Alpacka Packtach System and Cheaper Alternative

In this video we take a look at the Alpacka Packtach system for lashing a backpack on the front of your packraft, as well as a cheaper and more readily available option, using Nite Ize Figure 9 hooks to attach a backpack to your packraft.
The Nite Ize Figure 9 hooks can be found here:
www.rei.com/pr...
The full tent guy line tightening system with plastic hooks (enough for two boats) can be found here:
www.rei.com/pr...
The Alpacka Packtach System can be found here:
www.alpackaraft...

[@PattiemanNL]

Nice! Thanks! Just added this to my new packraft!

[@duckshepherd]

I'm impressed that only one of the plastic hook style ones broke out of 12 used all summer long. I'm sure the aluminum ones will last forever.

[@glendickinson3087]

Great vid - bought the 'cheap' version and set up my boat today. Thanks for posting!

[@AlbertaGeek]

Very nice! Thanks for that - I'll definitely be using that system this summer.

[@hoser7706]

Great setup. Is one system better than the other? Not using the Cargozip on any boats?

[@brazilmover]

Very neat diy system. Thanks for the video.

[@vavisol50]

You're packing the backpack on the packraft wrong, should be twisted 90dg so that you can wear the backpack with the packraft attached.

[@fayleya3865]

really? Can you do this? Aren't you worried about the straps getting caught on an overhanging branch while you're going downriver?

[@vavisol50]

@@fayleya3865 yep, we do that all the time :)

[@cjsoutdoors4412]

Nice System, thanks for sharing. What model rafts are you running, those look nice!

[@aaizner847]

Honestly, I wouldn't trust either one. Or any other system that relies on directional friction. If you flip, I could definitely see the right combination of swirling water and the line getting caught on something (plants, driftwood, rocks) unwrapping the line off the hook. Granted, the odds are very low, but the risk could be anywhere from inconvenient, to life threatening. Why risk it?
The best way I've found, to attach a backpack to the bow of my Alpacka, is with bungee loops and carabiners. You go from each attachment point, either to a pack strap/loop, or through the pack strap/loop and then back to the attachment point. It might cost 5-10 dollars, but you just spent a grand on the boat. Plus you can't put a dollar amount on peace of mind. I use the same attachment system on my big raft, too. 5 years of paddling whitewater, never lost my pack or even had a single line come off.

[@fayleya3865]

Hi Mr Aizner, I've been looking for a solution like this. I can't seem to picture it based on your description. Are you willing to email any photos you have showing how you attach your boat please to [e-mail] ?? No problem if you can't be bothered - but it would be super helpful to a newbie like me.

[@aaizner847]

@@fayleya3865 Hi. I wouldn't mind sending photos but idk if I have any. I can try to explain. Google "home depot bungee loops". You'll see some bungee loops with plastic balls on one end of the loops. You'll need 4 of these, and 4 aluminum carabiners (I use aluminum ones from home depot). Slip the bungee loop through the nylon loop, and then back through itself (let me know if you need an explanation of that). Put a carabiner through the bungee loop. Do that on each of the 4 nylon loops on the front of the alpacka. You'll now have 4 bungees with a carabiner at the end, attached to the 4 different points on the front of the boat. 2 in the front and 1 on each side of the nose (bow) of the boat. Now just plop your bag on top of the bow, and attach the carabiners on bungee loops to the backpack. Done.
If the bungees are too long, you can always slip the carabiner through a loop on the backpack, and pull the carabiner back to clip back onto the nylon loop on the bow of the boat. Let me know if that doesn't make sense and we can try to figure it out through email.

[@fayleya3865]

Makes perfect sense. Many thanks :)

[@aaizner847]

@@fayleya3865 Glad to help. There are a couple of other packing "hacks" possible on alpackas, if you're curious. Which specific model of Alpacka Raft do you have?

[@fayleya3865]

I have ordered the Alpacka Caribou but haven’t received it yet. So excited!

[@electric_meadows_racing]

how often do you need to repair it
from minor to serious punctures

[@Dpix1990]

You could have just looped it through and over the figure 9 lock... Rather than pulling the whole lot through...

[@nomadsurvival4952]

can you not just put the pack in the raft and sit on it?