Thank you John, very helpful and informative! I don't understand why nobody has done such a detailed comparison between different types of packraft suitable for their specific chosen adventure yet.
Not as much hiking but if I need to , I want to be able to be able to put mine in my pack and get on the go. I have a 60 pound dog I want to bring with. Sleeping bag, tent, water, food and camping supplies. I want to be able to do a week long. Should I go with the Ranger or perhaps even the forager (both by Alpacka)?
I have never paddles a packraft like the forager but I like the idea. The ranger would be my choice as it's a longer version of the Caribou. I have sold my Caribou recently and gone for a longer version to carry bikes ad my paddle kept hitting the bike on the front of the caribou. But if you like canoe type paddling the Forager is a good choice too
Since I've made this film, I've realised that the Caribou is just too short. It is hard to paddle and not to hit your bike all the time especially when you want to get a full paddle stroke in. As for speed it only paddles at walking speed, no packraft is fast and it only tracks well with a skeg fitted. I had to retro fit a skeg on my Caribou. I have since sold the Caribou in favour of a longer packraft
What's your thoughts on the longevity of the tpu vs pvc under moderate use? I've been considering the Rouge for an all around raft but not sure the life expectancy of that boat.
The longest boat that I've owned is a single sided TPU, I can't comment on anything over 5 years though. PVC is worst for the planet I'm told but have nothing to back this up. Plus its 3 to 4 times the weight and packed down size too
@@JohnClimber yeah from my research it sounds like tpu is the better material. There's just something about the durability of the PVC that makes it seem like an indestructible raft but I'm not sure the longevity since I'm new to rafting.
Thank you John for your very interesting video. I finally bought the anfibio nano sl packraft. I also bought a skeg because I saw on your video that you had installed one. A question: what type of glue did you use (I bought the The Anfibio PU adhesive and hardener but I'm really afraid of damaging the packraft)?
The skeg plate was already fitted to my Nano, sorry I'm not sure on that material. I used kayak glue to fix the plate to my Alpacka Caribou as this is a better TPU material
I've never paddled one, but since I made this film I have now got 2 Neris PVC packrafts. These are similar as they are designed for using from the back if a car or van where you don't need the lightweight'ness of a TPU pack raft. They are cheaper and tougher, but don't pack down and are not as light. But in the right situation they are perfect
Simply because of all the faff that's involved with them, it's a major issue if they are not maintained correctly, folded and stored away correctly and if they are faulty they need replacing back at the manufacturer, so your boat will be away from you for quite a whole and theses things aren't cheap to post around the world either. But others love them, it's just my view
@@JohnClimber interesting. I've never had an issue with any of the tizips in my fleet and I guess for me the considerable convience and safety improvements out weigh the (very small and avoidable) risk of failure. But then equally i repair all my own boats and retrofit zips etc so the cost (and delay) caused by shipping probably doesn't factor into my thinking.
@@TheHuwMiles I just took MRS Nomad with ISS (zippers) for a three day island hopping trip in calm seas and was pretty impressed with it. With the skeg it moves pretty well for a packraft and gave me the kind of confidence I usually haven't had with inflatables. I stored camping gear and food in the pontoons and liked the comfort of not having clutter on the deck and in the back. How big of an issue the tizip maintenance will become, time will tell I guess. I will do a 10 to 12 day unassisted wilderness trip later this year where this system will be utilized to the maximum that I can throw at it. Mostly I'm worried about portaging sections, this raft is not so light and with camping gear and two weeks rations included I probably need to make two trips to complete each of them (one to carry food and items, other to carry boat and its accessories).
Thank you John, very helpful and informative!
I don't understand why nobody has done such a detailed comparison between different types of packraft suitable for their specific chosen adventure yet.
Thanks
Excellent work. Thank you and be well.
excellent - concise & good info
This was a Very good video. Thank you Very Much 🤗🤗🤗
Thank you
Top notch video. Thanks for your consideration, sir!
Thanks
I was thinking of a Nomad for bike packing.....nice to see someone load her up. I wish it was a bit lighter though
Yep, the Caribou is better for bike pack rafting
Not as much hiking but if I need to , I want to be able to be able to put mine in my pack and get on the go. I have a 60 pound dog I want to bring with. Sleeping bag, tent, water, food and camping supplies. I want to be able to do a week long. Should I go with the Ranger or perhaps even the forager (both by Alpacka)?
