Just curious if anyone ever attempted a trip with an inflatable boat like this? I can definitely see some pros and cons to a setup like this but what do you guys think?

Pros:
1. Lighter than most every canoe I have ever seen.
2. Can actually carry it on your back, versus over your head, which i hate. lol.
3. Looks like plenty of storage onboard (drink holders, rod holders etc).

Cons:
1. What happens if it gets punctured or a hole miles in. yikes.
2. How would it tolerate the wind/waves etc.
3. Is it going to be an efficient way to paddle? or could it be even more exhausting (hard to steer and keep on course, no efficient as a canoe etc)

Curious to hear what you guys think!

https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Eagle-PackFish-Inflatable-Fishing/dp/B06XGMKWN5#customerReviews

This is probably better suited for the 'Gear' forum.

I'm sure there are circumstances that you could successfully trip with something like this, but generally speaking, I don't believe it would work well. It would be difficult to manage on narrow and/or steep portages, and I could imagine doing a fair amount of damage to it while portaging through areas where sticks, rocks and brush are encroaching the trail. Additionally, I don't believe it would handle well in rough water, and rocky landings at campsites and portages could tear it. Depending on how big of a guy you are and how light you pack, the 300lb capacity could be pretty limiting as well. When I solo I am definitely under 300lb total weight, but I prefer not to be even close to a boat's capacity.

Long story short, you'd be better off spending the $439 on a used canoe.

Top speed:

0.75mph

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It can float, you can carry it, it fits in a car trunk. No to sound negative but that is all. I have and used many solo canoes much lighter. I actually prefer carrying my Advantage (31 pounds), more than the pack I carry (which is always under 30 pounds). With a paddler on board where will the gear and pack(s) go? Add those to the cons you listed and I only see it as something to stay at the Entry Point for a fun day of fishing and relaxing. Trying to pack/unpack during portages, make any real traveling distances, attempting to carry more than a modest or limited amount of camp gear, and harsh weather doubts, would eliminate it potential for trips.

butthead

SPOTPRES1... personal opinion... if I were told that the only way I could go to the BW or Q is in one of those inflatable boats, I'd sell all my gear and never go again. Not in 1,000 years would I go in one of those contraptions.

Also... don't forget to use the Add a link to this message function.

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I've soloed a couple paddle, pack raft, backing trips in the BW. Deflating at each portage would be a pain. I brought a battery operated air pump for inflating and deflating. It's still not handy but it sure makes it easier to access remote lakes.
Very inefficient compared to a canoe but doable on tiny lakes.

Would be tough sledding...imagine some of the BWCA's bigger water and a headwind...yikes! Now I'm going to have trouble sleeping tonight.

I'd take an Alpacka packraft before one of these for sure.

I have a 1-man pontoon boat with a FL8 vexilar and an electric trolling motor that would work on a motor lake for trolling, etc. Would never portage.

Cret

A couple years back I ran into a guy on a portage (in the motor area) between Fall and Basswood he had the brilliant idea to bring an inflatable raft with a small outboard attached. We helped him schlep his gear over one portage. He would deflate the raft at every portage, long story short he admitted bringing the raft was the dumbest decision he had ever made in his life, even with the wide, relatively flat portages between Fall and Basswood this poor guy was almost in tears. If we would have offered to find room for him in our canoe I have little doubt he would have loaded the raft with rocks, slashed the hell out of it and sent the whole works to the bottom. I made my first trip in 1980, last year I finally bought my first kevlar boat, the one I was using was 74 lbs empty, with seats, rods, and spare paddle lashed in it was 80 lbs, I would not ever have considered a raft over it....

There is a great reason the area is called the BWCA, and not the kayak, float tube or inflatable boat area. I could think up about 10 good reasons why this would be a less than optimal choice for your mode of transportation.

I take that back. I just remembered seeing one of these when we were paddling out of Pine lake. Two guys were paddling solo canoes and one was towing an inflatable boat, with a huge keg inside.

For a trip? No way would I take a raft. For fishing where I could see my truck? Absolutely.

No.. 44 lbs is heavy.Most quality solo canoes come in much less.. sometimes 23 lbs and have more payload. Not to mention speed and portageability.. in a headwind you better camp.

lol great story ha hah

Wouldn’t the oarlocks make that raft illegal in the no motor zones of the BWCA?

I think others have covered the downsides such as being slow. As pointed out above, you can’t use oars in most of the BWCA. But you could probably remove the oarlocks and paddle it. I do see a problem with portaging it as shown in the pics. It goes pretty high above your head and so may hang up on trees. If your major issue is hating portaging, you could look at the old knupak which puts the canoe atop a pack frame. It gives you better visibility and transfers weight to your hips. Use the search function to find threads on the knupak. They aren’t made anymore but you can make your own with a very sturdy frame and some oarlocks or other u pieces to hold the yoke.

2015 on the Granite River, I kid you not, I passed an older, solo, grungy looking guy rowing in the opposite direction as us. Yes, I said rowing. He looked like he had been in the woods for about 3 months. He asked us how the fishing was and if there were any open campsites on Clove.

He had an old aluminum rowboat, guessing a 12-14 footer, looked like it must have weighed about 100 pounds. I have no idea how he portaged it.

I believe inflatable boats are more intended for river travel where the rocks have been rounded from the rushing water. The BWCA doesn't really have that and there are many jagged rocks that will do some impressive damage to an inflatable craft. That's why people stick to hard-shell boats in the BWCA. The photos of the inflatable boat on the link you sent shows the boat being used on lakes, but I would think that's to make the photo shoot easy (they would struggle to do a photo shoot on a river).

I think it would work well on Crown Land logging roads where you drive up to a lake. More than once, after a bumpy stretch, I have to re-secure the canoe and that's with six ratcheting straps. With a deflated raft in the back of my SUV, I could simply keep bumping down the road. I already choose small lakes, so its slowness and un-wave-worthiness wouldn't become big problems.

cowdoc: " "

yep. a picture worth 1000 words.

A raft would also work well when there's no portage trail and you have to bushwhack between lakes. A canoe is tricky in tight quarters.

missmolly: "A raft would also work well when there's no portage trail and you have to bushwhack between lakes. A canoe is tricky in tight quarters. "

That is essentially the point of pack rafts: to backpack them to remote lakes where you want to float around for one reason or another. A rather different purpose than trying to do miles of travel with a full load of gear.

Looks great----------------for a lazy river at the water park! No way for the BW