OEM: Firstlight Kayaks Ltd., Dunedin (NZ) Supplier: Aotea Jones Ltd.(NZ), Murray Besen Designer(NZ)

Part design:

Firstlight Foldable Kayaks of New Zealand have launched a new range of foldable, lightweight kayaks. These dismantlable kayaks are made up of a flexible outer skin in Desmopan® TPU and a frame in carbon fiber/Kevlar fiber.

The advantages of the kayaks are their low weight of 8 to 10 kg (depending on size and model) and the possibility of dismantling the kayak so that it will fit in a rucksack. It can thus be readily carried by a single person to the point where it is to be launched. It will stand up to transport by car, air and bike without any problems.

Assembling the kayak takes about 20 minutes.

The skin for the kayak is produced by Epurex Films, a Bayer MaterialScience subsidiary, specialised in extruded Desmopan® TPU film.

Desmopan® has been selected for the following reasons:

These advantages permit a dimensionally-stable, 3D outer skin which is tear-resistant yet still lightweight.