Activity

I find that trimming the long corner with a straight edge to the correctly aligned corner at the other side of the panel works best for me.  If you think of the raft shape as a frying pan before closing the chambers, the attached panels edges are much easier to work with when it is a even continuous edge (rim).  That way when you roll it to align…[Read more]

I think that makes sense. If I don’t trim the long piece, should I align the edge with the longer piece (so there’s a gap between the shorter piece and its corresponding edge) or align it with the shorter piece (so the longer piece overlaps its corresponding edge)?

Excellent work! I like the lightning bolt detail, too.

It’s a great feeling to paddle someplace where you know a boat has probably never been before – like being the first person to summit a mountain 🙂

Another red-DIY packraft-on-the-living-room-floor photo. And the maiden voyage photo on Lake Silver, Central Plateau, Tasmania. I’m pretty sure there has never been a packraft on Lake Silver before (5 hours hike from car park). I’ve named it ‘Packrafty McPackrafty-Face’.

Thanks, for the reviews, Jeb! I was wondering about both of those irons. I think the Polyvance will be out of most people’s price range, but the Dritz seems like a good option, especially since Clover seems to have a quality control problem or design flaw that leaves many people disappointed.

Not thrilled at all with the clover irons.  Both our 120v units don’t get hot enough to do anything.  I already had a Polyvance Miniweld model 7 airless plastic welder and it works very well.  Also just picked up a Dritz Petite Press portable mini iron, it seems to work very well too.  The Dritz is more ergonomic than most for those long sea…[Read more]

sorry, not 430- 340 degree

Thanks for the reply!

I’m lucky enough to own a husky that actually thinks it’s ok to lie down and have a rest, so I’m fairly certain she’ll get used to the raft soon enough. And having zero experience with whitewater, I would definately not bring my dog with me if I decide to give it a try 😀

Ok, sounds like a good decision. Floppy rafts so…[Read more]

Hi Jaahan,

I don’t have experience paddling with a dog, but I think your comfort will have as much to do with your dog’s temperament and the distances you plan to paddle as anything else… I have paddled at a leisurely page with two people in a Small size DIY Packraft for an hour and that was fine in regard to buoyancy, handling, and comfort -…[Read more]

Thanks for the idea, @Lyn – I added links to this thread on the fabric product pages.

Looks great! Thanks for posting!

i say it again : to work with 210d from extremtextil you need a digital soldering station and

important: teflonfoil between the iron and fabric ! my working temperature is 430 degree

My Packraft and testing it on the lake

Perhaps, Matt, this would be a good time to add a note to your shop page about the risk of buying fabric from other sources that is not marked ‘nylon 66’, and a link to this thread (saying to read it all – it’s too easy to miss important bits in a long thread). Many of us have been caught by this issue now, and I’m sure that we would all regard…[Read more]

Valves

Boston valves: I searched around to see if I could find a cheaper Boston Valve, no luck in New Zealand, all I managed to find were replacement inserts, not the flanged valve itself. I ended up buying from Aliexpress for $6 USD a piece with free shipping. They seem to be good quality, I ordered three and they all came as yellow on…[Read more]

STEER CLEAR OF EXTREME TEXTIL (http://www.extremtextil.de)

Due to Matt running out material and me being super keen to get a packraft together before easter (two weeks away) I ordered from Extreme Textil. I ordered 210d TPU coated one side 275g/sqm, heat sealable (product #71100)  in orange and blue, I also ordered 70d TPU, coated one side 1…[Read more]