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
Update: December 13 – the fabric is here in BC, it has cleared customs, and all the paperwork is done. Now it awaits transportation to my shop – only a few more days!! More than ten months after I ordered this batch of packraft floor fabric I am still waiting Read more
If you’d like to save some money on a DIY Packraft and give to a worthy charity at the same time, you can bid on a $200 (CAD) DIY Packraft coupon at the annual Rotary Club online auction. At the time I write this, the bidding is up to just Read more
After being out of stock for nearly two years, the Ultralight DIY Packraft kits are back and better than before! I’ve just received a shipment of beautiful new lightweight ripstop fabrics in red, yellow, blue, and black – I don’t know if the photos do them justice, but the colors Read more
Luc Mehl, the well-known Alaskan adventurer and author of The Packraft Handbook and www.thingstolucat.com, is now offering an online packrafting course. Luc and I have exchanged a few emails over the years, so he’s not a total stranger to me, but I don’t receive a commission or any other benefit Read more
Updated August 18, 2022 Finally, the first fabric shipment is here! That’s the good news. The bad news is that there isn’t enough fabric here to fulfill all of the pre-orders (or any new orders), and due to more production delays at the factory, the larger fabric shipment won’t arrive Read more
Updated June 28, 2022 Unless you’re new to this website, you know that DIY Packraft has been suffering from the same supply chain problems that are affecting other industries, and it’s been many months since I’ve had any packraft kits stock. I was finally able to order more fabric earlier Read more
Inspired by bikerafting, the Atlin’s wide bow creates a stable and buoyant platform for carrying large loads. For more information about the Atlin, watch the one-minute intro video below and check out the product page in the shop. People on the DIY Packraft mailing list have known about this packraft Read more
It’s snowing outside here now and all the lakes and rivers are frozen, so editing this vlog-style video was a nice change of scenery for me. It’s footage from a solo packrafting trip I did last August in Nanika-Kidprice Provincial Park, which is one of the many huge back-country parks Read more
This is just a quick follow-up to my previous post – I received some positive feedback about the pre-order idea, so now I’ve made it possible to pre-order (backorder) the packraft kits in the Shop. These orders will ship after the fabric arrives. I have already paid the deposit for Read more
TL;DR: Normal order processing times are about a week, but I’m out of fabric, so packraft kits will be unavailable for several months. Sign up here to be notified when kits are in stock. Happy new year! Like many businesses around the world, DIY Packraft has been affected by the Read more
2021 has been a good year for DIY Packraft, but the supply chain problems that have been plaguing the world have caught up with me and I’m sorry to say that the Telkwa, Ultralight, and 2-Person kits are all sold out, and now I have only enough fabric to make Read more
Update: Shipping times are mostly back to normal. You may have seen in the news that the Canadian province of British Columbia, where DIY Packraft is located, has experienced severe flooding and that all the highways and railroads leading to the city of Vancouver have been washed away or buried. Read more
If you’d like to save some money on a DIY Packraft and give to a worthy charity at the same time, you can bid on a $200 (CAD) DIY Packraft coupon at the annual Rotary Club online auction. At the time I write this, there are no bids and the Read more
James Cummins sent me an excellent build report detailing his experience assembling first one, and then another DIY Packraft Telkwa kit. He shares some great lessons and inspiring photos, so please check it out here. If you’d like to read more customer build reports, check out the links near the Read more
Good news for everyone who has been waiting for airtight zippers to be back in stock – they arrived today! Now I’m catching up on backorders and I’ll do my best to ship them as quickly as possible. Thanks for your patience!
Update: offcuts and scraps are now available in limited quantities in the shop on a trial basis. I have a lot of fabric pieces that aren’t useful to me but they could be useful to someone else – things like irregularly shaped off-cuts, end-of-the-roll pieces that are too small to Read more
Updated March 19, 2021 After being out of stock for about half a year, a new shipment of packraft fabric arrived in February and I received a large number of orders as soon as I announced the packraft kits were back in stock. New orders are coming in at a Read more
I am very grateful for the number of people who placed orders immediately after I announced the new fabric shipment had arrived, and now I am working to fulfill the orders as quickly as possible. DIY Packraft is just me (Matt), so it’s taking me several days to respond to Read more
At long last! The Skeena, Telkwa, and 2-Person packraft kits are now available in all colors and sizes, and spray decks and spray skirts are also available. (Bulk fabric sales and Ultralight packraft kits will not be available for the foreseeable future.) Every DIY Packraft kit is custom made by Read more
The past several months have sure tested my patience, but barring further delays, the new DIY Packraft fabric shipment will arrive in 2-3 weeks (early to mid-February). Then I will start making packraft kits again! Orders will be processed in the sequence they are received, so if you’re keen to Read more
The American Packrafting Association is hosting an online whitewater packrafting skills clinic called, “Boat, Don’t Float” presented by Mark Oats. I’m not associated with Mark or the APA, but it looks like a really cool event, so I will be participating and if you’re interested in whitewater paddling, you should Read more
I have just finished editing a “highlights” video from the 30-day solo packrafting/hiking trip I did this past summer, so if you’re interested in seeing what that trip was like, please check it out. I’m also working on a written trip report that includes maps, pictures, and a gear list Read more