to be comfortable in an Alpaca? Specificly, I am 190 pounds and 5 feet 8 inches high. Andrew at Alpacka emailed me that the Alpaca should be a good fit. He did mention however that my waist may be a little snug as I am a bit stocky, but he said that the boat will give. I wear 32 waist Levis. I am even contemplating the Scout with the 13 inch inside width. In other peoples experience, does the narrow inside beam of these boats accomadate wider waists? in other words, do you get used to a tight fit or do you always feel squeezed at the waist. Thanks for your help
lawnpotter wrote:
In other peoples experience, does the narrow inside beam of these boats accomadate wider waists? in other words, do you get used to a tight fit or do you always feel squeezed at the waist.
I have an “Alpaca”; my waist fluctuates between 32"/34" depending on how much pudding I’ve eaten 
. I’ve never felt uncomfortable in the Alpaca (I’m a few inches taller and it fits fine).
Thanks rods, for your help. Feed back from others is so important since I cant see the boat live. I like pudding too, but not blood pudding.
It’s an inflatable boat and will certainly give enough to accommodate your stockiness if you call a 32 waist stocky. 
Length is the bigger issue to consider and you would be better suited with the Alpaca over a yak for sure. I had originally ordered a llama, and while it worked, it was not a tight enough fit for my body to act as the frame of the boat in order to have adequate control on more substantial whitewater . Downsizing helped significantly. On the same note, the Alpaca is simply just too short for my 6’ frame.
The scout in my eyes is more of a ‘quiver’ craft meaning that you could get one to round out your packraft quiver for times when you really only need a boat to get across a river rather than to run the river. It’s a bit flimsy compared to the standard packraft. However, if it’s going to spend more than 90% of it’s time in your pack, it might be the better choice.
It’s Sheri chiming in here. I am the designer.
What is important for you, because you are sitting right on the edge between needing a yak or an alpaca is " how long are your legs?" If you are shorter legged and longer backed, then do go for the Alpaca. If you are longer legged and shorter backed, go for the Yak. Your weight and width will be fine in either boat. Reality is both are the same size at the butt, and Andrew is correct, the boat will mold around you. Also, how big are your feet? If you have bigger feed, say a size 10 1/2 up, then also you might be happier in the Yak. If you go for an Alpaca and find it is too short we exchange them. We have exchanged a handful this summer for people ordering too short. You just need to have not used the boat, and trust me, you will know in the livingroom if the fit is right. As soon as you get in it you will say, yes, this is right, or no, this is too short.
As for the Scout, the other writer is correct. The scout is really one more arrow in your quiver. It is not the boat of choice if you are wanting to do a lot of real river running. You won’t be happy with it for that. It is that boat that lives more in your pack, crosses rivers and floats on lakes and is the light wt. option. It does NOT replace a regular Alpacka style raft. It is not designed to be running whitwater. So keep that in mind on your choices.
my levi jeans are 32 waist and 30 leg, I think that means my legs are Alpaca length?
And the scout is a bit narrower than an Alpaca or Yak. I’m 5’ 9.5", 173 lbs, and I find it fine for me, but Erin, who’s 5’3" 130 lbs but has a woman’s wider hips finds it a bit too tight (with the boat blown up as taught as we can get it.)
I also prefer a smaller boat than Sheri suggests, as I like the Alpaca (I wear size 10 1/2 or 11 shoes). But I like to be pretty wedged in. Erin can’t reach the end of her Alpaca, which to me suggests it’s “too big.” However she sits differently than anyone else I know… cross-legged. That seems to work very well for her.
The Alpaca is starting to seem like the fit for me. I also find that the explorer looks interesting. I have to decide weather I want to row or paddle.I will start a thread on the explorer