By Stephen RegenoldIt may look like an inflatable pool toy, but the pack raft, a personal watercraft with roots in aviator survival boats from replica brand watches World War II, is a serious tool for some backcountry explorers. Lightweight and durable, the blow-up boats can weigh as little as three pounds. They roll up and stow small in a backpack. You can trek into the wild and then inflate a pack raft to cross lakes, descend rivers, or paddle the ocean where no other boat could go.Made by a handful of manufacturers over the years, pack rafts have seen a resurgence among outdoor fanatics. Last summer, on the Arkansas River of Colorado, I joined a pack-rafting group for a two-day trip.
We backpacked through trail-less wilderness for about 15 miles before settling down for an overnighter. In the morning, on the shore of the rushing river, we replica Tag Heuer watch inflated the boats and hopped in. I piloted a Yukon Yak model from Alpacka Raft LLC, a Mancos, Colorado, company that sells top-of-the-line pack rafts.Alpacka's boats (alpackaraft) are quality products, durable and stable in whitewater. I tied my backpack on the front of my Yukon Yak and pushed into the Arkansas's flow. Over the day, I was able to navigate complex whitewater and drop through rapids with ratings up to class IV.For transport,
the Yukon Yak's rubbery bulk packs and rolls to a size not much replica Bell & Ross watch larger than a football. It weighs four pounds, 11 ounces and is overall a truly amazing and capable little watercraft. Caveat: It's got a huge price tag. The Yukon Yak retails for $790. Back home last summer, bitten by the pack-raft bug, I decided to test another model. The Trail Boat from Sevylor (sevylor) costs just $75.99. It is made of durable nylon PU and PVC, and it rolls up into a bag (included). The Trail Boat is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Alpacka rafts.
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