The Värmdö kayak, a concentrate of natural materials

Flax, cork and bio-based resins. These three materials are part of Melker of Sweden’s secret recipe for making its kayak. Awarded a prize in the sea kayak category at the Paddle Sports Show in Strasbourg, France, last September, the Swedish company worked with several partners to design the Värmdö, a lightweight kayak for touring and leisure.

“Our all-natural, sustainable and high-performance construction combines partially plant-based resin and flax fibres with a solid cork core, enabling our kayaks to achieve the highest possible mechanical properties,” comments Melker of Sweden, founded in 2015 in Hammarö (Sweden) by entrepreneur and designer Pelle Stafshede.

Constructed using Bcomp linen ampliTex fabrics and a solid cork core this 4 metre long kayak weighs less than 20 kilos. “These kayaks are a perfect example of the versatility of our technologies, enabling Melker of Sweden to create truly innovative and sustainable kayaks for everyone. This award is great recognition of their work and highlights a promising direction for the industry, says Patrick Vuagnat, director of sports and leisure at Bcomp.

By 2025, all Melker of Sweden models will feature this same construction approach, incorporating Bcomp linen reinforcement fabrics, Amorim cork, and Sicomin vegetable resins and gel coat, produced using a vacuum infusion and hot polymerisation process.

Photos: Melker of Sweden