An Environmentally Friendly Kayak?? | Melker Rodloga Review

Melker Kayaks is a Swedish kayak company that has made it their mission to change the kayak industry by producing kayaks that don't only perform great and look great, but have less impact on the environment. How well have they done that? I find out as I test the Melker Rodloga. To learn more about Melker Kayaks visit: melkerofsweden.se
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Gear I have tested and recommend:
Paddles:
Aqua Bound Manta Ray Carbon 2-piece (rec/touring) bit.ly/43KLWQb
Aqua Bound Manta Ray Hybrid 2-piece (Rec/Touring bit.ly/41VdlND
Aqua Bound Shred (whitewater) bit.ly/3L9h04E
PFDs:
NRS Chinook PFD (fishing) bit.ly/3AaGAzS
NRS Zen PFD (whitewater) bit.ly/3odrMxK
NRS Odyssey PFD (Touring and Rec) bit.ly/41yCpK0
Dry Gear / Layers:
NRS Flux Dry Top bit.ly/41EvCyC
NRS Riptide Splash Jacket bit.ly/3L9awmd
NRS Axiom Dry Suit bit.ly/3A6RdUj
Shirts:
NRS Silkweight Long-Sleeve Shirt - Mens bit.ly/3KOMegb
NRS Guide Short Sleeve Shirt bit.ly/41jskkf
Pants:
NRS Benny Board Shorts bit.ly/41fyAtm
Footwear:
NRS Boundary Boot: bit.ly/3Lb8Clo
NRS Kicker Wetshoe: bit.ly/3H6Sjna
NRS Paddle Wetshoe: bit.ly/3V3cYhx
Astral PFD Sandal bit.ly/41EiFVc
Sunglasses: Wiley X Outdoor Sun Glasses bit.ly/3NtJQKR
Other Paddling Gear:
NRS WRSI Current Helmet bit.ly/3L90rpz
NRS Drylander Shock Cord Sprayskirt bit.ly/41g8C9l
Surf Ears Ear Plugs bit.ly/3AbMl1y
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Rapid Pure Purifier amzn.to/3iuIo1C
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[@PaddleTV]

Check out my new KZbin channel! www.youtube.com/@KenWhitingAdventures is now the place to find all my paddling adventure videos, while PaddleTV will focus on Instruction and Gear Reviews.

[@FrontenacOutfitters]

Excellent review, Ken! It was great to see you give it a proper test. We're stoked that we finally got the Rodloga and the Ulvon at our store for sale.

[@PaddleTV]

Thanks! Excited that these boats are now available in Ontario. I think people are going to love them!

[@HeadwatersKayak]

For what it’s worth I’m 6’2” 220 and size 12 feet and I was able to fit without issue. No rubbing with my level six booties.

[@jeremywilson-v3g]

I'm in Ottawa and bought the Rodloga a couple of years ago and love everything about it. Your comments match my thoughts. I can not see myself ever replacing it. Great video!!!!

[@peterkitchener8787]

Its nice to see a Swedish boat on the channel. I think I'd buy the VÄDERÖ for £2,000/ 2,500 US. Love my sea kayaks !!!

[@NerveSalad]

Whoa, man. THAT is a thing of beauty.

[@JonPaddles]

They are even better looking in person. Had the pleasure to see the LV version in Toronto a couple of weeks ago.

[@NerveSalad]

@jonbrouwer6578 So killer... that must have been awesome! I've seen and paddled a lot of pretty nice kayaks, but this one... sheesh.

[@joakimdiver1120]

Tried my new Melker Rödlöga today at our Swedish westcoast. Awsome boat😊

[@PaddleTV]

Nice!!! You're a luck guy!

[@boatman222345]

Great, very detailed and comprehensive review…I'm already picking up returnable bottles and cans to save up.

[@thormusique]

Great video and a beautiful boat, cheers!

[@learntechwithruth2147]

Beautiful boat. Wish I could try it out just for fun some time!

[@arcanum3000]

While it's doubtful I will ever own one of these (admittedly gorgeous) kayaks, as someone with big, oddly shaped feet, I appreciate you talking about foot room.

[@RayFreemanleftcoastinsights]

Great videos, Ken. If you had to choose, would you take the Rodloga or the Volan?

[@IshMail-cx6dv]

Depends on your kayaking style. For me it's the Rodloga. I have been looking at these for the past few months. I was going to order one, little did I know I could have had the first in Canada!.. Wild. I should have jumped on that haha. But I have other things on the go that hold a higher priority at the moment, so the Rodloga is on the back burner. But soon, I will have one.

[@slighwentwalking2024]

.it seemed to handle the white water with no problem ....and looked great doing it Kinda seems a shame to scuff a kayak that pretty ...but if you can do that to an Eddyline 🤔?

[@colins6369]

I'd be interested to know what sort of resin they use to bond the flax fibers? as it is my understanding that these are potentially the most environmentally impactful element of composite boat manufacturing.

[@gadgetman_nz4092]

What did you think of it? I was watching the video, I could see the smile. Looks almost like my perfect yak, though I'd go for lower volume at 70kg/155lb.

[@deangousse2113]

I enjoy watching highly skilled kayakers taking a boat through waters that lesser skilled paddlers have no business paddling that same kayak through. They make it seem like it's just another day on the water, while we mortals sit in awe.

[@maximusjoseppi5904]

Beautiful looking kayak.. goodness.

[@SiarlW]

Love this video Ken. I’ve bought my last few kayaks on your recommendations and now here’s yet another. The Melker Rödlöga 😍 that really is fun to say. QUESTION: you brought up padded transporting and storage of this boat. Do you have video recommendations on that subject you can link to this video? Thanks, and keep up the great content.

