The question you've never asked is......

Can I bike packraft on a limited budget without anything on my back and without all the bling kit?

Well here's a possible answer.....

https://youtu.be/HuANh1eAngQ

Very interesting video, cheers. How much better is that alpacka by way of comparison?

robsmuddygloves wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 6:35 pm Very interesting video, cheers. How much better is that alpacka by way of comparison?

It's very stable in comparison as it's wider and a larger volume of air up front.
If you can afford the difference go for the Alpacka Caribou it's perfect.
Smaller non bike carrying packrafts have the bike closer to the water level and are less stable

Nice video mate, need to meet up for another paddle in the docks in the new year.

JohnClimber wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 7:03 pm Smaller non bike carrying packrafts have the bike closer to the water level and are less stable

Hold on, how does having the heavy but lower down make it less stable?

I could be guilty of applying bike-maths to boats incorrectly here, but...

Same thing crossed my mind Dave and then wondered whether it might be less about how high the load was and more about air volume, size and shape?

Maybe JC meant that as two separate points.. because those types are smaller a/ they're less stable in comparison to bike-specific ones, and b/ the bike's closer to the water so it'll get wet .

Fair point, John says and they're less stable, not so they're less stable.

It's to do with the volume of the bow, on the alpaka it's a high volume design so is more buoyant even with a bike on it, whereas the neris has a much lower volume bow so the bike makes it less stable as its not designed to hold as much weight there.

Yeah, makes sense. The extra volume maybe pushes the load a bit higher (thought it looks like Alpacka have tried to add as much volume laterally as possible, presumably for this reason) but there's a net gain in stability because of the extra volume/width.

Never seen anything like the roll up wellies before and was getting a bit tired of having wet feet when going packrafting but they could be a game changer. Thanks for the idea.

Did you find a uk seller for the paddle or did you order it from Germany?

Having paddled with John I know he's very safety conscious but I wonder about those "wellies". My fear would be that if you fell in they might fill and hold water, becoming dead weight and counteracting any buoyancy. I probably just don't understand how they work

I recently invested in neoprene socks and am quite a fan.

Genuine question: if your wellies fill with water, how does that make your feet less bouyant than just having shoes on?

Pop on some waders and wander out into the middle / deep bit of one of your wonderful free access lochs and let me know how you get on

But fair play my terminology is probably a bit wrong. If they're water filled they'll have neutral or zero buoyancy I guess. Personally I reckon it'd be easier swimming with "unencumbered" legs rather than legs encased in bags full of water.

Again, I'll be perfectly prepared to revise my opinion once you've practically demonstrated the inaccuracy of my statement.

Alec wrote: ↑Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:30 pm It's to do with the volume of the bow, on the alpaka it's a high volume design so is more buoyant even with a bike on it, whereas the neris has a much lower volume bow so the bike makes it less stable as its not designed to hold as much weight there.

Spot on Alec.
The Caribou is wider at the front, the Neris and others are more pointed with less air volume