Packrafts. The thread.

Advice needed from all of you experienced packrafters. I'm thinking of picking one up primarily for small rivers like the Escalante, Dirty Devil, Muddy Creek, etc. Would a spray deck just be a pain to have or would it be helpful? Specifically considering the Kokopelli Nirvana that has it permanently installed if you choose that option. My gut feel is that it would be a total pain the arse to have for those kind of rivers with the frequent in and out and likelihood of having a dog with me too.
 
If you're not looking at more than class 2 whitewater...and those runs are class 2 at the most...skip the deck.
 
You'll be fine on the Escalante and Dirty Devil without a skirt. You'll have to dump water out a few times but no big deal. You don't want a skirt if you're planning to bring your pup.
 
X3. The opening on the nirvana is bigger than the alpackas, which is nice, but I wish I hadn't ordered a skirt on my alpacka, it just gets in the way.
 
My Kokopellis came today. I'm stoked. One of them was missing the seat, but they've already responded to my email and said they will send it out tomorrow. I hope to make everyone a little jealous soon since it's 60 degrees here and I don't have to wait until spring to take them out!
 
Man, packrafts are HUGE! I just got done packing for my first packrafting trip. 3 days, 2 nights. Got it all into a 50L Atmos but the paddles and PFD will be on the outside. I'm packed to the brim. I think I'm going to have to switch to a 70L for future trips with this thing.

Which leads to the question, how do you guys pack your rafts (inside, outside) and how big of a pack do you pack it all in compared to how big without it? For example, I'm usually good in a 36L pack in fair weather 4-5 day trips or a 50L pack for iffy weather and longer trips but I think I'd need a 70L+ for an iffy weather packraft trip.
 
I don't know how you guys fit things in a 36 L pack. My day pack for most of our trips is bigger than that! On combination canyon/packraft trips I've been using a 70 L Golite Jam. It seems to work well rappelling although I'm sure I'm well above the recommended max weight to carry. On long packraft trips I usually carry my Osprey 85 L. The boat and life jacket are usually outside. Although it's nice to carry the boat inside if you can.
 
I had the 3400 Southwest Hyperlight Mountain Gear pack, just upsized to the 4400 for my lower Escalante trip next month.
Packraft gear adds up, especially for whitewater and colder weather.
Packraft, paddle and PFD will add close to 10 lbs.
I use the large outside pocket on the Southwest for my packraft. You gotta roll that sucker up tight though.
Paddles sticking up outside the pack just looks cool, chicks dig it.
 
Nick said:
Man, packrafts are HUGE! I just got done packing for my first packrafting trip. 3 days, 2 nights. Got it all into a 50L Atmos but the paddles and PFD will be on the outside. I'm packed to the brim. I think I'm going to have to switch to a 70L for future trips with this thing.

Which leads to the question, how do you guys pack your rafts (inside, outside) and how big of a pack do you pack it all in compared to how big without it? For example, I'm usually good in a 36L pack in fair weather 4-5 day trips or a 50L pack for iffy weather and longer trips but I think I'd need a 70L+ for an iffy weather packraft trip.
Click to expand...

I am a big fan of the Roman Dial fold. Lets you fit your boat flat in the bottom of your pack. Looking forward to hearing about your trip down Dark Canyon!

 
My attempt at the Roman fold. I think if I tried it with music I could get it smaller.

packraft3.JPG
 
I haven't carried it in the real world, yet, but I folded/rolled the Kokopelli and attached it to the bottom of my Osprey pack. It seemed okay to me. I have read that the Kokopelli doesn't roll down as small as the Alpacka.
 
I can do 3-4 days with a Khamsin 52, using one side pocket and PFD/paddle on the outside.

Recently my son made a 60+ lt. pack that uses the paddle looms as a frame and is designed to be strapped directly on the boat in a way that allows you to put it on with the raft attached for portaging.

Here from our 25 Mile to Scorpion trip a few weeks back:

DSC04761 by jan nikolajsen, on Flickr

DSC04820 by jan nikolajsen, on Flickr

DSC04875 by jan nikolajsen, on Flickr
 
I used the kokopelli and rolled it and put it on the top of my pack with the pack lid clipped over it. I packed the lifejacket inside my pack and paddles outside on the sides...this was in a 60L pack. 3 day trip my pack weighed about 40 lbs.
 
Nick said:
I think the Kokopelli rafts must not fold up as well as the Alpackas. Anyone have experience with both. Maybe @steve?
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The kokopellis are a little bigger, but they fold down pretty good. You're right though, these things take up A LOT of room. Sounds like a really fun trip you have planned.
 
steve said:
The kokopellis are a little bigger, but they fold down pretty good. You're right though, these things take up A LOT of room. Sounds like a really fun trip you have planned.
Click to expand...

It was! The Kokopellis performed nicely. We had four of them on this trip so my report will look like a Kokopelli commercial. They even did great for a rather unpleasant stretch of Cataract Canyon wind gusts upward of 50mph and 20-30mph sustained.
 
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