Fitting into the stuff sack

Sorry for the newbie question, but does anyone have tips for fitting the packraft back into the stuff sack? My stuff sack is already ripping.

Thanks,
Kevin

Not worth the trouble. Alpacka has elves with small magical hands that put the rafts in the original stuff sack.

Check out Roman Dials YouTube video on folding a raft.

I roll them up the same way they come from the factory, though one of our guides swears by the Roman Fold.

I make sure I get as much air out of the chambers as possible. I first squeeze all the air out of the seat chambers then suck any residual air out with the mouth valves. Then lock the valve, of course. I then fold the raft in half along its length and roll it up with the large valve off, rolling toward the valve. Make sure the large valve is facing up so that both the large valve and mouth valve are rolled into the package (ie, not on the outside) so as not to catch on the stuff sack or create potential abrasion points in the stuff sack. When you get to the seat chambers, neatly tuck them in with the valves parallel to the roll so they don’t get tweaked. When you get to the large valve near the end, put your knees on the roll while pushing as much air out of the stern section. Then put the large valve cap on tight and suck all the residual air out of the stern with the mouth valve. You’re basically vacuum packing the seat chambers and the main chamber. Once it’s tightly rolled, hold it tight between your knees while sliding the stuff sack over. I find that sucking the air out the mouth valves is one of the more important things to do for a tight roll. With this in mind, you may want to first pop off them valve caps and rinse them before doing this, especially on them desert trips or at muddy takeouts. Otherwise you may end up with a lung full of silt!

If the boat is old or it’s been awhile since you’ve wiped your boat down with 303 Protectant then the material may have lost some of its slipperiness. I find that these things will slide right into their stuff sack in the weeks after applying 303.

Nonetheless (and despite all this), several of our sacks are pretty much shot, too! While the boats are very durable, their stuff sacks are not. :frowning:

A fat velcro strap around the raft once rolled helps tighten it all up and makes it really easy to get into the sack.

Steve