Thanks

Thank you

Thanks

Yep, the Caribou is better for bike pack rafting

I have never paddles a packraft like the forager but I like the idea. The ranger would be my choice as it's a longer version of the Caribou. I have sold my Caribou recently and gone for a longer version to carry bikes ad my paddle kept hitting the bike on the front of the caribou. But if you like canoe type paddling the Forager is a good choice too

Thanks

Since I've made this film, I've realised that the Caribou is just too short. It is hard to paddle and not to hit your bike all the time especially when you want to get a full paddle stroke in. As for speed it only paddles at walking speed, no packraft is fast and it only tracks well with a skeg fitted. I had to retro fit a skeg on my Caribou. I have since sold the Caribou in favour of a longer packraft

The longest boat that I've owned is a single sided TPU, I can't comment on anything over 5 years though. PVC is worst for the planet I'm told but have nothing to back this up. Plus its 3 to 4 times the weight and packed down size too

@@JohnClimber yeah from my research it sounds like tpu is the better material. There's just something about the durability of the PVC that makes it seem like an indestructible raft but I'm not sure the longevity since I'm new to rafting.

The skeg plate was already fitted to my Nano, sorry I'm not sure on that material. I used kayak glue to fix the plate to my Alpacka Caribou as this is a better TPU material

Onky the MRS Nomad and onky in calm conditions after yours had coastal packraft training

Simply because of all the faff that's involved with them, it's a major issue if they are not maintained correctly, folded and stored away correctly and if they are faulty they need replacing back at the manufacturer, so your boat will be away from you for quite a whole and theses things aren't cheap to post around the world either. But others love them, it's just my view

@@JohnClimber interesting. I've never had an issue with any of the tizips in my fleet and I guess for me the considerable convience and safety improvements out weigh the (very small and avoidable) risk of failure. But then equally i repair all my own boats and retrofit zips etc so the cost (and delay) caused by shipping probably doesn't factor into my thinking.

@@TheHuwMiles I just took MRS Nomad with ISS (zippers) for a three day island hopping trip in calm seas and was pretty impressed with it. With the skeg it moves pretty well for a packraft and gave me the kind of confidence I usually haven't had with inflatables. I stored camping gear and food in the pontoons and liked the comfort of not having clutter on the deck and in the back. How big of an issue the tizip maintenance will become, time will tell I guess. I will do a 10 to 12 day unassisted wilderness trip later this year where this system will be utilized to the maximum that I can throw at it. Mostly I'm worried about portaging sections, this raft is not so light and with camping gear and two weeks rations included I probably need to make two trips to complete each of them (one to carry food and items, other to carry boat and its accessories).

They are Voile Straps www.bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/product/voile-straps/

@@JohnClimber Thanks a lot for your reply !! 👍

I've never paddled one, but since I made this film I have now got 2 Neris PVC packrafts. These are similar as they are designed for using from the back if a car or van where you don't need the lightweight'ness of a TPU pack raft. They are cheaper and tougher, but don't pack down and are not as light. But in the right situation they are perfect

@@JohnClimber Ya, 13lbs will be way to heavy backpacking in, Rogue Lite is what i need or Nirvana at 7lb, pretty pricy but nice!

Are you UK based? Neris packrafts are bringing out a TPU version of your heavier PVC pack rafts and at only 30% more expensive soon.

@@JohnClimberWill look into John, Thanks!