very best in the industry. Also what we have up our sleeves for the next couple of years we know will take us to being the most desired canoe brand on the lake and river.

However to get that across to you folks, the paddlers, we simply needed added credibility and increased awareness. This is why Mercedes have an F1 team, its why Nike spend fortunes on Tiger Woods (Well they used to!) and so on. However at Hou Canoes we don’t have budgets like that, in fact nothing like that! So we needed to think a little outside the norm. In previous lives working with other brands (Hou’s names are now forgotten), we have learnt the value of a combo using Social Media and having some great paddlers along side you. So when the opportunity came along to speak with Dave Rossetter and Glenmore Lodge we did all we could to make it work, just like we always do!

So after several weeks of ironing out what everyone wanted we had the bones of an agreement, simple as that!! Dave as a very experienced paddler, leader and all round top bloke could see we had fire in our bellies and that we would be pushing all we could to make the best boats possible. Simply, that’s what Glenmore Lodge need, they have such a huge number of paddlers going through the centre both on courses and staying whilst paddling in Scotland that they need the best possible kit available, and that’s what we supply. Simple!

So, what’s the next stage?? Well we will be running competitions for FREE courses and accommodation at Glenmore Lodge and other such goodies. We will be launching a new Lodge Spec for all our boats where you will be able to have a boat fully fitted just like the pro spec that the Lodge guys use, but maybe more importantly we will be using the Lodge guys and their experience with developments of new boats, and new kit over the coming years. As well as making new product and skills videos and organizing paddling events. We are going to be busy!

So I hope having read this far you can see why we are all so excited to be in partnership with Glenmore Lodge! No doubt, more news soon,

Oh and one last thing, it's an absolutely AMAZING place, if you have never been, you are missing out!!

Take a look www.glenmorelodge.org.uk

HOU CANOES NAMED AS GLENMORE LODGE CANOE SPONSOR

HOU CANOES NAMED AS GLENMORE LODGE CANOE SPONSOR 

2ND FEBRUARY 2015: Glenmore Lodge is announcing today that Hou Canoes will be the official canoe sponsor of the Paddle Sport department, the new partnership will run from February 2015 – December 2017. 

Head of Paddle Sports at Glenmore Lodge, Dave Rossetter says: “I am delighted to announce that Hou Canoes are our new canoe partner. The brand represents excellent quality and they are manufacturing an first-rate range of open canoes. Using the latest technology and materials their boats offer exceptional durability and strength - which is perfect to meet with the requirements of the Glenmore Lodge canoe courses”. 

He continues: “Our stores are equipped with market leading equipment from a range of leading sponsors, having Hou Canoes on board will further reinforce that we have the highest quality kit for customers”. 

The new partnership will offer course participants the option to use the Hou range of canoes which include their three layer PE boats – Hou 13, 14, 15 and 16 models. Annually the boats will be replenished which presents course participants with continuous access to market leading boats. 

Glenmore Lodge instructional staff will have the opportunity to provide feedback on boat designs and features which will in turn influence future developments to the Hou Canoe range. The Hou series of boats arriving at Glenmore Lodge from March 2015 include: 

Hou 13

The Hou 13 is a lightweight solo canoe that also has the capacity to carry a small load. The shorter length and responsive handling  makes it one of the most fun canoes in the Hou range.  Hou14 The Hou 14 is an ideal canoe for solo or tandem paddling. It is the bigger brother to the Hou 13 and provides a faster straight line speed and a higher load capacity.  Hou 15 The Hou 15 is a great all-round canoe that is both efficient at paddling and load carrying. It is an ideal choice for weekend trips away.  Hou16 The Hou 16 is a fantastic all-round canoe with plenty of room for carrying all your gear for multi day adventures or for taking the kids out on family day trips.  General Manager of Hou Canoes, Justin Snell, says: ‘We are very happy to be working in partnership with Glenmore Lodge, we will be utilising the vast experience of the Lodge team to further improve all aspects of the brand as well as working to further promote both brands through the on-going program. Watch out for further Lodge related announcements very soon!".  Each year, Paddle Aport courses at Glenmore Lodge are growing in popularity and has seen the roll out of increasing numbers of skills and qualification courses.  To see the full range of 2015 Glenmore Lodge paddle sport courses visit www.glenmorelodge.org.uk and for further information on Hou Canoes visit www.houcanoes.com  For more information or to arrange ay interviews please contact Marketing and PR Manager, Lisa Anderson on 01479 861 256 or email lisa.anderson@glenmorelodge.org.uk  Notes to editors   Glenmore Lodge is Scotland's National Outdoor Training Centre and has an international reputation as a leader in the field of outdoor leadership training and assessment. They also offer a diverse programme of courses accessible to anyone wishing to learn the skills necessary to recreate safely in the outdoors.   Some of the UK's most experienced and highly qualified professionals provide coaching and instruction in rock and ice climbing, mountaineering, kayaking on river, sea and surf, open canoeing, mountain biking, orienteering and skiing.   The Lodge is based in the centre of the Cairngorms National Park - Britain's largest National Park.   The Lodge itself has a climbing wall, gym, kayak rolling pool, sauna, tutorial rooms, a lecture theatre, residential accommodation and bar.

