Alpacka Packraft Review : Pool Session
Just to find out if packrafts are pool toy, I took it out for a pool session ! I wanted to 'bash up', 'test out', and 'size up' the packraft to see what kind of capabilities and limitations it has. Hey, the pool is a great place to make all the mistakes! After a 2 hours session, this is what I got:
Stability
Packraft will not capsize, however way you leaned, turned, and even stood on it. With a packraft, you are sitting inside the raft and not in a high sitting position like on an inflatable kayak or sit-on-top kayak. So it felt very safe and comfortable, in fact about the only way to get out was to climb over its side or jump.
But, what IF it capsized? Always plan for contingencies in expedition! Being in the safety confines of the pool, I took the chance to try out 'deepwater entry'. It was not easy to jump back into the raft when my feet was not touching the ground. After several attempts the best way of re-entry was to keep the packraft upturned, swim underneath it, and placed both hands on its sides. Then with both hands still firmly holding on, I turned the packraft upright. This way, the turning motion of the packraft lifted my body out from the water, and I simply slided into the raft as it completed its turn.
Water Displacement (Or how much water?)
On itself the packraft required less than 1 centimeter of water depth to move.
But when you sit inside, your bum makes a small impression (at least for me) into the surface of the water. At the bum area, the packraft required only one and half hand palm of water depth (i.e., 8 fingers or roughly 15cm for me) clearance. That means it can clear pass lots of shallow rivers and rocky pools of water, or even the local drains in my hometown of Singapore ! As I was to find out later, this was vital information on rapids, where submerged rocks are everywhere.
Paddling Performance
It was difficult to paddle the packraft straight with my normal sea kayaking strokes (i.e., low angled). This came as no surprise since the packraft was not built for flatwater paddling . But with high-angles paddling strokes I got the packraft to travel straight - and fast. Being so light, the raft was extremely responsive to any type of force - wind, paddle, or hand ! It was great FUN to use my hands to propel the raft forward, which was faster than using a paddle. It felt like swimming through the water with a buoyancy aid. The next time I am going to make some hand paddles for myself and try it on the packraft.
Stability
Packraft will not capsize, however way you leaned, turned, and even stood on it. With a packraft, you are sitting inside the raft and not in a high sitting position like on an inflatable kayak or sit-on-top kayak. So it felt very safe and comfortable, in fact about the only way to get out was to climb over its side or jump.
But, what IF it capsized? Always plan for contingencies in expedition! Being in the safety confines of the pool, I took the chance to try out 'deepwater entry'. It was not easy to jump back into the raft when my feet was not touching the ground. After several attempts the best way of re-entry was to keep the packraft upturned, swim underneath it, and placed both hands on its sides. Then with both hands still firmly holding on, I turned the packraft upright. This way, the turning motion of the packraft lifted my body out from the water, and I simply slided into the raft as it completed its turn.
Water Displacement (Or how much water?)
On itself the packraft required less than 1 centimeter of water depth to move.
But when you sit inside, your bum makes a small impression (at least for me) into the surface of the water. At the bum area, the packraft required only one and half hand palm of water depth (i.e., 8 fingers or roughly 15cm for me) clearance. That means it can clear pass lots of shallow rivers and rocky pools of water, or even the local drains in my hometown of Singapore ! As I was to find out later, this was vital information on rapids, where submerged rocks are everywhere.Paddling Performance
It was difficult to paddle the packraft straight with my normal sea kayaking strokes (i.e., low angled). This came as no surprise since the packraft was not built for flatwater paddling . But with high-angles paddling strokes I got the packraft to travel straight - and fast. Being so light, the raft was extremely responsive to any type of force - wind, paddle, or hand ! It was great FUN to use my hands to propel the raft forward, which was faster than using a paddle. It felt like swimming through the water with a buoyancy aid. The next time I am going to make some hand paddles for myself and try it on the packraft. But whichever method I used, I had lots of fun doing spins and moves in the packraft! Before long, children at the pool was attracted to it, and wives were eyeing it as their floating reading bed! It was definitely a great pool toy for these reasons.
But was it more than a pool toy? Read on!
But was it more than a pool toy? Read on!
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