[@franksmith3602]

How many days does the granler x take to migrate to the outter skin. And what is the life cycle of the skin cells after the body has replaced old skin cells. 🤔👨‍⚕️

[@LetsGoPaddling]

I generally paddle inflatable kayaks but this one looks and performs really nice from what I see. 👍 Ken, would you have a chance to review an Epic 14x or 18x touring kayaks (ideally the 14x), please? 😁

[@PaddleTV]

It's a fun fishing machine... too bad the angler using it sucked! :). I would love to test an Epic kayak! Never have tried one, but they look super fun. Something you could to help make it happen is to send them an email letting them know that they should get me a kayak to test. Cheers!

[@pdev9414]

Maybe you should review the Norse Bylgja, a very good glasfiber kayak for almost half the price

[@MartinMartin-yi9to]

Hey Ken. Which river is this? My Virgo might like these conditions. Where is the put in and out? Thanks.

[@joshinfwtx4506]

How do you think this construction would hold up to occassional bumping over a log or scraping rocks in shallow spots?

[@Leester-70]

Beautiful boat if you can afford it.

[@desrosphotographe]

how about rudder??

[@Canigetanawwwwyyyyeeeah]

I’ve never got a ‘glamping’ feeling from kayaks…till now..

[@hntrains2]

How many kayaks have you tried? (Can we say, "If I had one dollar for every kayak Ken Whiting has tried over thirty years!"?)

[@SirBoden]

It’s the Trabants aquatic cousin 🤓

[@paulward248]

if its like the new plastic kayaks it will be worse fore the enviroment bits of plastic scaping off wearing thin leaving plastic all over the rivers

[@IshMail-cx6dv]

No worse than all the chemicals that corporations are pumping through them all day and night long.

[@duncanking5272]

Imagine if you could build a kayak entirely out of a cheap recyclable renewable natural product with little carbon footprint. Oh wait a minute…🙄. We’re basically just too entitled. It’s a great looking kayak but honestly pitching it as environmentally friendly is just insulting our intelligence.

[@PaddleTV]

Would you agree that it's a step in the right direction? The cool thing is that Melker's mission is to produce kayaks as sustainably as possible, but it will be a journey. As they say, "Our mission is to find out how we can serial produce top quality kayaks as sustainable as possible. In our journey we have tried everything from bamboo to used coffe bean bags. Right now we believe flax fiber is the best alternative when it comes to quality and sustainability but who knows what the next big thing is?"

[@duncanking5272]

@@PaddleTV Sure, but I wouldn't call a petroleum derived product [resin] environmentally friendly by any stretch of the imagination. I don't know why we wouldnt put the same effort into developing timber that we put into unsustainable products.

[@mattobrien6563]

Next iteration prototypes are all bio-resin (from cashew shells) and flax, with cork as a laminating layer in the hull: no epoxy except for gelcoat in the cockpit coaming, There was one at Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium this weekend, and Offshore in Chicago has one available to check out/demo. Also worth noting that their 3D printed prototypes from CAD use a medium that's sawdust, bio-resin, and recaptured sea plastic.

[@michaelacookePDX]

Did a little research. Melker is using a flax fiber cloth with epoxy resin called amplitex made by a company called Bcomp. When you factor in the farming, transportation, manufacturing processes, epoxy, cargo ship, etc., I'm not sure the environmental claims are anything more than gas lighting. That being said, it sounds like a great kayak but probably no more "sustainable" than a rotomolded kayak produced in the US.

[@franksmith3602]

You tube pop u up on my TV. Funny, before 911, I was a kayak designer. Not the plastic, crap. Our were hand made folding kayaks. My last one was a single, the boat, paddle, life jacket, was under, 30 pounds and fit in a small back back. Frame was aircraft aluminum. So that's my back story. I saw how you paddle, " hate to tell you, your doing it all wrong." Note, out boats were 3 to 4 grand, some for special force, part of my job was to teach new owners "how to paddle ", dude, 1. Never pull the paddle to you. 2. Never reach out for a longer stroke. 3. Your low back should never twist. ( reason, out in the middle of say Alaska, you dont want back problems.) 4. Square off your shoulders. Sit in the seat. 5. Your back should be rested, nicly against the seat. And you should feel like your in a lazy boy. 6. Hold the paddle out level . 7 pull the paddle yo your chest , level . 8 with one arm only stretch your out, no not move your squared off shoulder. 9. The paddle should be out at about a 45 degree, angle from your upper torso. 10. You now, " drop the paddle blade in the water. 11. With the other arm. ( you punch out the arm ) , theres never any pulling water to you, and zero twist of the lower back. So, its , PUNCH - DROP - PUNCH - DROP - PUNCH. , you will have more speed, not get tired as much. No lower back pain. Have more control of the kayak. Note, each kayak has a hull speed limit. The glide, depends on what the hull it made of. You can spray hulls with non toxic, pam. Or use surfer wax. If the hull is cut up , dings, ect ect. You can use a old iron, on it and melt, and smooth the hull back. And fat, wide paddles are a waist of time. Well grass hopper, now practice the right way to use a kayak. Note, I'm talking about soft water, not crazy shit class 5. When your exploring for weeks or months. The punch drop. Is the way to go.

[@mmmbass6068]

Not sure how Ken will receive your advice, but I do note myself that he has an unusual padding technique

[@letmypeoplegosurfing]

Pretty sure Ken wrote the book on paddling technique. Smooooooth!