adelorenzo

adelorenzo replied to the topic Ultralight packraft trip report – Canol Heritage Trail in the forum DIY Packrafts 3 years, 3 months ago

That’s a nifty paddle setup! You don’t have any issue with the blades twisting? I know Alpacka used to sell a trekking pole paddle at one point.

The DIY Ultralight is pretty amazing given it’s much lighter than the Klymit LWD, same weight as the Supai but it’s a full-sized boat whereas the other two are quite small. Of course it is made of much…[Read more]
adelorenzo replied to the topic Ultralight packraft trip report – Canol Heritage Trail in the forum DIY Packrafts 3 years, 3 months ago

Thanks Matt!

Not quite sure about the question? I sat in the boat facing the front and used my hands to push backwards, basically how you would normally paddle. The paddles themselves are on my palms so I am pushing them through the water, the straps are not strong enough to be able to pull the paddles through. Hopefully that makes sense.

I used…[Read more]
adelorenzo started the topic Ultralight packraft trip report – Canol Heritage Trail in the forum DIY Packrafts 3 years, 3 months ago

For those interested, I carried my ultralight on its maiden voyage this summer. It was 360 km on the Canol Heritage Trail which has a number of rivers that need to be crossed and in some years a small lake. The number of water crossings that require a raft depends on water levels, on this trip I used the boat for three crossings in total.

Hiking…[Read more]
adelorenzo replied to the topic Inflating packraft with Thermarest inflation bag in the forum DIY Packrafts 3 years, 4 months ago

In case you were curious this little Thermarest micro pump inflates the boat in 10 minutes.
adelorenzo replied to the topic Using a off-the-shelf inflation bag in the forum DIY Packrafts 3 years, 8 months ago

Nice! I did the same thing with my Thermarest inflation bag. I used different style valves for my boat.

Inflating packraft with Thermarest inflation bag
adelorenzo replied to the topic Inflating packraft with Thermarest inflation bag in the forum DIY Packrafts 4 years, 4 months ago

It took me 5:30 to inflate the boat with the small thermarest sack. I use the dump valve to start and when it starts to fill up I switch to the one-way valve. 10 breaths to finish the job.
adelorenzo replied to the topic Inflating packraft with Thermarest inflation bag in the forum DIY Packrafts 4 years, 4 months ago
adelorenzo started the topic Inflating packraft with Thermarest inflation bag in the forum DIY Packrafts 4 years, 4 months ago

I’ve figured out a lightweight solution for inflating my Ultralight boat with has the red PVC valves. I use my new-style winglock valve Thermarest inflation bag. A short peice of 0.875″ OD vinyl tubing from the hardware store connects perfectly into the Thermarest bag and then needs a few wraps of tape on the other end to fit the packraft…[Read more]
adelorenzo started the topic Dyneema fabrics for packrafts in the forum DIY Packrafts 4 years, 7 months ago

Some interesting things going on with Dyneema including a weldable TPU coated fabric.

https://www.thedyneemaproject.com/en_GB/the-fabrics/prototypes.html

Ripstop by the Roll has been doing some limited edition releases. There was an orange TPU coated fabric that sold out. Also they have a green woven fabric listed that was apparently developed…[Read more]
adelorenzo replied to the topic My new ultralight build! Thoughts and comments on the kit and process. in the forum DIY Packrafts 4 years, 7 months ago
adelorenzo started the topic My new ultralight build! Thoughts and comments on the kit and process. in the forum DIY Packrafts 4 years, 7 months ago
I finished my ultralight kit build last week and thought I’d share some of my comments and thoughts on the process here for Matt and anyone else. Sorry this isn’t super organized just kind of a brain dump of thoughts and ideas.
- Overall, it went together pretty well. I made a bunch of mistakes but basically anything can be fixed and if I built…
[Read more]
adelorenzo commented on the post, Alternative lightweight inflation valves 4 years, 8 months ago

Just so I’m clear…. I would glue these valves onto the outside of the boat so they sit on top of the tube, not inside it. Then I glue a donut on top and heat seal around it?

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adelorenzo replied to the topic Heat-sealing tools in the forum DIY Packrafts 4 years, 8 months ago

In my photo darkroom I have a Seal tacking iron I use for dry mounting prints. It’s 145W and when it’s set on high it’s working really well for doing the floor welds. The bottom is teflon coated which is nice.

It is a bit too wide for the tube strips. I may be able to make it work but I have an aliexpress iron showing up any day just in case.

I…[Read more]
adelorenzo became a registered member 4 years, 8 months ago

@adelorenzo