Since the 1950’s, we have been intoxicated with man made products, especially when used in sports. Graphite golf clubs and graphite-ceramic tennis rackets, plus the ever present plastics have become the backbone of equipment manufacturing. So it is a radical break from this trend when bamboo becomes the material of choice for sportsmen. Today, more manufacturers are making bamboo a key element in the creation of sports equipment.
Bamboo’s flexibility and lightness lends itself well to the custom designs of surfboards. Bamboo is the ideal material for surfboards because the strength of bamboo is stronger than the materials it replaces. These boards are so lightweight that they provide greater aerial potential and deliver higher control and speed. Bamboo boards are very eco-friendly because they are hand shaped from non-toxic materials. All in all, bamboo surfboards deliver.
Keeping with the water theme, bamboo is making a comeback as the primary element in the production of fly fishing rods. Again, tensil strength and flexibility are keys to a quality rod. While it’s not graphite, bamboo is sturdier and less expensive. And fly rods can run a hefty price. Whether the trout know the difference is still uncertain, but the feel and exactness of the bamboo fly rod is not. When your out there doing a little fly fishing, you might want to keep your feet warm with bamboo socks, which are super absorbent.
Back on land, surfboards have been replaced by skateboards, but bamboo still belongs. Since bamboo is ready to harvest after 3-5 years, it makes bamboo a positive raw material for skateboards. Check out Daryl Hannah’s bamboo and hemp skateboard at the left. More and more, boards sport bamboo decks. To keep with the theme of bamboo sports equipment, you might consider sporting bamboo clothes since they work especially well under sweaty conditions.
When you hear “On Deck” you might think of a cruise, but for Dustin Satloff, “On Deck” is all about baseball. And baseball is all about bamboo. A former baseball player, Dustin Satloff currently runs a company that creates bamboo baseball bats called Sat Bats.
The bamboo used for bats is noted for its strength. Fact is, bamboo is stronger than steel. Take a back seat to that Mr. Ash. And why we’re at it, ash takes 40 years or more before it is ready for harvesting while bamboo is ready for cutting after five years.
While the gentlemen’s game turned from bamboo shafts back in the forties, sports never turns away from the past. In the old days, club shafts were made of bamboo. Again these were replaced by high-tech materials.
Today high tech IS bamboo, and putters, skateboards, surfboards, fishing rods, baseball bats, and a growing arrangement of sports equipment are being made of bamboo once again.
