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JPH
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JPH
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PostTue Sep 17, 2019 4:13 pm 
When using a packraft in the wild, do you just hold your bag in your lap and pray, or do you use a big lightweight dry bag for a little insurance? Dumping your whole pack in a lake mid-trip would really suck.

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Chief Joseph
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PostTue Sep 17, 2019 4:23 pm 
I rafted across Lake Dorothy with a 30 lb pack on a windy day, it was a bit scary, I prefer to stay close to shore if possible.

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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jdk610
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PostTue Sep 17, 2019 5:04 pm 
I have a packraft with a giant waterproof zipper on one of the tubes. I store all of my gear IN the tubes, except a small on-deck dry bag. I can send/post pics if you want to learn more.

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DigitalJanitor
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PostTue Sep 17, 2019 5:28 pm 
JPH wrote:
When using a packraft in the wild, do you just hold your bag in your lap and pray, or do you use a big lightweight dry bag for a little insurance? Dumping your whole pack in a lake mid-trip would really suck.
We usually just throw the bag under our knees and hope for the best. ETA: that's if we're traveling to a campsite or whatever. If we're out fishing or whatnot, yes we'll possibly use some dry bags from the general pile of gear we've taken in. We have packed in life jackets, but IMO it's important to realize going in the drink in a wild lake might be a very serious adventure in a hurry with or without it. I love our packrafts (we have a couple Alpackas) but we're fairly cautious.

~Mom jeans on wheels
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JPH
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PostWed Sep 18, 2019 11:40 am 
Thanks for the responses. A packraft has been on my dream gear list for a while, but I haven't pulled the trigger. Alpackas look amazing, but the price tag on the LiteWater is very tempting.

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DigitalJanitor
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PostWed Sep 18, 2019 1:23 pm 
Husband was looking at cheaper versions and I told him his returning home was worth paying for. YMMV. We had been watching some kind of adventure race reality show up in Alaska, and noticed that the first year they had Alpacka rafts and everyone's was fine for the whole thing. Subsequent seasons they had lighter versions from another manufacturer, and popping a boat suddenly became an issue.

~Mom jeans on wheels
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Chief Joseph
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PostWed Sep 18, 2019 2:35 pm 
JPH wrote:
Alpackas look amazing, but the price tag on the LiteWater is very tempting.
I guess it depends upon how much you plan on using it and how much quality and floor space-legroom are important to you. Unless you are a short person, you won't be able to stretch your legs out in the Litewater like you can in a Curtis and others. I could see buying one and if you weren't completely happy with it, use it as a backup for partners, etc. I would PM the forest gnome, he might want to sell his lightly used Litewater.

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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Tom
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PostWed Sep 18, 2019 2:49 pm 
The LWD seemed pretty solid to me. I wouldn't worry about it any more than a Curtis raft. The main downsides are it's heavier and not as roomy and seemed more prone to letting water in from the sides when you get in or out. I don't think any of these rafts are going to pop while rafting an alpine lake. Maybe if you hooked it with a fishing lure or ran into a sharp branch. Something like the old Sevylor Trail boat would be more of a concern. I was testing one in the yard and it came apart at the seams while sitting on it. Can't believe I rafted Blanca a few times in frigid water in a larger 3 person $50 raft with 2 other people. I couldn't even stand my hand in the water for more than a few seconds. Older and wiser now.

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MtnGoat
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PostWed Sep 18, 2019 3:40 pm 
JPH wrote:
When using a packraft in the wild, do you just hold your bag in your lap and pray, or do you use a big lightweight dry bag for a little insurance? Dumping your whole pack in a lake mid-trip would really suck.
I always had a partner with a 2nd boat, so we'd take turns with one boat towing the pack in the other, then repeat. Did this a bunch on different trips at different lakes. There's a great cove on Big Heart I think it was, reachable only by boat. Also, tie the rope to the pack, not the boat, so you don't do any damage to the raft. The tie down points on them (not just the Trail Boat) have never impressed me, IMO they stress the light fabrics a lot. I screwed up FlowerSniffer's boat back in the day by using the D ring as a tie down on a windy day, and it tore the fabric at the D ring attachment point. IMO it's never a great idea to sit in an inflated boat on dry land, it stresses the seams. They're meant to float, not be air mattresses. Ground has no give, the water does.

