I use this type of attachment point to secure the thigh straps to my packrafts, and because they’re low profile and only weigh 3 grams (0.1 oz), they’re a good option for securing things to your spray deck, behind your backrest, and in many other areas.
Just a quick post to let you know that as of now, all the DIY Packraft kit prices have been reduced! With everything else in life getting more expensive, I hope this comes as a welcome surprise. Check them out in the shop!
After many iterations, I’ve come up with a thigh strap design that works well, is comfortable, and has an installed weight of only 130 grams (4.6 ounces) including the attachment points. From now on, a set of thigh straps will be included with every Skeena, Atlin, and Telkwa kit. If Read more
I’ve always used an inflation bag to inflate my packrafts, but I keep seeing people mention that they prefer to use a little portable electric pump, so I decided to buy one and try it out myself. Using the pump is definitely faster and more convenient in many situations, but Read more
Due to its size, the 2-Person model is the most time-consuming DIY Packraft to build, and the most challenging model for a first-time builder. As you can see, however, forum member “Opie” did a great job on his! Opie posted details of his 2-Person DIY Packraft build on the DIY Read more
As part of my ongoing effort to improve the DIY Packraft instructions, I’ve completely remade the inflation bag assembly instructions video and webpage. Hopefully the changes will make it easy for you to understand how to put the parts together. As always, I’d love to know what you think!
This iron from Aliexpress was recommended by Bruce Campbell of Fairbanks, Alaska – a man of many great ideas! I bought one to try it out for myself, and I agree that it’s the best iron I’ve used for heat sealing the DIY Packraft fabrics (with one caveat). I’m not Read more
Evan Rodgers emailed to show me this simple and ingenious method of using a second Boston valve to create an inflation bag adapter that screws into the packraft’s Boston valve. Great idea! Thanks for sharing, Evan! Here’s what Evan wrote: I recently ordered an extra Boston valve to test out Read more
Some of the software I use to run the DIY Packraft Shop has recently been updated to enhance security and functionality, so if you encounter any problems making a purchase, please contact me to tell me about the issue! Thanks very much! Matt
I made this video to show the current fabrics that I use to make the Ultralight and the standard weight DIY Packraft kits. In the video, I talk about some of their properties and show how durable they are. If you want to test the fabrics yourself, you can do Read more
Customer Steve Gurney sent me these great pictures from his first trip in his DIY Packraft Skeena. Steve was one of the first people to order the new orange fabric, and I think it looks fantastic! The Caples River, near Queenstown, New Zealand, looks amazing too. “Lots of people comment Read more
It’s that time of year again! If you’d like to save some money on a DIY Packraft and give to charity at the same time, you can bid on a $200 (CAD) DIY Packraft coupon at my local Rotary Club’s annual online auction. At the time I write this, the Read more
I’m excited to announce that a fabric shipment has arrived with two new colors, orange and green (or pumpkin and sage, if you prefer)! These will be available as tube fabric in all of the standard weight packraft kits. Nikki tells me these are her new favorite colors in the Read more
The DIY Packraft spray decks use flexible plastic tubing to stiffen the rim that the elastic spray skirt fits over (the coaming), and several customers have said that the tubing I supplied with their kit is too flimsy to secure their spray skirts. I was kind of scratching my head Read more
As part of my effort to continuously improve the DIY Packraft instructions, I’ve made a new, more comprehensive video about heat sealing. It’s pretty long, but it’s everything you need to know, all in one place, and my hope is that even experienced DIY Packraft builders will learn something useful Read more
I have just received a new shipment of airtight/waterproof zippers from TIZIP, and this time I ordered some MasterSeal 10 zippers in addition to the SuperSeal zippers I have been using since 2016. Both zippers are the same size and have the same air pressure rating, but compared to the Read more
Spring is here in the northern hemisphere and many of us are getting excited about packrafting trips we have planned for this paddling season, so now is a good time to think about paddling safety. Packrafting fatalities are very rare – in most years since record-keeping began there have been Read more
I recently added roll-top drybag kits to the DIY Packraft shop. I designed the drybags with a diameter of about 23 cm (9″) so they will fit inside a packraft’s side tubes, and they’re fairly long, with a usable volume of about 33 litres each. Assembling one of these drybags Read more
In response to a request from a customer, I’ve started selling pairs of wooden heat sealing forms in the DIY Packraft shop. These tools aren’t required for making a packraft, but they do make joining the tubes together a bit easier compared to draping the fabric over an overturned bowl Read more
Recently Guy Stuart of the Bikepacker’s Foundry was asked to give a presentation about bikerafting to a paddling club – apparently the presentation was a hit, and Guy made the slideshow available on his Bikerafting Gear List page. If you’re interested in combining cycling, paddling, and camping, then it’s definitely Read more
Recently I’ve had a few customers send me some construction tips and build reports that you might find useful. Build Report: Barbara B’s Skeena build report is one of the most detailed I’ve received, and it contains some great tips from the perspective of a first-time builder, plus some stunning Read more
The payment processor I use (Stripe) supports several payment methods in addition to credit cards, so I recently added them as payment options on the DIY Packraft checkout page to make it easier for people who prefer not to use credit cards. Most of these options are only available in Read more
Happy new year! 2022 was a difficult year in many ways, and I’d like to thank everyone who helped keep DIY Packraft afloat by placing pre-orders during those months when I was waiting for fabric to arrive and had nothing to sell except my promises. I managed to get all Read more
Yes indeed – after almost an entire year, all of the DIY Packraft kits are back in stock. It will take me some time to fulfill the pre-orders, but my goal is to ship them all out before the end of the year. After all the pre-orders are fulfilled, order Read more