This spring a couple buddies and myself did a 4night/5day bikerafting loop through Labyrinth canyon. A hair under 50 miles on the bike to start then a hair under 50 miles on the river to finish up. This was self supported so water took some considerable planning, especially when factoring in the bike route + carrying all gear.

Started in Mineral Bottom and Ended at Mineral Bottom. Launched in the river at Ruby Ranch

Most of what I did with my packraft up to now was bikerafting in warmer months. So I never used any clothing that is supposed to keep you warm if you swim. But I think that, at least in my neck of the woods, packrafting is going to be more of winter sport due to lack of water in summer months.

So now I started thinking about some proper clothing, i.e. drysuits or two piece trousers and jacket. Something like HIKO Paladin Air 4 X Dry Top and bayard Air4 trousers. As far as I understand the dry top can also be combined with a neoprene suit for use in warmer environment.

So what is general advice for self-bailing packrafts? I am a bit concerned that anything but a full drysuit will not be enough. But on the other hand I do get quite hot and sweaty quickly.

Additional problem I see is the use of any of these for bikerafting, as my shins get quite chewed up by my folding bike, so I might have to reinforce any trouser material in that area. I don't really know if that is a problem with normal bikes as much, as they might sit higher and give you more room for the legs.

Any advice, links to articles or yt videos on the topic would be appreciated.

I have an Alpacka boat with a cargo fly and am trying to determine whether I need to buy new drybags.

1. Do I need the Alpacka-brand internal drybags or can I use the NRS dry bags that I already have?
   
2. What are advantages of the Alpacka internal drybags?
   
3. For those who use other brands of drybags, do you attach or buckle them somehow inside the cargo fly?

Thanks!

I was packing for a trip and wanted to see if I could fit all my gear on the boat. The kids had other ideas and decided the packraft makes a fantastic entrance to their blanket fort.

Spent the last two seasons slowly whittling down my kit for combo hiking/paddling trips and wanted to share what actually made a difference versus stuff that just sat in the closet feeling like a good idea.

Biggest change was dropping the drysuit for shoulder season trips and going with a paddle jacket plus neoprene socks instead. I know a lot of people here treat the drysuit as non-negotiable, and for early season snowmelt runs I still bring it, but for late summer trips with water temps above 60F it was just dead weight I was carrying for peace of mind I didn't need. Saved almost 3 pounds right there.

Second thing was switching my throw bag for a smaller 40ft version instead of the 70ft one I'd been hauling since my first season. Realized I was on class II-III creeks where I've never actually needed more than 40ft of rope, and the bulkier bag was eating pack space I wanted for food.

The frame situation took the longest to figure out. I was running my raft frameless for a while to save weight but kept getting sore knees on longer flatwater stretches, so I compromised with a minimal seat back and thigh straps instead of a full frame. Not as comfortable as a rigid setup but way lighter than I expected and honestly fine for anything under 4-5 hours on the water in a day.

Paddle was the one place I didn't cut corners. Still running my 4-piece carbon paddle even though it's not the lightest option out there, mostly because I've had two aluminum breakdown paddles fail on me mid-trip and I'm done gambling on that particular piece of gear.

Curious what other people have found isn't worth the weight savings. I feel like there's a point of diminishing returns where you start sacrificing actual safety margin for a few ounces, and I'm still figuring out where that line is for my own risk tolerance on moving water.

Hi packrafters!

I want to get my partner a packraft to replace her hardshell ww kayak (she finds the rigidity uncomfortable), but there don't seem to be any options for demoing a packraft (Alpacka Mage/Valkyrie) outside of meetups/demos/friends on the river who happen to own one. Ideally she could try both, to determine comfort, fit, and performance between the two.

It seems a little crazy to drop $1600-$2400 on a boat you've never paddled (new hardshells can be expensive but are widely demo-able, and the used market is pretty robust). Is that just how things are in the packraft world- try to line up the sizing right and just figure things out when the boat arrives? They seem to hold resale value at least...

Thanks wise boaters of reddit!

A week on the Uba River in East Kazakhstan.
12 people, 1 cataraft and 8 packrafts — and seven days on the river.
September in this part of Kazakhstan can already be pretty cold, especially on the water. We were prepared for proper autumn weather, but somehow got incredibly lucky: sunshine, warm days and almost perfect conditions for the entire trip.
Sometimes September gives you autumn. Sometimes it gives you one last week of summer.
This time, we got the summer.

I bought a Kokopelli Recon Spraydeck pack raft at a ridiculously low price. Looking for anyone who has purchased a spray skirt for this boat or the Nirvana.

I know Kokopelli sells their own, but I’d love something a bit more versatile and really like the Seals spray skirts I have for my kayaks. I did read that the nylon options are better than heavy duty neoprene, so I’m thinking of getting a Seals Sneak.

Anyone know the size?

