First the few times these days I visit desperate measures these days I find the staff friendly and helpfull and a well stocked shop , and I may have being singing its praise but for the fact that when I took up canoeing 7 or 8 years ago though it seems longer I bought all my kit from desperate measures at there old shop, being my first new kayak I thought not really knowing anything about the sport ,I found the seal around the cockpit was open ? Being a suspicious git why is the seal broken ? And shouldn't there be side pads for the hips ? To which they don't come with this boat and something about WhiteWater speck I think ? So I thought is that right and got on with it and made my own foam pads and sealed them in shrink wrapp and got on with it,forward 7 years still had the suspicion is the right? So did the review and mark the owner the owner got back to me to explain the first answer was correct and I was wrong ,OK I accept that , um thinking about it in fact I have never seen one with side pads beside my own made ones , and the broken seal well how do we carry a kayak ? Put our shoulders inside and carry on our shoulders , so in on this I have to apologise for my first rating , and do occasionally buy kit from desperate measures,

Fantastic outlet for all your needs very helpful friendly staff , well worth a visit.

Brilliant shop with excellent customer service. Always get my boats and majority of my kit through them. They have always helped when I have product issues or questions and my kit is always promptly available when I make purchases.

Went in today half an hour before closing with a list of things I needed to outfit my first canoe. Ethan got me sorted with everything I wanted without any pushy sales of the more expensive items and didn't feel rushed even though it took until closing time. Definitely recommend the service 👌 I'll be back again.

A good place to go for your water sport accessories

Very helpful staff who really know their stock couldn't find quite what I wanted so they have taken details and will let me know when it comes in. Will definitely be popping in more often.

I'd just like to say a massive thanks to desperate measures Nottingham For supplying me with my kayak and equipment. This is great shop 😊 So helpful and honest I got everything I needed before Christmas 🎄 at an amazing price 🙌 We all know its a difficult time trying to get equipment but they bent over backwards for me to get the things I wanted and at the best price If you've never shopped here before give mark a call he will sort anything he can for you 🙌 Massive thanks Mark See you in the new year 🤟

We are new to paddling so came here on the off chance. We are looking at joining a local Canoe Club and this outlet was mentioned. Anyway spent some considerable time with "Matt" who is an excellent ambassador for their shop. No hard sell just good advice from someone who is knowledgeable. Ended up with two Palm buoyancy aids which took some time. No hard sell / pushy sales / what can we get rid of! Very pleasant purchasing experience for us as being open canoe novices. Would recommend highly.

I have been out of play boating for a number of years and dropped in when the shop was closed. I was lucky that Mark was in and happily opened up and then got me upto speed with the latest equipment and kitted me out all from stock. First class knowledge, stock and a great cup of coffee. I cannot recommend desperate measures enough for anyone needing canoeing or kayak equipment.

Today we spent nearly 2 hours at the shop with James choosing a paddle board and all the gear that goes with it. We can not fault the service James gave us, despite being on his own and with lots of customers coming in he still gave us time to talk through our options and determine what suited us best. He still dealt with other people and gave us time to decide without pressure. He was fantastic with our two children and the dog, who all got fitted with buoyancy aids too! All in all a very professional and knowledgeable chap who made it a pleasure to buy from and a great discount too. We were recommended DM and travelled from Cambridge to visit and we weren’t disappointed. Looking forward to taking our board out!