Assembly Instructions

Flying with Folding Boats

Mapping Out Your Next Trip

Packing & Securing Gear in a PakCanoe

Repair & Maintenance of Pakboats

Skin on Frame Boats

Surviving Mosquitoes & Black Flies

BOAT REPORT FROM ALAN KESSELHEIM

PakCanoes are great even for close-to-home journeys. Last summer I took my oldest son (10) on a trip to Yellowstone Park with some friends. We used the PakCanoe 160 with spraycover. The first advantage was that it allowed us to carpool because we didn't have a boat that required space on a roof rack. It simply got tossed in the back with the rest of the gear. At the lakeside put-in, we had the boat assembled and packed in less than half an hour (including time to answer questions from curious bystanders).

The trip involved several lake crossings that are known for bad wind and waves. The PakCanoe actually stayed drier than the hard shelled companion boats when we did encounter larger waves because the hull didn't slap through turbulence. Despite the fact that we were paddling with adults, our father/son boat had no trouble keeping pace. The 160 also proved adept at going both up and down the Lewis River, which requires a combination of paddling, poling, and wading going up, and lots of rock dodging going down. All in all, we never felt outperformed by the hard-shell boats, and had the smug satisfaction of rolling up our "duffle-boat" for travel.

Best,

Alan Kesselheim