Matt (Admin)

Many of you have been waiting for the new fabric shipment to arrive – thank you for your patience! The shipment is now “in transit”. I originally gave what I thought was a conservative estimate of when the fabric would arrive (late March or early April), based on promises I Read more

Have a look at this beautiful 5-piece DIY carbon fiber packraft paddle made by Andreas H. – pretty good for a first attempt, I’d say! It’s made from 20×18 and 18×16 millimeter carbon fiber tubing and 1 mm carbon fiber sheet glued with cyanoacrylate (“super”) glue and epoxy, and held Read more

I’ve posted some guidelines here for people who would like to make an inflatable floor. My standard video+picture instructions aren’t up yet because I’m in the middle of moving to a new house, so if you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask. My response time is slower than usual because of Read more

Check out the new top-up valves now in stock in the DIY Packraft shop. They’re lighter, more flexible, prettier, and cheaper than the older top-up valves – basically better in every way! They can also be extended to any length by adding flexible tubing between the valve and the flange. Read more

Check out the pontoon boat my friend Tim of www.cubenmaker.com is making with the 210D heat sealable fabric! And guess what the weight is – only 11 lbs (5 kg) as tested, and probably closer to 13 lbs (5.9 kg) when finished. Tim has offered to send patterns and detailed Read more

After a sudden increase in orders last month (thanks in large part to my new friends in Fairbanks, Alaska and Midway, Utah!), I have nearly run out of red, yellow, blue, and black 210D fabric. I have changed the status of these fabrics in the shop to “backordered,” and done Read more

Several people have had trouble finding a suitable field repair tape, so I added my favourite one to the DIY Packraft shop. It’s similar to Tyvek tape, but it’s a different brand. You can learn more about it here 🙂

Here are a few pictures of the new spray deck! It’s made from 210D heat sealable fabric and a lightweight, collapsible aluminum tent pole. The total weight of the packraft, including the inflatable floor and spray deck, is now 2008 grams, or 4.426 pounds. Spray deck kits and instructions are Read more

I’d like to add some green fabric to the shop to complement the red, yellow, blue and black fabrics there now. I’m curious if people like light green or dark green, earthy green or bright green, or maybe something in between. If you like a certain shade (or dislike one), Read more

Some people haven’t been able to find suitable adhesives where they live, so I have added Aquaseal glue and Seam Grip seam sealer to the shop. I only ordered a small number of each, because I’m not sure how popular they will be, so if you want some you can Read more

Several people have asked if it would be possible to make a self-bailing or inflatable floor using the double-layer floor option, and I have finished retrofitting my multi-colored packraft with an inflatable floor in just this way. The inflatable floor is a great success! It adds padding between you and Read more

I just posted this new video to go along with the page I wrote about fixing leaks, which you can read here: Punctures, Leaks, and Repairs.

One nice thing about a packraft is that you can toss it in your luggage when you go travelling and then go paddling at your destination without having to rent a boat. That’s what I did this Christmas, when I visited Vancouver Island. Don’t be fooled by the sunshine – Read more

Thanks to everyone who pre-ordered the TIZIP SuperSeal zippers! First there was a delay at the factory in Germany, and then the shipping took longer than usual because of the holidays, but I finally got the zippers from UPS yesterday and now I’m getting the pre-orders out the door. To Read more

@tomi made this funny video of the first test of his packraft made from the DIY Packraft plans! Excellent work! You can ask @tomi about his experience by joining the forum!

Check out the new instructions for installing the TIZIP SuperSeal airtight zipper in your packraft here 🙂

I get a lot of emails from people with questions, tips, pictures, and requests, and for some time now I’ve been thinking I should add a forum or social networking platform to the website so others can benefit from our correspondence. Today I added this feature, which you can find Read more

As many of you have noticed, the new Version 2 plans and DIY Packraft Kit instructions are complete, including videos, text, and pictures. You can find them in the How-To menu above. Here’s the packraft I completed while making the instructional videos:    

I have just uploaded this second instruction video for the kits and V2 plans. Enjoy! Text+picture instructions are posted here.

This heat sealing iron arrived in my mailbox today, and I’m really happy with it! Click here to read my review. Note: This is a post from 2016. See the current iron recommendations here. 

I did it! I’m offering exactly the same zippers available in the best manufactured packrafts, at a fraction of the cost. In order to get them at a decent price, I had to purchase a large quantity (the story of my life). To help balance the books I have decided Read more

  After hiking up our local ski hill yesterday, Nikki and I were rewarded with an exciting ride down!