Packrafts. The thread.

good to hear some feedback on those. I'm excited to get a nirvana in our hands in a couple weeks.
 
any recommendations, advice, opinions on life jackets. i recently spent some time under water.
 
ben cowan said:
any recommendations, advice, opinions on life jackets. i recently spent some time under water.
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I've been there. It was terrifying. I use an NRS Ninja when paddling, though I've never had to pack it.
 
I have a kokotat maximus and it SUCKS to pack. But it's great when I'm in the water. I'd like an inflatable CO2 PFD one day, for calmer flatwater where a PFD is required. Hands down, the worst part of packing my packraft gear for me is the PFD. It takes the space of 3 sleeping bags.
 
we took the kokopelli packrafts out again this weekend and had a blast. They're wider than the alpackas, and a little less nimble, but every bit as strong and tough. I think they shrink less with cold water too, so that's good.

skip to 8:08 for the packraft action.

 
steve said:
we took the kokopelli packrafts out again this weekend and had a blast. They're wider than the alpackas, and a little less nimble, but every bit as strong and tough. I think they shrink less with cold water too, so that's good.

skip to 8:08 for the packraft action.
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I quite enjoyed that whole video. I'll have to go see your other videos on the RV/camper experience. Very interesting.
 
steve said:
we took the kokopelli packrafts out...
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I'm with Nick, I enjoyed it too. Black water...no bueno! =) I loved the packrafting. You've now officially experienced what we have dubbed "butt-scraping" while packrafting. Lane and Dave loathe it so much that they vow never to do the Escalante at low water again! I also loved Teressa's circus music. Haha! Look forward to hearing more about the "why" with the RV. =)
 
Man, it took me forever to edit the blackwater mess, i was laughing too hard. I'm glad we were able to have a good attitude about it, otherwise it could have ruined our day.

yeah, the butt-scraping was a drag, and we almost flipped a couple times because of it. Plus it was hard to paddle when your paddle wouldn't go all the way under the water. But man was it fun!

Most people won't understand the "why" we want to go with an RV. We discuss it a good amount on our website, but I'll try to explain it a little here.

It all started with that ultralight backpacking book by mike clelland. The very last chapter talks about how UL is a way of life. It's not about the weight, it's about simplifying life and getting rid of stuff you don't need. That whole mentality sparked us to live a more minimalist lifestyle. We are selling our house, downsizing, and we have sold/gotten rid of over half our possessions, with another big purge coming soon. My house, my possessions, it's all weighing me down, and we have been looking for a sustainable, off-the-grid tiny house lately, but Utah just hasn't caught up to the tiny house craze yet, and we can't find them.

Then we started thinking about an RV, and the idea of being able to move every month or two sounded really appealing, since we love to hike and explore, it'd give us more freedom to do so.
 
Nice! When I first asked "why", I had just watched the packrafting vid and I wasn't connecting the dots with some of your comments. After checking out the other vid and reading your explanation above, it's all making sense now. I can see you and Tess pulling it of.
 
It looks like Kokopelli has raised their prices. WIth where they're priced now, I'd recommend springing for an alpacka. The narrower design with the big butt is worth the extra $200 to me.
 
brooks range. north fork of the koyukuk.
 
A few from our Selway trip a few weeks ago:

A tricky class III (Galloping Gertie I think). A log in the upper part of the rapid made hitting the best line a challenge.
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The rest of Galloping Gertie.
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Can't remember which rapid this one is but I liked the shot.
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A shot at one of our camps after a rainstorm. The clouds were cool.
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Lovely clear water and scenery.
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And my favorite of the bunch I think. Dave's second run at Puzzle Creek rapid. He liked it so much the first time, he hiked up to do it again. =) Lane and I both swam this one after it snuck up on us as we neglected to scout it. Haha.
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A second later just after the drop in Puzzle Creek.
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