An introduction guide to packrafting
This guide is merely a short personal introduction to packrafting, a still fairly unknown outdoor activity which is easy to get started and creates amazing opportunities to discover and adventure.
While pack rafting has existed for some years - especially in the US and Alaska where it started in the 1980s, it seems that it started to gain more traction of the last couple of years, following the rise of interest in lightweight adventuring.
A packraft is a super light, small boat designed to be used either in still water or whitewater that is portable enough to be carried in a backpack or similar. Given those characteristics, it’s perfectly suitable a wide range of activities, from simple river crossing to multi days adventures mixing rafting with sports. Packrafting is not only a water sport among other but a real philosophy on how to adventure and discover the wilderness that relies on three core principles:
1. Go light 2. Improvise 3. Paddle quietly
The idea behind pack rafting is to have a boat that can be taken anywhere in the backcountry. It fits in a back pack or attached to a mountain bike, weights around 3kg and can be inflated/deflated in a few minutes. With progress made in all range of gears (sleeping bags, tents, …), it’s now possible to pack for a multi-days adventure in a small size backpack (50 liter or so) with packraft, paddle, life jacket and overnight equipment.
Packrafting adventures will challenge your improvisation in multiple ways. You will need to find ways to deal with unexpected events when alone in the backcountry (repaire a paddle, find a way to put a tent up in on rocky beach…) but you will also have the privilege to improvise where to go at all time. Given how portable a packrat is, you can draw your own itinerary and decide at the last minute whether you would rather paddle or hike a given section along the water. You can get in and out of the water at any time (as opposed to a larger raft or a regular kayak where you need support from a vehicle to take it home) - a unique feeling of autonomy will appear as you make your first trips.
The last and most important principle of pack rafting is to respect the wilderness and to adventure with the lowest possible impact on the nature. You won't need motorised vehicle and will have a light footprint on the places you visit, which means pack rafting is allowed in most protected areas and national parks (still, make sure no special regulation exists depending on your location).
The minimum required equipment consists of a packrat, a life-jacket and a paddle (ideally one that separate in 4 or 2 pieces).
A few different manufacturers sell packraft and I’ve had the chance to try one of the MSR boats, kindly provided by Packraft Sweden. This boat weights only 3.4kg and has an integrated spraydeck which makes sure water doesn’t get into the boat. I’ve tested it mostly on still water (lakes and sea archipelago) and it worked really well, easy to paddle, stable and possible to load camping gear on the front.
Starting on still water requires almost no training: inflate the boat and get out on the water, learn how to move forward and orientate the raft and you will see in no time that you have a good control of the boat. When waves and wind appear, make sure you are comfortable paddling against the wind before going to far from the shore.
The next step is to start going down rivers and whitewater sections. While some are easy to go on your own, others will require advance technique and a guide. Always make sure you control your boat well enough and knowing the area you’re paddling into !
That’s it. It’s as simple as this - get hold of a packrat and start enjoying the wilderness right away. Somehow we all live near a water area (sea, lake, river) and there are a lot of amazing opportunities to explore in your local area, so go ahead and discover pack rafting.
Adventuring has never been so exciting!
Below are some images of a few trips across Swedish lakes and the well-known Stockholm archipelago. Taking advantage of the amazing summer nights, I could reach small and remote islands, discover places unreachable without a small boat and spend more time in the wilderness. A true dream for outdoor lovers.
- Packtaft association
- Buying a packraft in Sweden or the Nordics
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