Matt (Admin)

I’m not sure what you’d really be getting out of the deal. I’m not a BL member, but it seems like there are plenty of avenues for people will find out about packrafts in general. People who would consider DIY as an option will find your website. The end product depends a lot on the person who is assembling it and a one-off review might be done by somebody who is more interested in quick rather than quality work and might not be impressed with their final product.

I will say that most reviews I read are near worthless. Every once and a while there will be gem that shows experience with the product with thoughtful insights.

Thanks, Steve – those are the same thoughts I’ve been mulling over plus some things I hadn’t really considered, so I appreciate your input. Cheers!

Thanks for the insight, Arnold, and the encouragement. I certainly do love working on DIY Packraft stuff. Like anything, there are aspects that aren’t so enjoyable… it would be nice to be able to hire someone to help out so I could accommodate more orders and put more effort into growing a “real business”, but there are zoning and insurance and workplace safety things to figure out before I’ll be able to take that leap. I wouldn’t want to get a big increase in publicity and orders and then be unable to fulfill them in a reasonable amount of time… They say a business that isn’t growing is dying, but I remember when one of the big packraft brands ran their Kickstarter campaign and got so many orders they took forever to fulfill them, and that just seemed to annoy everyone. Eventually they made it work though, so maybe that’s the right way to go.

Hi Zach, that’s a great idea. Thanks!

Hi Peter – thanks for your thoughtful comments; those are all good points. I haven’t sold so many kits that it’s likely there’s someone in your area who has one, but it is possible – feel free to send me an email, and please put a feeler out on the forum as well.

There actually is a guy in the UK who copied my website and has been selling packraft kits that use the older V2 assembly methods, which is why my newer instructions are password protected. I’d prefer to share everything and encourage people to document their builds in detail, but at the same time it’s annoying to have someone reword my ideas and market them as their own, so now there are certain things I’d rather not have widely publicized. It’s hard to maintain faith in humanity when I get emails from confused customers because someone has purchased a URL almost identical to https://www.diypackraft.com and redirected it to their site…

Thanks for the idea, Dan – I’ll give it some thought. And cool tents!

Hi Steve – that’s certainly a possibility for people who want it, as the V3 is still a good all-around design. Since the ultralight boats (hopefully) won’t be shooting any rapids, I wanted to offer an ultralight boat that is a bit easier to assemble and faster on flat water.

Thanks, Felix – I just added the results of my speed tests, too!

The fabrics are the 115 GSM yellow and 190 GSM black fabrics that are available in the shop. I’ll start selling the kit later in November – I just have to finish figuring out how to produce it and how much it will cost.

Yes, eventually there will be an update to the V3, though perhaps not with this design. If people want this design made from the heavier fabrics, that could also be a possiblity.

Thanks for the question – the 190 GSM fabric has TPU on both sides, so it can’t be heat sealed with an iron in the same way as the single-sided fabrics, so I won’t be offering a kit made entirely from that fabric.

Awesome. Very exciting. How can this be leveraged to make a two person boat? Think this fabric can be used with the voyageur template?

Awesome. Very exciting. How can this be leveraged to make a two person boat? Think this fabric can be used with the voyageur template?

Can we order the new design with standard fabrics? That is, 420D floor and 210D tubes? I know the new Telkwa model has the new design but it also has the wrap-around floor which I wouldn’t need, so I’d rather save the weight. But I like the new design for the faster construction time and faster flatwater travel compared to the V3.