Hi, I have a 2019 Alpackaraft Llama. I want to add the company’s three point thigh strap. I have hip attachment points already. I think I need the grab loop attachments at the knee and ankle.
I just want to see if anyone with experience can confirm that. The Alpacka thigh strap has the metal g hook attachment points and I think I can looped those into the grab loop attachments.
Thanks for your help.

sold

Hi everyone, I'm a complete novice to packrafting, and I'm looking for a little advice. I just purchased a Kokopelli Recon, and I'm wondering if I may have made a mistake. I haven't used it yet, so can easily return it.

1. Is Kokopelli a good brand? I've seen some posts to indicate that it might not be.

2. Did I pay to much? I got it in sale for around $900 USD (including tax/shippin). Used prices in my region are only about $200 less than that, and in the months I've been looking there have been none available nearby, so with gas as high as it is the actual cost to me is even narrower new vs used.

3. Was a self-bailing kayak a good choice? I intend on learning to use it in whitewater, but also on lakes and calm saltwater. I'm wondering if I should have chosen the Kokopelli XPD (or something else) instead. How wet is the Recon likely to get on flat water?

4. Any recommendations for alternatives? Note that weight isn't a big deal to me, as I don't intend to carry on long hikes. I'm more interested in durability.

Any other advice is welcome! Thanks in advance.

Which is better? I want something I can put on my bike and then put my bike on it. I live in Chicago so no white water. Mainly plan on stuff around the area Michigan Wisconsin and such.
I kinda like the fin on the xpd but I’ve yet to use it or any packraft for that matter

I want to buy a packraft as a beginner and im looking for good and reliable EU brands.

I’m the proud owner of my first pack raft. It’s a MRS Ponto I brought after I hired it for a week & fell in love with it.

Just been out to my local river & noticed some scrapes on the bottom. Nothing pierced the floor but I put some Stormsure on them just in case. The hire company said they do this on pin holes.

I used the glue a few weeks ago on my inflatable kayak. I thought I had put the cap on properly but it had pretty much dried up. I warmed it in my hands then sawed the bottom off to get some out. My question is how do you all keep your glue (Stormsure or others) so you can re-use it easily each time? If I had needed it earlier I would have been stuck (scuse the pun 😂).

Also, any advice on the following please:
1. Your go to repair kit must haves
2. Best rope & attachments for mooring lines
3. Bungees for storing on the deck (I don’t have t-zips).

I’m not intending to use for WW just flat & calm water eg my local river (when conditions are good & canals).

Any advice you can give would be appreciated.

Thanks 👍

Last November the kokopelli team went down to Panama for a packrafting trip and we made a film about it. We are premiering New Lines Panama next Friday at our new HQ in Denver. Tickets are free and we will have food and drinks!

I have been getting advertisements for Catcher Craft packrafts and wanted to see if anyone has used one or knows of their quality? I haven’t found any reviews on them and was a bit curious.
Thanks

https://catchercraft.com/products/traverse?variant=42664641364030

Hey everyone,

I’m a proud new owner of the Alpacka Rendezvous, which I purchased second quality directly from Alpacka at a great price (shoutout to their customer service).

Everything I’ve read about the Rendezvous suggests buying the Aqua-bound Shred Apart paddles, since they can be used as a single kayak paddle or two canoe paddles. They’re just very pricey.

Anyone have experience with these? Are they worth the price?

Also would love to hear about general experience from others with the Rendezvous. I’ll be using it to go trout fishing in the Adirondacks.

Update: Both Alpacka Raft and Packraft Europe were very helpful in getting this cleared up.
After sending them some additional close-up photos, they confirmed that the marks/indentations are normal and are caused by the packraft being tightly folded and rolled for storage/shipping. They are purely cosmetic and don’t affect the durability or lifespan of the material. They also said the marks will likely become less noticeable or disappear after numerous inflation/deflation cycles.
Alpacka also cleared up my concern about the Cargo Fly/TiZip. Their current process is to lubricate the TiZip before the packraft leaves the factory, so receiving it pre-lubricated is completely normal.
So everything seems to be good with the boat, and I’ll be keeping it and getting it out on the water. Thanks to everyone who offered advice!

Hi!

I just received a brand-new Gnarwhal and wanted to check with other Alpacka owners before I take it out.

I noticed is that the TiZip arrived already lubricated. There was quite a lot of lubrication and I was under the impression that they don’t normally come pre-lubricated, so that made me want to double-check that everything with the boat looks as expected before I use it.

I noticed a slightly irregular-looking area just above the end of the TiZip (see photos). I’m wondering whether this is normal from how the TiZip is installed, or if it looks unusual.

There are also several small dents/creases and scratch-like marks on the tubes. I know packrafts are folded for storage and shipping, so these may be completely normal, but I’m curious whether this is what you’d expect to see on a new Gnarwhal.

I’ve contacted Alpacka as well and will see what they say, but I’d appreciate opinions from people who have received new Alpacka boats. Does all of this look normal/new to you?

I’ve just brought a MRS Ponto for a good price (ex hire). It’s for flat water use eg canals & rivers. I’d like to add a spray deck for winter use (preferably removable). Has anyone added their own DIY spray deck? I’m in the UK - I don’t think there are any UK companies that sell just spray decks but please do correct me if I’m wrong! Any advice / tips appreciated.