I have never paddles a packraft like the forager but I like the idea. The ranger would be my choice as it's a longer version of the Caribou. I have sold my Caribou recently and gone for a longer version to carry bikes ad my paddle kept hitting the bike on the front of the caribou. But if you like canoe type paddling the Forager is a good choice too
Nice overview!
Thanks
Do you think the Caribou tracks well enough and is fast enough for longer lake trips?
Since I've made this film, I've realised that the Caribou is just too short.
It is hard to paddle and not to hit your bike all the time especially when you want to get a full paddle stroke in.
As for speed it only paddles at walking speed, no packraft is fast and it only tracks well with a skeg fitted.
I had to retro fit a skeg on my Caribou.
I have since sold the Caribou in favour of a longer packraft
Well done.
I bought an MRS Adventure X2 for Bikepacking. The Bike will fit on the Boat but will the boat fit on the Bike. I will have to try😂
What's your thoughts on the longevity of the tpu vs pvc under moderate use? I've been considering the Rouge for an all around raft but not sure the life expectancy of that boat.
The longest boat that I've owned is a single sided TPU, I can't comment on anything over 5 years though.
PVC is worst for the planet I'm told but have nothing to back this up.
Plus its 3 to 4 times the weight and packed down size too
@@JohnClimber yeah from my research it sounds like tpu is the better material. There's just something about the durability of the PVC that makes it seem like an indestructible raft but I'm not sure the longevity since I'm new to rafting.
i love how we practically have the same packrafts lol :D
would any of these be suitable for kayaking 6km along the coast?
Onky the MRS Nomad and onky in calm conditions after yours had coastal packraft training
Thank you John for your very interesting video. I finally bought the anfibio nano sl packraft. I also bought a skeg because I saw on your video that you had installed one. A question: what type of glue did you use (I bought the The Anfibio PU adhesive and hardener but I'm really afraid of damaging the packraft)?
The skeg plate was already fitted to my Nano, sorry I'm not sure on that material.
I used kayak glue to fix the plate to my Alpacka Caribou as this is a better TPU material
Whats your views on the Kokopelli xpd.
I've never paddled one, but since I made this film I have now got 2 Neris PVC packrafts.
These are similar as they are designed for using from the back if a car or van where you don't need the lightweight'ness of a TPU pack raft.
They are cheaper and tougher, but don't pack down and are not as light.
But in the right situation they are perfect
@@JohnClimber Ya, 13lbs will be way to heavy backpacking in, Rogue Lite is what i need or Nirvana at 7lb, pretty pricy but nice!
Are you UK based? Neris packrafts are bringing out a TPU version of your heavier PVC pack rafts and at only 30% more expensive soon.
@@JohnClimberWill look into John, Thanks!
May i ask why you're not a fan of tizips?
Simply because of all the faff that's involved with them, it's a major issue if they are not maintained correctly, folded and stored away correctly and if they are faulty they need replacing back at the manufacturer, so your boat will be away from you for quite a whole and theses things aren't cheap to post around the world either.
But others love them, it's just my view
@@JohnClimber interesting. I've never had an issue with any of the tizips in my fleet and I guess for me the considerable convience and safety improvements out weigh the (very small and avoidable) risk of failure. But then equally i repair all my own boats and retrofit zips etc so the cost (and delay) caused by shipping probably doesn't factor into my thinking.
@@TheHuwMiles I just took MRS Nomad with ISS (zippers) for a three day island hopping trip in calm seas and was pretty impressed with it. With the skeg it moves pretty well for a packraft and gave me the kind of confidence I usually haven't had with inflatables. I stored camping gear and food in the pontoons and liked the comfort of not having clutter on the deck and in the back. How big of an issue the tizip maintenance will become, time will tell I guess.
I will do a 10 to 12 day unassisted wilderness trip later this year where this system will be utilized to the maximum that I can throw at it. Mostly I'm worried about portaging sections, this raft is not so light and with camping gear and two weeks rations included I probably need to make two trips to complete each of them (one to carry food and items, other to carry boat and its accessories).
2:20
metric crap doesn't tell me what i want to know