[AbMtnGuy]

Hi Barbara. Some great questions.  I built a couple of 130 cm Telkwa’s this Spring and paddled flatwater slightly less than 30 days so far .  The decision to go with the Telkwa was based on a few paddles in three different lighter and shorter packrafts from other suppliers.  The Telkwa design is appealing both due to the durability of extending the floor materials up the tube walls and the excellent superb hull design.

Tracking is excellent when lightly loaded and exceptional when loaded with a bikepacking rig suitable for multi-week expeditions.  Full pack list and pictures.

Both builds were very similar except for colour and weigh just under 2.6 kg with the modifications listed at this PLOG link.  I plan on adding a few more upgrade ideas in the future.  The DripDeck has been a gamechanger for staying dry and warm without having to carry specialized paddling gear when “only” doing alpine flatwater and some Class 1. Will be building 2 more the same for other family members.  All have Ti Zips which are highly recommended for both ease of construction and operation.  Three of the four have the light weight floor material.

Initially considered adding an inflatable keel and purchased the materials for it from Matt.  Have not had any reason to build it! 🙂

Yes to the additional air chambers.  Now part of my standard packing practice.

PFD’s are a highly personal choice.  For flatwater am happy with the listed Mustang hybrid.  Have a fully inflatable model also but prefer the assurance of foam flotation.  For whitewater wear a very well used Salus.

You’ll also find some “in the wild” pictures on Insta @abmtnguy.  Message me there if you need further information.

Matt’s assembly videos are very well done and when followed closely will give you an excellent result!

Cheers … Guy

 

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