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
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SwitchbackFisher
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PostThu Sep 19, 2019 11:57 am 
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/uncharted-rapid-raft-world-s-lightest-pack-raft Saw this online looks like an interesting build but skeptical of anything brand new.

I may not be the smartest, I may not be the strongest, but I don't want to be. I only want to be the best I can be.
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Kat
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PostFri Sep 20, 2019 8:58 am 
JPH wrote:
When using a packraft in the wild, do you just hold your bag in your lap and pray, or do you use a big lightweight dry bag for a little insurance? Dumping your whole pack in a lake mid-trip would really suck.
Just lay the pack on top of my lower legs (own curtis rafts.) Did 2 trips this summer crossing lakes to get to others. If I'm with someone else I generally help by giving them their pack after they get in as I've got quite a bit of experience doing this now so it is relatively easy now. No dry bag.

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RatherBOutdoors
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PostFri Sep 20, 2019 8:36 pm 
Anyone have experience with the offerings from Supai Adventure Gear? https://www.supaiadventuregear.com/

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Slugman
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PostSat Sep 21, 2019 11:16 am 
A heavy pack in a dry bag would sink? Hahaha! Ridiculous and impossible. How could a pack in a dry bag be more dense than water? The pack would have to carrying bricks, or maybe lead bars, and also be tiny. Of course even then it could not sink, if the person left some air trapped in the dry bag. Be careful asking for advice here, because people who don't know anything will often answer anyway. I always use a dry bag for anything that would cause a calamity if gotten wet. My tablet, firearm, prescription drugs, things like that. A small thin bag will weigh very little. Zpacks dry bags, 7 inches high by 5 inches wide, are just .49 of an ounce. 14 grams to protect against calamity. If just crossing a lake, meaning a short time in the raft on a much longer journey on foot, I would just risk wetness for the rest of my stuff. But my sleeping bag and spare clothes would be in a waterproof bag inside the pack anyway, so no risk to that stuff, or the pack sinking even if it becomes waterlogged. On an actual boating trip, everything goes in a dry bag. I have one that is also a quite good backpack, and weighs only about a half pound more than a regular lightweight backpack. Am I worried about sinking or tipping over? No. But I wear seatbelts even when on a short drive, and lock the doors to my house when I leave, even though I am not worried about crashing or burglars.

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SwitchbackFisher
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PostSat Sep 21, 2019 7:56 pm 
I always use dry bags when in the water for any item I don't want wet. I have a tube I often hike into lakes, and put my firearm and other items I don't want stolen in a dry bag while I fish. The pocket is wet the entire time and hours of being in the wet pocket have yet to have a drop get through my seas to summit dry compression sack. The tube goes into the bag on both hike in and out to keep it nice and small.

I may not be the smartest, I may not be the strongest, but I don't want to be. I only want to be the best I can be.
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Downhill
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PostMon Sep 23, 2019 2:10 pm 
I didn't mention this before when I wrote that I have the Klymit LiteWater Dingy, but using this raft I *DO* get a little wet, mostly from splashes while paddling. I sit low to the water and the sides are not high so it's kinda inevitable IMO. Depending on my launch conditions and smoothness of my technique, I can also make a wet or dry entry/exit. I used the stuff-sack/inflation bag as a "dry bag" although it's not really more a splash guard as it's not waterproof if capsized. So if staying 100% dry is a priority, I don't know that the LWD would be a top choice. Others have mentioned the roominess of the Curtis vs LWD and it's true the LWD is smaller for sure. I'm 6'2" and I rest my feet on the end of the tube. Not an issue for me, I find it comfortable enough, but my feet do get splashed occasionally. My raft choice priorities are, in order: weight, price, packable size, and durability. Given those parameters, I am happy with my LWD. Comfort and dryness are not as important to me.

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