Where have you been?

Hello!! It's been a while since we blogged here at hou, but there is solid reason for our radio silence. In the last few months we've gone from being a company in the wings to a company that's very much on the scene if not creating the scene! All 5 models are now in full production and available to purchase, we now have boats in stores from Devon to Dunfermline and

this is clearly taken quite a lot of our time in fact all of our time.
So how have the boats been received by you the paddling public? At hou our aim is to provide you with great boats at great prices and it seems that we are achieving. Our first production boats are the lightest 3 layer polyethylene boats available today. Due to the time proven great designs they are also the toughest and stiffest boats on the market today, we have managed to combine these two vital aspects with great build quality. To produce boats like this was always our aim but to finally see the product in store and more importantly being purchased and used has been a great milestone for everyone concerned.
The most important thing we should say in this article is a big thanks to everyone who has helped us along this journey, from the shops that have backed us as a new brand to the earlier adopters who have left positive messages of encouragement on forums. We look forward to meeting you on the water.
So not wishing to take our foot off the gas where will hou be going next? For sure there are more stores that we would like to see our products in but maybe more importantly is continued focus on what we're about which is making great boats. On going attention to quality control and material development is key and whilst some of the team focus on this there will be other work providing us with "mid season upgrades" just like formula 1!!!
Do not fear about buying a boat right away as these upgrades will be available to all! The last piece of news for now is our soon to be announced 'paddle test' team who will be tasked with three areas of work, product testing, brand promotion and most importantly of all, making us laugh!!!!
So that's all for now a big thanks to all our supporters, more news soon.

In The Beginning!!

Hello!! and here is the first blog from the Hou Canoe Crew!!!


Not sure where to start but so far its been a whirlwind of epic proportions. Since deciding that there is a ‘gap’ in the market for a ‘New Canoe’ company (that’s funny when you have read the history and about pages on our site!!) life has been a rollercoaster. As you can imagine its not as easy as you would like!! We are not ones for meetings here, we like to keep things simple. It’s a simple company ethos, make good boats, treat people as you would like to be treated yourself, then go paddling, or maybe surfing, or maybe fishing or maybe biking. That’s what we are about, good boats and good times. Simple as that. If this company ever gets big then please can you remind us of why we are in it!!


So why have we started?? There are only a small number of serious brand options available in the UK when buying a canoe. The majority of which are made by large foreign companies who just don’t care about you and your canoe. They can pretend to, but I bet you all the money I can scrape together that the big ‘fat cat’ bosses of these companies wouldn’t even know who you are, never mind care about you and your boat. It’s a massive one way street, your boat is important to you, you care, you care its built well, you care its not going to fall apart on you when you are out enjoying your life, you care when you strap it onto the roof of the car, you care about paying a fair price for it, BUT!! does the company who made it care about you??? So then for these companies, its all about the ‘bottom line’. How much money can they make? At hou Canoes, yes we need to make money, we have families to feed etc but our main aim is to provide boats that will enable people to enjoy themselves, get out there and have fun. Its why we get up in the morning………….


So if you like what we stand for then let us know, give us a like on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.


And sometime soon we will no doubt see you on the water……..


More soon from the Hou Canoe Crew!!