Alpacka Scout Packraft

Still the Best Small, Simple, Flatwater Packraft

Even a few years after finishing up a pretty extensive testing period and review of an older model Scout (link here), and then with the introduction of the newest generation (see the 2022 Alpacka Scout Packraft Review) – this boat is really coming of age. It’s neither the most compact, nor the largest, nor the cheapest.

But it’s durable and is the only boat I’d feel safe running some very mild whitewater (Class 2+) in if I needed to in a pinch. I know I’ll get soaking wet and have a boat full of water, and I know I’ll need to add some tie-downs for my pack, but it will stay afloat, unlike most of the “ultralight flatwater packrafts” out there.

But it’s not going to pop like a balloon if you float over a little gravel or a few sticks, like the ultralight woven-fabric boats out there with their ultralight PU coatings.

My scores are based on context within the general market subcategory we call “ultralight flatwater packrafts.”