The best thing about a packraft is that it never has to stay on the water. A weir across the river, a log jam around a bend, a rapid that looks bigger than your plans: step out, pick it up and walk around. Portaging is part of packrafting, and a smooth one takes a few minutes.
When to get out
Get out whenever you cannot see a clear, safe line from where you are sitting. That rule covers most situations before they become problems.
- Weirs and low dams. Always portage them. The smooth drop hides a recirculating current at the base that can hold a swimmer and a packraft.
- Log jams and fallen trees. Water flows through branches; you do not. A strainer is the hazard to take most seriously on gentle rivers.
- Rapids beyond your comfort or your packraft. If you would not be happy swimming it, walk it.
- Blind corners with noise ahead. Land, walk down the bank and look.
- Water too low to float. Dragging a loaded hull over rock wears the floor. Stepping out and walking the shallows costs you a minute.
The decision gets easier when you make it early. Pull in well upstream of the obstacle, in slow water, on the inside of a bend if you can. The closer you get before deciding, the fewer choices you have left.
Look before you walk
Once you are out, walk down and have a proper look. Check where the river goes below the obstacle, where you can get back in, and what the ground is like between the two.
A good put-in below a portage has slow water, an easy step down and enough room to launch without being swept straight into the next thing. Pick it first, then find the route to it.
Respect the land either side. Some river banks are private property, and access rules vary between reserves, parks and council land. Stay on public land where you can, and check with the land manager before a trip if portages are likely.
Inflated or deflated
The choice comes down to distance and terrain. A short hop round a log is an inflated carry. A long walk through scrub is a pack-up job.
| Feature | Carry inflated | Pack it down |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Short portages over open ground | Long portages, thick scrub, steep ground |
| Time | Seconds to get going | A few minutes to deflate, roll and reinflate |
| Watch for | Wind catching the hull, snags on branches | Grit and sharp sticks near the fabric |
| Kit | Can stay strapped to the bow | Goes into the pack with the packraft |
Carrying it inflated
For a short portage, leave everything on. Most packrafts are light enough to carry with one hand by a grab handle, with the paddle in the other.
Over longer ground or rougher footing, flip the packraft upside down and rest it on your head and shoulders, holding the tubes either side. Your hands stay free for balance and it rides steady. Just watch the wind: an inflated packraft is a large, light shape, and a gust can snatch it off your head or out of your hand.
Keep it well clear of sticks, barbed wire and sharp rock. The floor takes most of the wear on any trip, so lift it over rough edges rather than dragging it. If you have a loaded bow, check the straps before you set off. A dry bag working loose halfway along a bank is an easy thing to lose.
Packing it down
For a long walk, open the valves, let the air out, roll it and put it in your pack exactly as you would on the walk in. It feels slow the first time. With a method, it is a few minutes each end.
Shake out grit and water first. Sand rolled up inside the hull grinds against the fabric with every step. Our guide to packing a packraft covers the roll itself.
Weirs, log jams and lining
A weir is the one obstacle that is never a judgement call. Portage every one, however small it looks, and give the base a wide berth when you put back in below it.
Log jams move. A snag that was clear last season can be blocked this season after a flood. Treat every fallen tree as a portage until you can see water flowing freely around it with room to spare.
On shallow, gentle sections you can sometimes line the packraft instead of carrying it. Walk the bank or the shallows and float it alongside you on a short line tied to the bow. Keep the line in your hand, never around your wrist, and keep yourself out of deep moving water.
Build portages into the plan
Look at the map before you go. River sections that pass through towns, farmland or old mining country often have weirs. Forested catchments tend to have more fallen timber after floods. Ask the land manager or a local club about recent conditions.
Then budget time for them. A day with three portages is still a good day on the water if you planned for it. Wear your PFD, leave your trip intentions with someone at home, and enjoy the stretch of bank you would have missed in any other craft.
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