• A couple of people in Australia and New Zealand have used freight forwarders to reduce shipping costs when ordering DIY Packraft kits, and I thought I should tell the rest of you about this potential cost-saving […]

    • It cost me about $80USD total to get it to Tasmania via a US freight forwarder.
      When I first ordered the site was quoting me $140 AUD postage which is a bit of a deal breaker.
      I notice now its only quoting about $100AUD.
      So I probably wouldn’t have bothered with the forwarder now.

      However the postage times from the forwarder are generally fast.
      They often have special rates for DHL, FedEx, UPS etc. So it ends up taking 2-4 Days from Los Angeles to Tasmania.

      • Thanks for the feedback, Aaron. I’ve been refining the estimated weights used to calculate the shipping costs of the different kit variations so they’re closer to the actual weights, and that’s probably why the shipping price has changed. Smaller kits with lighter floor material and/or no extras can weigh under 3 kg, which is one of those thresholds where the price jumps up on overseas shipments. Thanks!

    • Hi Eleonora, unfortunately I don’t have an answer for you and I doubt you will receive one here anytime soon because I have only a few customers in Italy and I don’t recall any of them having used a freight forwarder. You might be able to find more information elsewhere online – if so, please tell us here. Also, sometimes the direct route is the most cost-effective even if it isn’t cheap. Thanks!

  • Hi Matteo – welcome to the forum!

    All of the DIY Packrafts are capable of carrying over 100 kg. I probably wouldn’t use an Ultralight packraft for bikerafting though, as the ultralight fabric is more fragile, but you could do so if you were more careful.

    Each DIY Packraft kit comes will scrap fabric to make attachment points and grab loops, and…[Read more]

  • Beauty!!

  • Hi Mike,

    Most of the fabrics available are only coated on one side, except for the heavier fabrics in the DIY Packraft shop, and possibly some sold elsewhere. I used to have fabrics with PU coating on the other side from the TPU, but PU is not as good as TPU. You will find that most PU coatings are not airtight or waterproof and can rub off with…[Read more]

  • This is just a quick post to let you know that the V3 DIY Packraft Deluxe (single) kits are now shipping.

    I’m currently fulfilling the pre-orders, some of which were placed as far back as August, so please be […]

  • For trip planning, it’s important to be able to estimate how much water you can cover in a given amount of time. You need to consider wind and current speeds, of course, (especially if you’re paddling in a river […]

  • Awesome!! Thanks for posting, Jeremy!

  • Today I’m leaving town for a couple of weeks, but the new V3 DIY Packraft is pretty much ready to go, so kits will start shipping after I return on September 30th.

    The new V3 packraft instructions are posted […]

    • Hi Katie – for now the V3 is only available as a kit. I may offer plans at some point in the future, but probably not as I’ve had issues with people buying a set of plans and then trying to use them to make money. Thanks for your interest!

  • Cool! Thanks for posting 😀

  • Thanks for your review, Bruce!

  • Great shot! I love seeing DIY Packrafts in what to me are exotic locations!

  • That’s a big rubber duck 😀 Looks great!

  • Tom F. sent me this video and this link to a forum thread documenting the design and construction of a lightweight fishing float tube (a.k.a. bellyboat or belly boat) using heat sealable fabrics. […]

    • Matt: AWESOME link to this man’s quest to build a 2 lb float tube. I read through all 22 pages of posts spanning 5 years of research and design. Fascinating stuff. We lost a good one when he died.

  • Nikki’s parents were visiting over the holiday weekend and they wanted to try out the new packraft, so I took the opportunity to take a few pictures to share. You can see that the weather was much better than the […]

  • For the maiden voyage of the V3 DIY Packraft, Nikki and I spent the weekend visiting some glaciers!

    • Wow! Some seriously awe inspiring pictures, we have a different setting of beauty here in Hawaii, so when I get to see authentic photos of such luscious and diverse, beautifully blanketed land it truly is a treat so thanks for posting them! How did everything go with the V3, were there any things you learned from the expedition?

      • Thanks, Allen! The main lesson was the value of a good back rest for lower back support, so I will be working on one of those in the future.

    • My favorite seat back, and the easiest, is a Crazy Creek folding camp chair. Not exactly a back packing item, but I can set a 2″ thick square boating flotation seat pad into the raft, top it with the crazy Creek chair and my daughter is up above the water and happy. Commercial versions that support the back and wrap around the hips are not popular among the hardcore here in Fairbanks. I bet Matt can develop something much better! The whitewater hardcore I know prefer a good kayak back band, supported with attachment loops or D-rings high on the inside of the raft. If using D-rings, they also attach their thigh braces to the same point. (I’m still looking for nice 1″ (25mm) aluminum D-rings, chrome rust, and the Titanium ones are a bit rough edged (DutchGear.com)). If using webbing one has to think through the connection so knees and back straps are connected and pulling against each other, not both building pressure on the side attachment patches in opposite directions.
      Can’t wait to get my V3 built! Lets see, 1000D or 420D, that’s the question?

  • First Pictures of the new V3 DIY Packraft Here are some pictures of the new V3 DIY Packraft. This one is the 120 size, and has a 420D floor (TPU on both sides) and 210D tubes. As it is now, […]

  • I’ve posted written instructions for assembling the inflation bag kit here. They are text-only, at the moment, but I will add photos and a video soon!

  • I just got this cool shot from Jeremy and Melissa in Alaska showing their first two DIY Packrafts on their maiden voyage!

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