I was fortunate enough to try a Kokopelli Renegade prototype this summer, on a trip to Vermont. The boat handled well on an hour long float trip of the Mad River. I made a short video of the trip:
I have also taken the prototype to a nearby reservoir in Occoquan, Virginia to see how it would handle the cargo of a bicycle (for bikerafting.) Here is a link to the short video of this excursion:
Last week I returned the prototype and received my actual Renegade packraft today. The quality of this boat is 100 times better than the prototype I was using. It also has some well thought out features that the prototype did not. For example, the prototype was a single chamber model, the production model Renegade has two. This new packraft also has inflation valves that allow you to top off the chambers while you are on the water. The spray skirt is beautifully done, and the stitching is reinforced in areas where the prototype had some damage (from before I had it.) This production model is also slightly larger than the prototype I was using.
I took advantage of the pre-sales price for the boat (Renegade with TI-Zip) and I’m glad I took the chance. My wife was worried that a start-up company might run into challenges (production, delivery, etc.) but that has not been the case. These are top quality boats at a reasonable price. I could not afford these features on an Alpacka - it was out of my price range.