What’s not to like about this? A Naturehike Packraft for less than A$600 – or a double for A$830 (Sept 2023). Aliexpress is great. This is a big saving over other brands which come in now at twice or more than three times that!
We received ours as a New Year’s ‘present’ – it came in less than two weeks. Honey is already licking her chops in anticipation of some summer canoe trips. She loves swimming and diving from the boat/s.
There are lots of other brands out there too (scroll down to see). I would be interested in some feedback.
They appear to be made of exactly the same stuff and by the same method, ie 210 denier nylon TPU for the tubes and 420 denier nylon TPU for the bottom though they seem more robust than that to me. They seem much the same super tough fabric that our K-1 canoes are made of. It is probably heavier than the stated 5.5 kg.
I have tried out lots of Naturehike stuff (hiking poles & etc) and I find it hard to fault as to quality – and impossible to beat as to price. I know you will say I should support local manufacturers – but I also have to survive myself!
Other people are already selling Chinese packrafts here (Kokopelli, MRS etc) for double or more than the Alpackas – which are now pushing from A$1200 to over $2000! – though we have three ourselves and find them great! I figure if you are not going to push the envelope too much these Naturehike ones will suit you down to the ground.
Just trying it out in the dam this morning. It went well. Expect some more action shots from the Wonnangatta River etc soon.
The seats are super comfortable and adjustable/moveable. You could paddle the canoe as a one-person affair with vast amounts of luggage. The floor is also inflatable meaning that it will have excellent stability and that as you bump over rocks your anatomy is not compromised.
You may want to add pack attachment points. It has four at the front. You can buy stick on tie-downs from Alpacka or their Australian agent reasonably – A$8.95 (Jan 2023) each. You may want four for a second waterproof pack. You can also purchase a carry handle from them (A$10.95 – Jan 2023) for the rear – it has one at the front. These will make portaging easier.
The dogs are all ready to head out.
I have done this myself and just used plastic buckles and some string to attach them. I will find some pics and add some instructions later if you are interested/challenged. A pack balances better at the front but it gets in the way visually.
Still, I managed to pack raft a lovely section of the Mitchell recently with home made attachment points , as you can see here: Mitchell River Overnight
This double raft is really very large and with vast amounts of bouyancy. We will find it carries ourselves (and maybe the two dogs sometimes) for a multi-day canoe trip. I have been promising Della a trip on Pack Rafting the Remote Wonnangatta. Now it looks like this might be in the near future.
Another trip Waterford to Angusvale is also very likely. Her eyesight (glaucoma) has made paddling her own canoe on white water rapids less enjoyable than it once was. This double packraft is our hoped-for solution. It has a detachable fin to increase stability on flat water. I doubt we will use this a lot. It takes quite a lot of pumping up with the included carry bag. I will probably take a small pump along to make this easier.
Another great way to save money however is a DIY Packraft – or if you want to save simply heaps (and we have tried these out on Grade 3-4 water why not a Faux Packraft or Homemade Packraft for thirty bucks? My cheap/free Intex Double Paddle actually does work too.
There is plenty of water about just now and the weather is sunny, so get going folks! See my last post: Silver River, Endless Sky
They also have cheap packraft paddles (approx A$100 – Sept 2023)
