Alpacka’s new decked Scout; the Refuge

[Philip Tschersich]

Alpacka is rolling out a new boat, which is essentially a Scout with a whitewater deck and cargo zip, called the Refuge. It has the same 10 inch tubes (the Classic series uses 12 inch tubes) and hull shape as the Scout. I own both Classic boats and a Scout and find the Classic boats are much faster and more sea worthy. They track better and require less effort to maintain speed. The 2 inch difference in tube diameter is also noticeable in terms of how much water can come over the sides. Some of that is because the Scout lacks a deck so the boarding seas are more noticeable, obviously. The Scout’s almost complete lack of a bow, and one which is barely upswept, makes putting any load on the bow (e.g., backpack) a problem. But the Refuge’s cargo zip seems to address this as now stuff can go inside. Even with no bow load, waves still slop over the front pretty easily on the Scout though.

I have thought for years that there was a hole in the Alpacka lineup in the form of a lighter, smaller-packing, yet expedition-worthy (by way of a deck) boat, and Alpacka seems to have agreed.

[Philip Tschersich]

I did a little more research on the specs and my comparison to the old Scout may be misleading as the current (4th generation) Scout is different than my 2018 model. They updated the Scout shape to be more like the Classic series rafts, which is a welcome change. I’m guessing the ~2 pound weight savings in the Refuge compared to a Classic comes from the 420d floor vs the 840d, and the 10 vs 12 inch tubes.

[Chad Lorenz]

I think it will be well received, especially at that price point. I’d like to see it with included thigh strap attachments, and available in a larger size as an option. With 2-3 weeks of food, I’d be maxing out this little boat…

[Luke Schmidt]

It looks cool for sure. When I was solo rafting in Wyoming and Montana I tended to boat very cautiously and walk anything to scary. This would have been perfect for that.

The downside is a smaller boat will also have less floatation on a boney river.

I’m doing all my advertising in Alaska these days so I’d go the opposite direction. Our big rivers can have some intimidating waves and holes when they run high. Good place for something like a Gnarwhal.

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