At Wappa, our goal is to create stylish, well built and affordable stand up paddle boards while respecting the Earth . Bamboo allows us to accomplish these goals. Paddle boards made with real bamboo are strong and durable, naturally beautiful and Earth friendly. That's the Bamboo Advantage!
Environmentally Friendly
Bamboo is a renewable resource. It’s can be harvested in 3 years compared to 25 years for wood.
Harvesting bamboo does not kill a bamboo forest. Harvesting actually induces the plant to produce more new shoots.
Bamboo can grow in degraded soil.
During regeneration, the bamboo plant's root system stays intact preventing soil erosion.
The Bamboo Wappa Uses
Wappa only uses Moso bamboo.
It grows mainly in the Zhejiang province of China known historically as the Kingdom of Bamboo.
Moso is one of the hardest varieties of bamboo. With a tensile strength up to 40 kN/cm2 it easily surpasses timber fibers (approx. 5 kN/cm2), or even mild steel (36 kN/cm2).¹
Janka Hardness Test results show that Moso is comparable to the hardness of European Oak (6280 kN).¹
Superior Materials
Bamboo has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any natural fiber¹.
In structural engineering tests bamboo has been shown to have...
Higher tensile strength than many alloys of steel.
Higher compressive strength than many mixtures of concrete.
Higher strength-to-weight ratio than graphite (precursor of carbon fiber)¹.
Bamboo in a Composite
In a composite environment like a Wappa paddle board, bamboo veneer is a good substitute for fiberglass because it's stronger.
Bamboo laminates are lighter and stronger than fiberglass. Bamboo epoxy laminates are twice the strength at equal weights¹.
A stand up paddle board made with real bamboo weigh at least 15% less than boards made only from fiberglass and epoxy.
¹ Mechanical Properties of Bamboo, a Natural Composite, Fibre Science and Technology, Vol. 14, Issue 4, 1981
