Innovation

Innovate Then
Jim Henry, Mad River Canoe company founder, designed and built the first Malacite right around 1971. He then raced in – and won – the Downriver National Championship and the rest, you know. Word spread and demand grew. A tradition of innovation was born.

From the beginning, Mad River Canoe explored new designs and experimented with new materials.  We were the first to introduce Kevlar™ to the canoe industry and among the pioneers to first mold our own Royalex® canoes. We now offer a wider variety of hull designs than any other canoe manufacturer and continue to push ourselves and our designs to new levels of performance. Our efforts have been rewarded with competitions won, accolades earned (including 3 “Manufacturer of the Year” awards from Canoe & Kayak magazine) and, most importantly, a growing base of loyal customers.

Innovate Now
After more than 35 years in this industry, we have never lost sight of our founder’s original mission to build a better canoe. Our devotion to that ideal is not measured by a time clock or marked in a ledger. It is incorporated in every new design and evident in every innovation. We don’t innovate for glory, we innovate for results. And that you can feel with every stroke of the paddle.

The following pages introduce you the realization of our promise and our passion. We invite you to experience our heritage of fine craftsmanship combined with innovative materials and design in the 2009 line-up of truly modern classics.