Well, that didn’t last long 
At least it didn’t cost me much to play around, less than a round of golf really. It has got me to thinking though, how often are people damaging Alpaca’s? Do they handle snags and sharp rocks well or does one need to become proficient in puncture repair as well? Or is it just plain stupid to paddle a river with too many snags?
Firstly, comparing an Alpacka to your pool toy it like comparing a pencil to an Apple Mac…
I treat my packrafts very rough and have yet to damage one beyond minor pin prick holes (usually from fish spikes). I have fully hit sticks. sharp rocks etc in rapids etc and they Don’t seem to do much. I have done a a fair bit of white water to upper 3’s and popped 2 seats on drops, there is a flaw with the seat design, a new modification we are doing may prevent this though (still testing it). They are very tough and are very easy to repair if they do get damaged.
Steve
Thanks Steve,
That’s what I wanted to hear. I always knew the pool toy was on borrowed time but having never put my hands on an alpaca, it’s nice to know that people don’t have to baby them. It will be the next bit of gear I buy (when the wife isn’t looking).
Cheers,
Ross
I’m with Steve. I’m generally brutal with gear and tend to wear things out quicker than most. I’m not careless, but don’t baby my kit.
I can’t believe I haven’t destroyed my packraft yet. The amount of dragging and hauling over rocks with large loads has only done some minor cosmetic damage and put a pinhole or two in the floor which were easily repaired with a quick dab of sealant.
I’ve been worried that sooner or later (and probably far from home) I’ll do something major so I bought a roll of Tyvek tape. A mate of mine was horrified when he took his brand new raft out with me. He was worried about every little stick that touched the raft at the put in…It was freaking hilarious. I proceeded to use mine as a shield to punch through thick lantana before jumping in it to launch.
As for the river…an Alpacka would have smashed it.
A few pics of mine after moderate use…around two years or so.
