this that Carbon Crunch Kayaking industry faces shortage of its favourite material
>> PADDLERS DREAM OF CARBON FIBRE. It’s the black high-performance material that gives unmatched stiff- ness and ultra-lightweight strength, not to mention high- tech sexiness and serious cachet, to our composite pad- dles and boats. But now paddlesports manufacturers are facing an extreme shortage of carbon due to competition from larger industries. “The aircraft companies are using a tremendous
amount of carbon for new planes,” says Greg Barton, president of Epic Kayaks. “The construction of one single passenger jet might require as much carbon as the entire paddlesports industry uses in a whole year.” New commercial aircraft like the Airbus A380 and the
Boeing 787 Dreamliner contain up to one-half carbon fi- bre. The significant fuel savings of these lighter aircraft easily justify carbon’s higher cost as oil prices spiral ever higher. Rising oil prices have also spurred a world-
wide boom in wind energy, and turbine manu- facturers have turned to carbon to build larger and more efficient blades. Since September 2001, demand for carbon
has also increased dramatically from the U.S. military, which uses it for everything from air- craft, to missiles, to body armor. “Shortages in carbon supply are nothing new,”
says Andy Bridge of Werner Paddles, a company that builds more carbon kayak paddles than all other producers combined, “but this time it’s like the perfect storm. Many factors have combined to greatly intensify the situation.” Prices for carbon fibre have skyrocketed and the
most popular types of carbon cloth have become nearly impossible to get because all the production capacity has been bought up. “We’re taking a bit of a hit on costs,” says Bridge. “We’re very committed to carbon, because at this
point, it’s absolutely the best material for high-end pad- dles, but we do need to be careful to stay aware as to what the market will bear in terms of prices.” Other companies are looking to alternative materials
for some products. “We’re saving all the carbon that we can get for our
paddle production,” says Barton. “For our racing boats, we’ve gone to a Nomex honeycomb core and Kevlar layup that we call our Ultra Construction.” Experts predict that demand for the coveted material
will increase at least as fast as manufacturers can boost production, so paddlers will have to get used to paying more for the best and lightest gear. On the bright side, the website of Scottish paddle maker
Lendal offers this consolation to paddler’s feeling the pinch: “A few extra pounds or dollars on the price of our toys is a small price to pay for important advances in energy conservation and production.”
—Alex Matthews
14 |
| ADVENTURE KAYAK fall 2006
PHOTO: CRAIG DUTTON
and
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52