Evolvent Carbonpaddles: Meet Mastermind Fredrik Hedlund And His Beautifully Designed Swedish Swimrun Paddles.
Fredrik Hedlund has been quietly crafting a selection of the most sought after paddles in international Swimrun, from his small home town in Southern Sweden. After winning the ‘Judges Choice’ and ‘Highly Commended’ awards in the 2023 Swimrun Annual Awards, we got in touch to find out more about Evolvent Carbonpaddles. Plus, there’s a chance for you to get your hands on one of just six pairs of limited-edition gold paddles made to commemorate Evolvent’s award wins!
Where are you from and how did you get into Swimrun?
I am from a small town in southern Sweden called Ronneby which is perhaps best known for its battles with the Swedish king when Ronneby was Danish.
Since 2019 I have been at a large composite company that manufactures defense products such as submarines and surface combat ships.
When I was a child and teenager, I did a lot of cross-country skiing. Since the amount of snow in southern Sweden is not that great, eventually I started alternative types of training, including learning how to swim crawl. When I was asked since 2012 to take part in the Kustjagaren swimrun competition, I couldn’t say no and since then my love for swimrun has only grown.
How did Evolvent begin?
Evolvent was originally an idea between me and three close friends. I started experimenting with making paddles, using my composite experience. These ‘test’ paddles became very popular amongst my friends and as word grew, I branded them ‘Evolvent Carbonpaddles’.
What makes your paddles stand out?
My paddles are very special because of my long professional experience in composites, my drive to experiment and develop, and the fact that I swim a lot myself and know what I am looking for in terms of performance.
I also collaborate with a few specially selected swimrunners and swimming coaches who have become brand ambassadors, including frequent ÖTILLÖ World Series winner Sabina Rapelli. We help each other develop paddles without directly demanding anything in return and this insight helps create the best performing paddles possible.
Where options do you offer?
A few options I currently offer include:
Carls Crown (Karlskrona Edition): The most popular paddle and best all-rounder. Has a slight cupping that straightens as it is pulled through the water. Incomparable properties that help to get a good catch and strong pull throughout the arm grip.
XTD Snakeskin: Same features as Carl’s Crown but has a larger part that goes down over the inside of the forearm which gives incredible power through the arm pull and makes you use the big muscle groups.
Race Comp: Great for training. Stiff. Completely flat. Made with a high-quality carbon fibre twill.
Tiger Twill: A flexible paddle with a protective edge all around and hole protection for silicon straps.
Rapelli Edition: A soon to be released paddle designed to suit sprint racing. Features a slightly cupped front with a top side of structured anti slip textreme carbon fibre and a back side of stiff 3D carbon fibre. The first release will see just 10 pairs available.
How can people buy your paddles?
By contacting me directly! Evolvent Carbonpaddles is only on Instagram and Facebook and the main way to reach me is Instagram. I like to have a dialogue with potential buyers first to discuss what they want and what I would recommend. I enjoy maintaining contact with buyers and strive for great customer satisfaction, listening to a lot of feedback.
What about your limited-edition Swimrun Awards paddles?
This limited run of six pairs, ‘The Golden Six’, is a celebration of our wins in the 2023 awards. I dare say they are the most exclusive paddles ever made…
The model is our most popular option, the Carl’s Crown (Karlskrona Edition) paddle, but uniquely has gold-plated aluminium woven into high quality twill carbon fibre on the front, giving an incredible and distinctive gold shimmer.
Swimrun.com followers have the chance to win one of the pairs by entering the competition now live on their Instagram page. The other five pairs will be released on March 1st, available to order by messaging me on Instagram on the day, first-come, first-served. For more info you can message me before this date.
To find out more about Evolvent Carbonpaddles, you can follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
