#alpacka-raft

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A Bike For A Raft: Musing On Sentimentality And Trading Gear

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A Bike For A Raft: Musing On Sentimentality And Trading Gear

Many years ago my friend Tyler and I traded my Soma Sandworm for his Alpacka packraft. Both of us were ready for an upgrade in our respective realms, so we traded. Years later we now have these two items, which are so storied and niche, that we can’t let them go and even if we could, we’re not sure anyone would want them. Stuck as we are, let’s have story time and walk down memory lane.

Now & The Future of Bikerafting: Unpacking the 2023 Bikeraft Guide Survey Results

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Now & The Future of Bikerafting: Unpacking the 2023 Bikeraft Guide Survey Results

“A packraft is like a giant key that gets you into places. When the road ends and you can no longer ride your bike, you blow up your boat and continue down that river or lake, seeing things you’d never see if you only stuck to the trails and roads.” –Doom

Bikerafting—the combination of biking and packrafting—makes a lot of sense for the multi-sport enthusiast. But, since the first-documented bikerafting expedition in the late 80s, it has stayed a relatively niche sport. Lizzy Scully dives into the data with an overview of the history of bikerafting, the most avid participants of the sport today, and a breakdown of the April 2023 Bikeraft Guide Survey Results. Read on for inspiration and information about who and where to turn to get your feet wet in this creative genre of exploration. 

A Look at the Bikeraft Guide

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A Look at the Bikeraft Guide

Bikerafting is when you incorporate a bike onto a packraft like an Alpacka Raft. While navigating rivers and other bodies of water shouldn’t be taken with a grain of salt and if you don’t have whitewater experience, you should seek out proper training before embarking on a packraft or bikerafting trip. Once you’ve done that, buy this book for inspiration. The Bikeraft Guide is a 325 page book, packed with stories, instructional how-tos, illustrations, and more. It was compiled by Lizzy and Doom of Four Corners Guides and is a great companion for those bikeraft curious. Let’s take a quick look below…

Our Solstice Packraft Paddle on the San Miguel River with Four Corners Guides

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Our Solstice Packraft Paddle on the San Miguel River with Four Corners Guides

With my partner Cari’s birthday always falling on the Summer Solstice, it’s usually up to her to decide how we spend the longest day of the year. This year, with temps in the 90s here in Santa Fe, we were excited to get out on the river in our Alpacka rafts with our friends Doom and Lizzy from Four Corners Guides, where we spent our Solstice evening on the San Miguel river…

Our Swift Campout Was a Little Different thanks to Four Corners Guides

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Our Swift Campout Was a Little Different thanks to Four Corners Guides

We hope everyone got out and camped under the stars with their friends, both new and old for the Swift Campout! We’ve got some stories to share next week but we just wanted to extend a huge thanks to our friends Doom and Lizzy at Four Corners Guides for taking us out on a river overnighter. It’s not often we get to campout on the river, so this made for a truly unique experience…

Don’t forget to email us your Swift Campout stories!

Win a Salsa Blackborow Fat Bike, a Alpacka Caribou Packraft, and a  UltaMid 2 Pyramid Tent System from Hyperlite

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Win a Salsa Blackborow Fat Bike, a Alpacka Caribou Packraft, and a UltaMid 2 Pyramid Tent System from Hyperlite

Hyperlite Mountain Gear wants to outfit your future ventures with this massive giveaway:

The chassis off this giveaway is the ever-capable, long-hauler Salsa Blackborow Fat Bike. For shelter, you can win a UltaMid 2 Pyramid Tent System and then Inflate your Alpacka Caribou Packraft and explore that lake you’re on with a Aqua-Bound Manta Ray Hybrid Paddle. Then pack everything into the 4400 Porter.

Head to Hyperlite Mountain Gear to sign up for this giveaway. All you’ve got to do is enter your email.