Are you here for the first time and just getting into the world of packraft? This short post is just for you... If you're new to packrafting, below you'll find some basic information and tips to get you started on the road to freedom, because it's never been closer.

What is packraft?

Packraft is a small lightweight easy to pack boat. A boat that you throw on your back or attach to a loom, and go wherever your feet and paddles take you.

If you are technically inclined, you may be interested in made from?.

All our packrafts are made of material TPU.It is a thermoplastic polyurethane, i.e. a thermoplastic elastomer with the properties of a thermoplastic (i.e. it can be repeatedly melted and moulded) and an elastomer (i.e. it has high elasticity and flexibility). This material combines the advantages of plastics and elastomers, is water and air resistant and also highly wear resistant. All these properties make TPU ideal for the manufacture of packrafts.

How to choose a packraft?

• Choose the Packraft primarily according to what you intend to do with it. As with a bike, there is no such thing as a packraft that is great for everything. You'll have a hard time carrying big loads with a wild water special, and conversely, you can't jump waterfalls with a boat designed for fishing.
• Next, consider whether you can easily fit into the boat - if it should be too small for you, go for the larger version.
• And at the very end, deal with the little things. Whether you need a skeg, whether you use knee straps, skeg, etc.

What packraft will last?

They last a lot. Much more than it might seem at first glance.
However, always keep in mind that packraft is designed to make the most of its essence. That is a boat that is lightweight, easy to pack into a backpack, and great to store at home. Just a boat you can take anywhere.
For this reason, the pckraft is less robust than other inflatable vessels,but which weigh many times more and when packed, they make a separate seventy-litre loom. Logically, it should therefore last less, or its eventual puncture should be easier.

• It's true. A packraft will definitely last less than a conventional raft with the same impact. But you'll still only break through it by a really bad accident . It has to be a really nasty collision with a sharp rock, or maybe a piece of metal forgotten somewhere on the weir. If you are a bit clumsy, you can pierce it with a branch when carrying it, or when cutting sausages with a knife blade.
• If you manage to break through the floor, nothing happensA little water will flow into the boat from the bottom and will pour out through the same hole. At the next stop, just put some Gorilla tape over it and you're done.
• If you manage to break through the tube,you will of course start to leak air from the ship. In most cases, it's a slow leak that you can fix with a temporary patch and then fix at home for good.
• Only if you are really unlucky will you make a hole in the ship that will cause the packraft to launch almost instantly. That's never happened to us, and we don't really mess with our ships. However, in that case, you have to take into account that a big hole equals instant swim. Therefore, always go out on packrafts equipped to deal with a possible swim. A life jacket, spare clothing and possibly a helmet are the basics without which you should never go on the water. Even a big hole can then be easily repaired - it doesn't mean the end of the vessel.

How much packraft can carry?

A simple question with a complex answer.
Packraft may carry a lot. However, it is necessary to distinguish between what a packraft can carry without sinking and how much it can carry to be used for its intended purpose (lake crossing versus wild water of WW IV difficulty).

• In general, a packraft will carry the number of people it is designed to carry, plus a load equivalent to, say, a full rucksackhat you are able to carry on an expedition.
  Packraft manages to carry more,but then you have to take into account that it will not behave in the water as you would like. For example, you can cross a lake with a really overloaded Eddy packraft, but definitely don't take it into difficult wild water.
• CWe recommend that you always test the handling of a specific ship with a specific cargo in optimal conditions. Before the expedition, load the boat with the planned cargo exactly as you plan later and test it in a calm environment at the shore, for example on a pond. If you have trouble keeping your load balanced on the duck behind your house, chances are it won't be any better on the Creatures. Not to mention the Reds😊. ...
• Each ship will behave differently with different types and weights of cargo and how it is loaded (fore/aft/inside the ship).Take your time and find a way that works for you.

So, how to start?

Get a packraft, or try it out in our rental shop first. Throw a boat on your back, hop on a train, get off at your favourite area and go for it. Don't jump into the rapids right away, but try the boat out in calm or slow-moving water first so you know how it behaves.

Don't overestimate your abilities. Packrafts will forgive you much more than a racing kayak. Most of the models are incredibly stable and capable of running over anything. Of course, that doesn't make you a better paddler.

Ideally, do not go out on the water alone and always follow the basic paddling rules, have basic equipment with you vest, throwing bag and possibly a paddling helmet and adequate clothing including a spare.

There was enough to begin with. It's not complicated, it's time to head for freedom.

Stay Wild, Be Free!

#staywildebefree