What is it like paddling one of these? How great was the learning curve?
These boats are plug and play for all levels. My first trip was on the Potomac down through S-Turn and Wetbottom at higher flows, and I was petrified—but that was only because I didn't know what to expect. At the time, I didn't know anybody who had paddled a packraft, and I was basically dropping into an unknown (to me) experience.
I shouldn't have been worried, though, as these boats are very forgiving. I've taken athletic people down Bloomington as a first trip, and they did totally fine (dressed for cold water and with conservative lines). Paddlers moving to packrafts from kayaks won't have any issues at all. If you are comfortable on the Lower Yough in a hardboat, you could have these boats wired by the bottom of the Loop. You just have to account for the lack of a true edge, the tendency to backender in big waves, and the slower nature of paddling a boat with a wide bow.
What is the difference between a packraft and an inflatable kayak or ducky?
I know we've talked already about the weight, but it's such a remarkable feature that I always come back to that. A light duck is like 35 pounds, and the heaviest packraft is a third of that. The Alpacka Classic, a boat I've taken down runs like the New River Gorge, weighs less than six pounds.
As for performance, packrafts offer sprayskirts (depending on the model), are faster than ducks, offer tighter outfitting (suitable for rolling), and are more maneuverable. On the downside, packrafts have a single air chamber and are less durable (ducks will take way more abuse). Pinhole leaks in a packraft aren't common, but they happen and can be an annoyance. There's also that tendency to backender in big water, and they are not as stable/forgiving as a duck.
Lastly, packrafts are more expensive than ducks, with pricing comparable to a hardshell kayak. There are super-cheap options out there, but I can't imagine they would last long or perform very well.
What brand and model of packraft do you paddle?
My main boat is an Alpacka Valkyrie, but I switch around some. Suzy and I have several others, including two Classics, a Wolverine, and a Gnarwhal. The number of makes and models has really exploded (OK, exploded isn't the best word for inflatables). Hulls have gotten a bit sleeker, and self-bailing boats have made their way into most brands' lineups. I'm told there are more than 30 companies making packrafts now, including Alpacka, Kokopelli, NRS, and several others.
Are there tandem packrafts? And can you paddle one with a single blade?
Yes, there are several tandems on the market. Alpacka makes a boat called the Forager, and my buddy Sam Carlson has one that he's used to take his daughter down the Staircase and the Nantahala many times. I've not paddled it myself, but Sam says it's a blast. And it's still only 14 pounds.
As for a single blade, I think that would work well in the Forager and in any of the other tandem setups. Sam is on his knees in his Forager and uses a single blade. I think a single blade would be tough to pull off in a solo packraft, though, as I think the nature of an inflatable design requires a hull shape that would be less than ideal. I can't really imagine paddling an inside circle in a packraft. Maybe Ed Gertler can chime in on this one?!
How do you inflate and deflate a packraft?
Alpacka makes a clever inflation bag that weighs five ounces and is basically a pillowcase that screws onto the packraft's fill valve. With a little practice, you can inflate your boat in less than two minutes (yes, I've timed myself, which says more about me than the bag). There's also a top-off pump called a Pack-It-Pump that can get your boat drum tight (2.5 psi is plenty).
Truth be known, I'm lazy and I use a battery pump for roadside stuff and sometimes even for hike-in stuff. There are ultralight portable pumps like the Kokopelli Feather that are small (roughly the size of a red bull can), light (six ounces), and good for several inflations on a charge—so being lazy only costs an ounce, not bad. All of that said, the purist in me likes the bag, and that's what I take on backcountry trips most of the time.
Have you had to make any field repairs?
Yes, a handful of times now, but it's not a big deal. Packrafts take a lot more abuse than I expected, but there are practical limits. I've only had to make streamside repairs three or four times over probably well more than a hundred river days, but I've patched all my boats at least once. Repair is something that every packrafter should know about.
The repair process is super-quick, and most leaks are pinholes. There's no fancy glue and you don't need to carry much, just some adhesive patches, some UV Aquaseal, a little zipper lube (silicon), and a toothbrush. You just find the leak and peel and stick some repair tape and you are back on the water. Finding the leak is usually the hardest part. I carry a tiny (2oz) spray bottle with a few dry sheets of travel soap tucked inside (Sea to Summit makes what I use, but there are lots of them).
The cargo fly looks a little scary, like a major point of failure, and I get asked a lot about zipper failure. But I really don't see or hear much of that. Keeping the zipper clean (and sand-free) is super-important, but it generally lasts for many seasons. Sometimes the zipper doesn't fully seat when it is closed, and it leaks a little until it's rezipped, but that's not usually a big deal. I carry a small extra-firm bristle toothbrush to clean the zipper, and the teeth have always self-repaired (so far!). Any brush with stiff (but not metal) bristles would do the trick, and a bike chain brush would probably work well. On most trips, I carry a few extra gaskets for the valve caps. I also carry Gorilla Underwater Tape (can get at any hardware store) for emergency zipper repair on longer (super remote) trips. Sealing the zipper obviously takes internal storage out of the mix, but that might be better than having no boat (!). That said, I've never needed any of those kinds of repairs.
Lastly, there's a lot of talk about the risk of mid-river deflation that is posed by the single air chamber in a packraft, but it's not been a factor for me at all. You probably know that some rivers require four inflation chambers, and multiple chambers are standard on most rafts. Alpacka has addressed this issue through storage/air bags that can be inflated and inserted inside the boats to become additional chambers. Together with the inflatable seat and the two storage/air bags stowed inside the tubes, packrafts are considered to have four chambers by NPS, USFS, and other management agencies. That means they are legal on rivers like the Lower Yough, Lehigh, Nantahala, Grand Canyon, etc.
Have there been surprises?
Well, there are lots of things I didn't expect. I'd say the biggest surprises are 1) how well these boats do in hard water; 2) how durable they really are; 3) how much gear they can carry; and 4) how the perception of these boats has changed over the years.
As for hard water, I figured I would maybe work up to the Lower Yough, but I've done harder things and the boat has done perfectly fine. It's super-nimble and can catch small eddies and ferry in ways that are similar to my hardboat. The only thing I don't do as well in a packraft is roll, but I'm working on that and I expect to get it down.
Regarding durability, it looks like a pool toy, but it takes an incredible amount of abuse. I've dragged my boat through thick brush, loaded it with heavy gear, scraped it down low water runs, done some crazy (for me) stuff, and it's no worse for wear. I wish my knees were as durable and field-repairable.
For carrying gear, it's quite amazing. The cargo fly is a brilliant design feature, a zipper down the stern that offers access to inside the boat. Storage within the tubes offers more space than the largest mountaineering pack, easily 150 liters, and piles of gear fit with room to spare. You just have to be careful with any sharps and make sure you wrap things so you don't get pinch flats. And these boats still handle just fine even when heavy. For context, putting 70 pounds of gear into a packraft still makes for less weight than my empty open boat.
Lastly, it's been fascinating to see the change in how these boats are perceived by the paddling community. Early on, most paddlers seemed to look at packrafts as the e-bikes of the whitewater world. And rangers at places like the Lower Yough and Lehigh were sometimes (mistakenly) sure that they must be unapproved/illegal. Nowadays, I get mostly curious and enthusiastic questions, as people seem to recognize the utility of the design. And while there's no denying that packrafts are easier to paddle than hardboats, I'd argue that packrafts are way more skills-driven than duckies (or e-bikes). When I got started, I expected to dabble in packrafting and move on—as I've done with a lot of hobbies—and I'm still on the learning curve. If you are thinking about one, I'd say go for it!