Bullet Watercraft :: The Bullet Story

Bullet Watercraft started in 2008 after a discussion between longtime whitewater industry professional, Roland Stevenson, and engineer and recreational paddler, John Armstrong. Stevenson's RiverIndia was pioneering descents on some of the world's largest whitewater, through the lower gorges of the Tsang-Po River, and needed high quality rafts that would:

meet commercial outfitting standards
stand up to daily wear and tear against rock, sand, and big-water
look great in photos and video
ship to almost anywhere in the world
be affordable for everyday people who enjoy rivers

Research into the whitewater inflatable raft market yielded many popular Hypalon and PVC models that met commercial standards, but in the end, none came standard with all of the things we wanted to see:

Easily Customizeable Options to Match Our Colors and Personality
Wide Geometries and Fat, Buoyant Tubes with at least 4 Tube Chambers
Affordable and Fair Pricing: Reflective of today's economy
Minimized metal on the boat: no zippers, no key-rings
No bladders, thwart belts, or buckles and a strong strength to weight ratio
Plenty of handles on a side
Well-tended perimeter lines with multiple D-rings for gear
A solid thwart attachment system- no buckles or belts to chafe fabric or scrape skin

So after a well executed search, we decided to create our own unique design for a boat that made sense, with enough built-in flexibility to be customized for outfitters and private boaters wanting to set themselves apart on the water. After choosing a protoptype, we partnered with a production facility in the world's inflatable boat-building capital: China's Shandong Peninsula. We have worked with the same talented team exclusively since Bullet's inception. Degrees in engineering and over half a century of combined international rafting experience let us ensure quality and design a boat that focused on simplicity. For a name, we shook off the "Inflatables" label, because to us, inflatables sounds like a pool-toy. Instead, like a Bullet, our watercraft would have a smooth finish, a focused target, and finally some sex appeal.

We developed and field-tested our product and soon began offering Bullet Watercraft to the commercial retail market. In the end, we ran and continue to run Bullet Watercraft down some of the largest whitewater in the world.

We hope you'll join us in believing that great boats should be well-designed, affordable, and fine lookin'. Look out for more great Bullet products in the near future!