Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am an experienced canyoneer and kayaker - I spend a good amount of time in Grand Canyon (6-8 trips per year) I have routinely packrafted the Colorado River after exiting technical slot canyons - only attempting minor / unnamed rapids of course and portaging around the big ones. I have mostly used the Explorer 200, but have also tried the Supai and Alpacka. I did not want to blow $300 - $600 on something I only use on occasion - and so I've been using the Explorer - it is a great design and its cheap and easy to repair. The main functional drawback is that it has oar yokes on it - which shred your arms if you using a kayak paddle and the heavy vinyl construction makes it very heavy and bulky to carry in a canyoneering backpack. The valves also suck, they are way too small. Along came the Klymit which looked very well made and without oar yolks so it looked like a winner. It was also very lightweight and compact - so I purchased it and was ready for my first packraft adventure in it. Admittedly, I made a very serious mistake in that I did not actually try this out on anything but a small body of calm water before I hit a larger river with it. I also did not have anyone else look at me when I was in the water to see my riding position. Upon inflating it, and putting it next to all my crew's Explorer 200's, we all noticed it was smaller and floor of it was very shallow. I am 6'2 and weigh 180#, I also routinely carry a 40 pound backpack in Grand Canyon - full of rope, technical gear, water, food, bivy, etc. All which was well under the published load rating of 350# We all hit the water together, packs in our laps, as we have many times before without incident. My friends all said the raft looked top heavy and floated much higher than the explorers. There was little room for my pack, it was sitting high (and yes, I was sitting on the right side of it) I'm a strong guy and very experienced, I figured it was no big deal, I'd handle it. We get into the first minor rapid (again, not a named rapid, this is more like a sub class II) within seconds I was in trouble - the Klymit did not handle well at all - in fact it was horrible. I fought the current and struggled to keep it straight and immediately a small wave (one that would not have even bothered the explorer) upset my position in the raft and my pack went overboard. As I attempted to recover the pack, the boat flipped and I went in. Fortunately, the rapid I went through was not dangerous and as I emerged from the other side, my buddies had already recovered my gear, paddle and raft. The next several miles were a living hell as I fought to keep this thing straight and attempted to keep up with everyone else. I was doing twice the work and getting half the speed. Keep in mind our last trip I was the first one down the river to the take out by a significant margin. This thing sucks for anything other than still water and very light weight payload. I STRONGLY advise anyone who is considering this item to follow the following advice : 1> This packraft has a "flat" design - perhaps that helps make it easier to make therefore less costly - but in doing so, it significantly raises the seating position or center of gravity, putting you further out of the water. The floor is located in middle of the float, rather than at the bottom of the float like all other packrafts. As a result, the payload is shifted up and a pocket is created under it - it is VERY easily tipped over in even small waves or ripples. They are not kidding when they say "light water". 2> Due to the same flat design, the drag through the water is nearly double that of a traditional design. I am one of the strongest paddlers amongst my group of friends - yet I had zero chance of keeping up with any of them on our last trip - AND I was completely worn out from paddling which has never happened to me once on any trip. At one point I simply gave up paddling and drifted just to conserve energy. It really was THAT bad ! In addition, due to the position it puts you in, it is very difficult to use a traditional kayak paddle. You are nearly laying, instead of sitting like you do in an Explorer or Supai raft. Try paddling from a laying position and see how fast it wears you out and ineffective your stroke is. 3> The Explorer 200 is far better suited for true packrafting, despite its weight and bulk, its a far better design and a lot more stable. Cut off the oar yokes and carry some duct tape and a good patch kit. The Supai is good, but only for total weights under 200 pounds + its a lot more $. 4> The weight rating on this raft is 350 pounds. That is nonsense. If you put that much weight on this thing you'll drown. I was more than 100 pounds under that max with my backpack - it was unstable and dangerous in all but the smoothest water. I really wanted this to work - it has a lot of great features and it appears very well made. Unfortunately, the design has its limitations and its poorly suited for anything but calm waters and light payloads. I am only writing this for two reasons, to save someone else the expense and to possible save your life. It is a somewhat unstable design, in the unsuspecting hands, you might be tempted to think it handles like a Supai or Explorer, and like I did, go on a trip with it and get into trouble. I have a lot of water experience, I did not panic - others may or may not have the same experience. Be careful out there!