Update: This packraft is now available in the shop here!
I recently finished building this new Ultralight DIY Packraft. It went together easily and relatively quickly (about fifteen hours including figuring out how best to do it and filming each step). After inflating it and letting it sit for a few days, it’s still as tight as a drum, so I’m pretty pleased. Best of all, it paddles well! 😀
The notable features of this new packraft are:
- Total weight: 816 grams, or 1.7 pounds (excluding seat)
- Eight tube segments instead of ten (20% fewer seams to seal!)
- An elongated bow for increased gear storage capacity
- 275 mm (11″) diameter side tubes
- New lightweight tube and floor fabrics
- New hull design for faster flat-water paddling
- 130 cm (51″) functional inside length (plus a bit more in the V-shaped bow and stern). I may or may not offer different sizes.
- Yellow only, for now. I know it’s not everyone’s favorite, but offering more colors requires a big financial investment, so we’ll see…
When taking this packraft for its maiden voyage, I used the mountain biking app on my phone to record my speed at three different levels of paddling effort – easy, moderate, and hard (similar to the speed tests I did for the V3 DIY Packraft, posted here). I was paddling on a lake, so there was minimal current, and the wind was light to very light and I paddled both up wind and down wind for a few hundred meters when recording each level of effort.
Low effort paddling averaged 3.6 km/h (2.4 mph), medium effort paddling (normal cruising speed) averaged 5.0 km/h (3.1 mph), and hard paddling averaged 7.4 km/h (4.6 mph). (See the graph below.) These aren’t super accurate figures, but the trend is clear – the ultralight hull design is significantly faster than the V3. At normal paddling effort, it’s about 25% faster, which means you can cover 25% more distance in the same amount of time with no extra effort!
Note that, as with any ultra-lightweight gear, this boat will require more careful use than a regular packraft. The fabric won’t rip if you look at it too hard, but I would definitely avoid contacting rocks and wood, especially in moving water or in alpine lakes where the rocks tend to be very sharp. When entering the packraft, do it far enough from shore so that it’ll still be floating when you sit down, and do the same when you exit the packraft.
-
- The Ultralight DIY Packraft
21 Comments
Dan · June 25, 2019 at 11:20 pm
I’d really love to see spray deck kits for these, similar to Alpacka’s Cruiser deck. That’s been the main thing stopping me from ordering one or a few of these kits. It would also be great to be able to customize the materials (e.g. select a heavier floor etc if desired).
Joe · May 19, 2019 at 9:07 am
Can we order the new design with standard fabrics? That is, 420D floor and 210D tubes? I know the new Telkwa model has the new design but it also has the wrap-around floor which I wouldn’t need, so I’d rather save the weight. But I like the new design for the faster construction time and faster flatwater travel compared to the V3.
Anthony Soo Kaim · June 30, 2019 at 3:29 pm
+1
Matt (Admin) · July 1, 2019 at 1:25 pm
Stay tuned for this…
JYP · November 20, 2018 at 7:51 pm
Awesome. Very exciting. How can this be leveraged to make a two person boat? Think this fabric can be used with the voyageur template?
Matt (Admin) · November 21, 2018 at 12:01 pm
The plan is the phase out the current Voyageur design now that I have space to make a longer version, but yeah, there could be an ultralight version as well 🙂
Steve · November 6, 2018 at 2:14 am
Hi Matt,
Fantastic work making this, it looks brilliant and I really like the speed tests and genuine thoroughness you seem to take with everything you do on here!
I did send you an email the other day about this after your first update and whether I would be able to order one soon (with a specific crunch date to mail it to Toronto, is there any chance of this being possible?) As I said, happy to be a guinea pig if that makes any difference!
Thanks,
Steve
meee · November 4, 2018 at 8:36 am
It’s not in the shop yet?
When are you going to start selling the kit?
And – the material is still a TPU?
What weight just to have an idea to compare to the 210D and 420D?
p.s. yellow really isn’t everyones favourite. Clearly many colours mean large stock and investment, but maybe at least one mor emuted colour like green would be awesome to have a choice into two directions at least.
Keep up the great work!
Matt (Admin) · November 5, 2018 at 8:18 am
The fabrics are the 115 GSM yellow and 190 GSM black fabrics that are available in the shop. I’ll start selling the kit later in November – I just have to finish figuring out how to produce it and how much it will cost.
Larry · November 6, 2018 at 6:57 pm
The 115 GSM ripstop is just too lightweight to use as the floor?
Matt (Admin) · November 7, 2018 at 4:13 pm
No, but being coated on one side it will soak up water weight and end up heavier than the double coated fabric. That, and this design requires bonding to both sides.
Fab · November 9, 2018 at 6:40 am
Exciting!
Will you offer the Kit also in an all black version?
The weight would be interesting in that case.
meee · November 10, 2018 at 4:22 pm
Not sure if my post got lost.
Do you also plan to make an UL version only from the 190gsm version in all black?
What would be the weight difference approx.?
Thanks!
Matt (Admin) · November 19, 2018 at 10:16 am
Thanks for the question – the 190 GSM fabric has TPU on both sides, so it can’t be heat sealed with an iron in the same way as the single-sided fabrics, so I won’t be offering a kit made entirely from that fabric.
monoferrara · November 4, 2018 at 6:55 am
Quindi non sarebbe male avere un V3 con la forma dell’ultralight. E’ probabile avere un upgrade del V3 in futuro?
Matt (Admin) · November 5, 2018 at 8:25 am
Yes, eventually there will be an update to the V3, though perhaps not with this design. If people want this design made from the heavier fabrics, that could also be a possiblity.
Anthony · November 21, 2018 at 12:45 pm
Hey Matt. Just putting my vote in for this “New hull design for faster flat-water paddling” with heavier weight materials. Also curious if you can explain how the hull is different? Thanks.
Felix · November 2, 2018 at 2:46 pm
just saw the new pictures with seat and out on the lake, beautiful, and I understand your instructions for avoiding abrasion with a packraft extra ultralight as this one.
Comparing it with the other possibilities on the market (shapes, weights, prices) this is truly innovative!
Congratulations Matt
Matt (Admin) · November 2, 2018 at 3:05 pm
Thanks, Felix – I just added the results of my speed tests, too!
Steve · November 1, 2018 at 8:49 pm
Why not just offer the V3 and Voyageur boats in the lightweight fabric? The weights given in kg for the v3 boats would be about the weights in lb for the lightweight fabrics, or lighter if the v3 include seats and inflation bags in their weights.
Matt (Admin) · November 2, 2018 at 8:04 am
Hi Steve – that’s certainly a possibility for people who want it, as the V3 is still a good all-around design. Since the ultralight boats (hopefully) won’t be shooting any rapids, I wanted to offer an ultralight boat that is a bit easier to assemble and faster on flat water.