What Is Packrafting? A Complete Beginner's Guide

A packraft is an ultralight inflatable boat built to be carried, not towed. It weighs between five and fourteen pounds, packs down to roughly the size of a sleeping bag, and inflates in a few minutes with nothing but a lightweight air bag. That combination is what makes it different from every other boat you have used.

Where packrafting came from

The modern packraft was shaped by Alaska, where wilderness travel means crossing terrain with no roads, no bridges and no shuttle. Hikers needed a way to cross or descend rivers without abandoning the walk. The result was a boat light enough to carry over a mountain pass and tough enough to run whitewater on the other side.

That heritage still defines the category. A packraft is a travel tool first and a boat second. It exists so the water stops being a wall.

What makes a packraft different

• Weight: a full boat runs 5 to 14 lbs depending on size and configuration, against 35 to 50 lbs for a comparable hardshell kayak.

• Packed size: it rolls into a stuff sack that fits inside a backpack, a car trunk, or a carry-on bag.

• No shuttle required: you can walk in and float out, or ride in and paddle back.

• Durability: quality packrafts use TPU-coated nylon with a reinforced floor and handle repeated contact with rock.

What you can actually do in one

Packrafts cover far more ground than most people expect. On flatwater they open up alpine lakes, fjords and slow rivers that would otherwise require hauling a hardshell to the shore. On moving water, a well-designed packraft handles Class I through Class III rapids with confidence, which covers the overwhelming majority of runnable river in North America.

Beyond paddling, the boat becomes a piece of logistics. Bikerafters ride to a put-in and float back. Hunters pack out game by river. Anglers reach water that has no trail. Thru-hikers use a packraft to cut days off a route by taking the river line instead of the ridge line.

What a packraft is not

It is not a whitewater raft, and it is not a sea kayak. Most packrafts are single-chamber boats without the tracking of a long hardshell hull, so covering big distance on open water is slower work. And while Class IV is possible for skilled paddlers in the right boat, it is not what most packrafts are built for.

Getting started

You need three things beyond the boat: a paddle, a properly fitted PFD, and clothing matched to the water temperature rather than the air temperature. Start on flatwater, learn how the boat responds to your weight, and build up to moving water with people who know the run.

Every Go North packraft is handcrafted in Portland, Oregon from 210D TPU-coated nylon with a reinforced 420D TPU Kevlar bottom, and ships with a repair kit and a two-year warranty.