Packrafting Gear Suggestions

High budget or low budget?

I would lean more towards high budget. I figure I’ll buy as good as I can afford, and buy subpar gear if I need to get myself by until I can afford better gear.

Probably the lightest full-featured paddle is the Aqua Bound Whisky Carbon. It’s like 26.5 oz in a 210 cm. I have an older (still made in Scotland) carbon Lendal Kinetic 4-piece 210 cm that is about an ounce heavier that I got off eBay. Those are probably the best bets for non-whitewater touring. It’s hard to get a paddle to break down any smaller than these 4-piece styles without having something really short or weird.

For a PFD I bought a snorkeling vest and cut the neoprene back panel out and sewed in a mesh back to reduce bulk and make it breathe better. It’s lighter and packs way smaller than a foam-buoyancy PFD, but it’s not CG approved, of course. Now I see you can get them with mesh backs: snorkel vest on Amazon

That’s a start.

Great thread,  thinking of doing the same in the near future.  Keeping an eye on this

The MTI Journey PFD is 14.4oz in size L/XL.  It’s the lightest coast guard approved PFD that I am aware of.  It’s also pretty affordable as a bonus.

I still really like my 210cm Werner Shuna.  The longer of the two shaft sections is 68cm long which is almost too long to fit in most 50-60 liter packs, but the length is a good blend of performance across anything you might paddle.  The paddle has been super durable and efficient for everything from flatwater to class IV.

I have a snorkel vest I bring for mellow trips, and and MTI Vibe for whitewater.  The vibe isn’t super light, but it does pack flatter than any other PFD I’ve used that also has a performance fit.