Education
Packrafting Paddles & PFDs
After Pilotpeat posted a question in the forum about packrafting paddles, I decided to make a permanent page to address the subject in the FAQ. Here’s the paddle page. I also received an email from Kait P. asking about life jackets (“Personal Flotation Devices”), so I started a PFD page Read more
Administrative
Pandemic Update/FAQ
Here are a few pandemic-related questions and their answers (plus a couple of rants), which I will update as things change: Is DIY Packraft still making and shipping packraft kits? Yes! My region has been mercifully spared by the pandemic, so things go on here with few disruptions aside from Read more
Announcement
Bulk Fabric Sales Suspended
I’m running low on several of the DIY Packraft fabrics, and due to all the craziness in the world right now, it’s uncertain when I’ll be able to receive new shipments. For that reason, I’ve removed the bulk fabrics from the DIY Packraft shop until further notice. I really enjoy Read more
Announcement
Notice: Colored Seats
Due to a shortage of black fabric, all packraft seat parts will be made from colored fabric until further notice. I will use the same color as the packraft’s tubes or a complementary color, depending on availability. Seam strips and attachment points will still be made from black fabric until/unless Read more
Administrative
Postal Service Suspended to 60 Countries
TL;DR: Any order placed during the COVID-19 pandemic may be subject to unavoidable shipping delays; by placing an order, you accept this possibility and agree to wait. For up-to-date postal service status information, check the following links: Available shipping methods by country (outside USA & Canada): International All Postal Service Read more
Administrative
Coronavirus & DIY Packraft
All this frightening news about the coronavirus pandemic is enough to make one want to pack a bag and take an extended packrafting trip deep into the backcountry – or at least hole up with some canned food and spend time making packrafts alone. Fortunately, experts at the Centers for Read more
Announcement
New Packraft Floor Fabric
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that I’m constantly working to improve the DIY Packraft designs, instructions, and materials. Today I’m excited to introduce a new fabric that has been specially made for the DIY Packraft floors. It’s only 450 grams per square meter (13.3 Read more
Education
Ken’s DIY Packraft Fleet & Telkwa Build Report
Ken S. recently sent me some pictures of his growing DIY Packraft fleet, which looks fantastic. He also sent some really useful feedback for me, which I have turned into the Telkwa build report linked below. I try my best to make the DIY Packrafts as easy to build as Read more
Education
How to Choose a Packraft (not just DIY)
I’ve been working on an article about how to evaluate different packrafts when you’re shopping around online. It started out as a blog post, but it ended up being quite long and detailed (over 4000 words!), and I think it will remain useful indefinitely, so I decided to post it Read more
Administrative
$200 Coupon in Online Charity Auction
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 here. At the time I write this, bidding is at $111, so Read more
Book Review
Backcountry Meal Planning
While doing some research for an upcoming packrafting trip, I came across a very useful resource that I’d like to bring to your attention. It’s a concise 38-page PDF called Backpacking Food: Recipes, Rations, Stoves & Storage, written by legendary long-distance backpacker/ultrarunner/explorer Andrew Skurka (named “Adventurer of the Year” by Read more
Announcement
Spray Deck & Spray Skirt
I’ve been promising a DIY Packraft spray deck + spray skirt kit for literally years, but until now I didn’t have a system that was affordable, simple to make, lightweight, safe, and quick to set up. After lots of experimentation and several design iterations, I’ve come up with a deck Read more
Administrative
A DIY Packraft Logo?
Every so often I think DIY Packraft should have a logo – something beautiful, clever, iconic, and instantly recognizable – like Apple’s apple or the Coca Cola script… but I’m not a world-class graphic designer, so that doesn’t really seem feasible. I’ve considered hiring a designer or a brand consultant Read more
Administrative
Video: Intro to DIY Packraft
It’s been a couple of years since I made an introductory video for DIY Packraft, so I thought it was time to make a new one. I don’t really know where to post it, so for now it goes here.
Book Review
Book Review: Packrafting, by Molly Absolon
I don’t know how I failed to notice Molly Absolon’s book, “Packrafting – Exploring the Wilderness by Portable Boat” (2017) until now, but I finally picked up a copy last week and read the nearly 250 pages in just a few days. There are beautiful color pictures on almost every Read more
Book Review
Book Review: A Long Trek Home
225 pages, 2009, Erin McKittrick I received A Long Trek Home as a gift in 2009 and I’ve since read it a couple of times. The story follows the author and her husband as they hike, packraft, and ski about 4000 miles (over 6000 km) from Seattle, Washington, to the Read more
Gear Talk
Convert a Kayak Paddle to a Packraft Paddle & Trekking Pole
Note: I’m not recommending that you buy an expensive carbon paddle and then cut it up to make a packrafting paddle – if you’re purchasing a new paddle then you can probably find a 4-piece paddle that suits your budget – but if you already own a 2-piece paddle, or Read more
Gear Talk
The Perfect Ultralight Packrafting Water Shoe
When paddling on calm lakes, it’s often possible to enter and exit a packraft without getting your feet wet, but in moving water I find that it’s rarely an option. In fact, it’s usually a matter of scrambling over sharp rocks, jamming your feet between slippery cobbles, or wading through Read more
Education
Packraft Weight Capacity
A few keen-eyed DIY packrafters have noticed that the newer Telkwa and Skeena kits have lower capacity ratings than the V3, in spite of being longer and having more air volume in the tubes. This is a result of a more conservative assessment on my part, not something intrinsic to Read more
Announcement
First Look: Skeena (updated)
Since the new Ultralight and Telkwa DIY Packraft kits were released, several people have asked for a similar packraft kit made from standard weight fabrics without a wrap-around floor. Tonight I inflated this new packraft for the first time – I haven’t even weighed it yet, but I was so Read more
Administrative
Website Redesign in Progress
Several people have reported having issues with this website not working properly in their browsers, so I’m making some major changes both behind the scenes and to the design of the site. All the same content will still be here, and hopefully you’ll have a better experience once you get Read more
Education
New Video: Iron Temperature & Timing
I’ve just made a new video that shows what to look for (and what to avoid!) when setting the temperature on your heat sealing iron, and how to tell how long you need to iron two pieces of fabric together to create a strong bond between them. Together, temperature and Read more
Education
Iron Modification Video
The “leather iron” from www.aliexpress.com is my preferred iron for assembling DIY Packraft kits. It’s hot enough, it maintains a consistent temperature, it’s robustly built, it’s the right width for heat sealing the packraft’s seams, and it’s affordable. It’s not perfect out of the box, however, so I made this Read more