If you have made a ‘faux’ pack raft (as here and here) as I have you will have had the same problem with the paddle. The cheap (Intex) rafts come with a set of oars which need to be converted into a double bladed paddle (which will fit in a canoe drum!) I tried several […]
I have been playing a bit with heat sealable materials. I decided to buy a sealing iron $A50 – a sound buy. Tried it out on one of the pillows I bought for my sleeping pad side insulation which I had been reluctant to touch as I was finding it so comfortable, but at 100
I recently bought one of these for $A20 (July 2018) from K-Mart to play with. I wanted to practice some seam heat-sealing with something available and cheap before I began modifying an expensive hiking pad: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/axl-air-down-pad/ . I had in mind that I would probably be able to make an inflatable pack frame with one
You have probably caught up with the price of a brand new Alpacka raft (http://www.alpackaraft.com/alpacka-raft-series/) and put your canoeing dreams on hold, but there are cheaper options. (Currently A$ 250 Jun 2019). There is for example my home made pack raft (which costs less then A$40) that I posted about way back here: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/home-made-pack-raft/ for
You can make a lighter non compliant PFD which you fill with other inflatable items, eg Platypus bottles (I carry a 1 and 2 litre bottle, pillows (I carry the Exped Ultralight), wine bladders (who doesn’t have a few of them lying around?) and etc. Here is the link to Mountain Laurel Designs ‘Thing’ or
Well, we have tried our faux packraft against our Alpacka raft on a four hour Grade 2+ section of the Wonnangatta River on an overnight trip (during which we saw 9 deer!) and apart from some slight abrasion to the lamination of the poly tarp (nappy) the $40 raft stood up splendidly. I found a
I bought a $40 raft (Intex) from Clark Rubber and reinforced it with a layer of poly tarp which can be attached to it with polyethylene tape (from greenhouse suppliers), ‘Gaffer’ or ‘Duct’ tape. You could also use tarp clips if you prefer. This makes it well-nigh indestructible. The tarps come in three weights: 100grams/square
