Whatever happened to the Valken VSL?

[JonM]

In researching low cost options for someone looking for a modern loader, I looked to see what the VSL was going for these days. They weren't released all that long ago, but it looks like Valken has already discontinued them. Personally, I've been very happy with mine and I've never had any issues with it. Does anyone know why the product was killed off?

[VonBraun63]

Not personally sure but it’s usually one of the following
intellectual property infringement
sold design to another company
ROI was horrible

[Magmoormaster]

Hmm, I could have sworn they discontinued the Vmax, not the VSL. That's both good and bad. I don't think the VSL really competed with the Spire IR or the DYE LTR. It was kinda flimsy by comparison. Of the 2 (Vmax and VSL), the Vmax both fits the brand better (entry-mid level) and is far more competitive in the market. Its only real competition at that price point is/was the Halo Too, whose future is questionable, and now the Speedster. Vmax is unquestionably a more modern hopper than the Halo Too, and much faster than the Speedster.


...Point is, theVSL was a good hopper, but I don't think it matched the quality and performance of similar priced hoppers.

[JonM]

That sounds about right. Now I think of it, Valken had it priced at $99 with a speed feed included around the same time the LTR was launched. If they lowered the price to compete, it probably would have made the line even more of a financial failure. It's a shame, really. The VSL had some interesting features going for it that other loaders didn't have at the time.

[Cyberpyr8]

I've also noticed that Valken is pushing being more of a reseller of other brands as of late. They have Umerex, PE and other brands they resell. I know they have done that for a while but they seem to not have many Valken unique products anymore. A few years ago they had products and resold other products too. But if you look now they don't really sell anything other than a few soft goods of their own. They still have some Blackhawks, air tanks and low end masks but everything else is being made by someone else. I think they have quietly gotten out of manufacturing most things besides paint and soft goods. Even soft goods might be left over stock.