I’ve been promising a DIY Packraft spray deck + spray skirt kit for literally years, but until now I didn’t have a system that was affordable, simple to make, lightweight, safe, and quick to set up. After lots of experimentation and several design iterations, I’ve come up with a deck Read more…
Every so often I think DIY Packraft should have a logo – something beautiful, clever, iconic, and instantly recognizable – like Apple’s apple or the Coca Cola script… but I’m not a world-class graphic designer, so that doesn’t really seem feasible. I’ve considered hiring a designer or a brand consultant Read more…
It’s been a couple of years since I made an introductory video for DIY Packraft, so I thought it was time to make a new one. I don’t really know where to post it, so for now it goes here.
I don’t know how I failed to notice Molly Absolon’s book, “Packrafting – Exploring the Wilderness by Portable Boat” (2017) until now, but I finally picked up a copy last week and read the nearly 250 pages in just a few days. There are beautiful color pictures on almost every Read more…
225 pages, 2009, Erin McKittrick I received A Long Trek Home as a gift in 2009 and I’ve since read it a couple of times. The story follows the author and her husband as they hike, packraft, and ski about 4000 miles (over 6000 km) from Seattle, Washington, to the Read more…
Note: I’m not recommending that you buy an expensive carbon paddle and then cut it up to make a packrafting paddle – if you’re purchasing a new paddle then you can probably find a 4-piece paddle that suits your budget – but if you already own a 2-piece paddle, or Read more…
When paddling on calm lakes, it’s often possible to enter and exit a packraft without getting your feet wet, but in moving water I find that it’s rarely an option. In fact, it’s usually a matter of scrambling over sharp rocks, jamming your feet between slippery cobbles, or wading through Read more…
A few keen-eyed DIY packrafters have noticed that the newer Telkwa and Skeena kits have lower capacity ratings than the V3, in spite of being longer and having more air volume in the tubes. This is a result of a more conservative assessment on my part, not something intrinsic to Read more…
Since the new Ultralight and Telkwa DIY Packraft kits were released, several people have asked for a similar packraft kit made from standard weight fabrics without a wrap-around floor. Tonight I inflated this new packraft for the first time – I haven’t even weighed it yet, but I was so Read more…
Several people have reported having issues with this website not working properly in their browsers, so I’m making some major changes both behind the scenes and to the design of the site. All the same content will still be here, and hopefully you’ll have a better experience once you get Read more…
I’ve just made a new video that shows what to look for (and what to avoid!) when setting the temperature on your heat sealing iron, and how to tell how long you need to iron two pieces of fabric together to create a strong bond between them. Together, temperature and Read more…
The “leather iron” from www.aliexpress.com is my preferred iron for assembling DIY Packraft kits. It’s hot enough, it maintains a consistent temperature, it’s robustly built, it’s the right width for heat sealing the packraft’s seams, and it’s affordable. It’s not perfect out of the box, however, so I made this Read more…
Last weekend the ice on my local river had opened up enough for me to go paddling, so I spent an hour navigating some Class 1 water while dodging ice rafts in the new 1-person packraft with the wrap-around floor. I carried the new 2-person packraft with me, and when Read more…
Notice anything unusual about this packraft? The tough floor fabric wraps halfway up the tubes to make this DIY Packraft extra tough where it counts, and it’s still lightweight and packable. I think that’s a world’s first! This prototype is the 130 cm / 51″ size with 560 GSM floor Read more…
When heat sealing TPU coated fabrics together, it’s important to apply pressure to the fabric as it cools, otherwise it tends to buckle and lift before it forms a strong bond, so you end up with bubbles and weak or leaky areas. I used to use a leather glove or Read more…
Update: Gustav’s detailed fabrication instructions are posted here! If you’ve ever tried fishing from a packraft, you know that it’s nearly impossible to hold a fishing rod and paddle at the same time. Gustav K. has come up with an ingenious solution to this problem – a lightweight and flexible Read more…
Here in the north we’re deep in winter, so I haven’t had a chance to paddle the new 2-person DIY Packraft yet, but here are a few more pictures that show the new seat design (just one of them, because I’ve only made one so far). Hopefully I’ll have a Read more…
Weight: 3.0 kg / 6.6 lbs (with 560 GSM floor, no seats, no zipper, and no attachment points added yet) Internal Length: 201 cm / 79″ / 6′ 7″ External Length: 340 cm / 134″ / 11′ 2″ Internal Width: 40 cm / 18″ External Width: 106 cm / 42″ Read more…
Ken S. sent me a build report with excellent photos and detailed descriptions of his V3 DIY Packraft build, including tips about what worked for him and what didn’t. I’ve turned it into a web page here. It will be most useful as a reference for people who have purchased Read more…
TL;DR: Should DIY Packraft give free stuff to online reviewers like Backpacking Light? I’m the type of person who likes to research the hell out of products before I make a purchase, so I regularly read online reviews and watch review videos, and as a consumer I know how helpful Read more…
Check out the new 816 gram (1.7 pound) DIY Packraft!
These two new fabrics have been added to the shop to replace the older 40D “ultralight” fabrics, and will be used in the long-awaited update to the Ultralight DIY Packraft kits. They are currently only available in yellow (TPU one side) and black (TPU both sides). I’m quite pleased with Read more…
Several months ago I received an email expressing interest in the DIY Packraft kits from TJ Miller, Director of the Department of Health, Physical Education & Recreation at the University of Alaska Anchorage. TJ had grand plans of getting his senior students to build packrafts and use them on an Read more…
Please note that Nikki and I will be travelling between August 10th and the 24th, so no orders will be fulfilled between those dates. I will have limited internet access so I may also be slow to respond to emails and forum posts. Orders that have already been placed will Read more…