This Packable Raft Is a Must-Have for Urban Outdoorsy Types

In life, we reach various forks in the road that force us to make a hard choice. The thrilling single life, or monogamous stability? Salad or fries?

But here’s at least one decision you never have to make: choosing between living in a small space and owning a boat.

You can thank Stikine Packrafts for making watersports so accessible to condo folk: the new Vancouver-based company specializes in high-quality, rugged rafts that fold up super-small to store away easily in a front-hall closet or storage unit.

It’s the ideal solution for the urban outdoorsperson: someone who moved to Vancouver specifically to be close to the water and mountains but wound up in a 600-square-foot apartment that’s now bursting at the seams with sports equipment. These smartly designed packrafts are backpack-sized when deflated: small enough to take on the bus or strap to the handlebars of your bike. (The single-paddler Osprey, for instance, just weights seven-and-a-half pounds, but even the models that fit two or more people are incredibly streamlined.)

For those who do have the fortune of ample square-footage (invite us over, why dontcha?), a lightweight, compact raft has other benefits—they’re the perfect accessory for your next backcountry camping trip, or to stuff in your airplane carry-on bag for far-flung paddling adventure (hellooooo, Italy!).

Each packrat is assembled by hand from 420-denier high-count nylon. They’re ultra-lightweight but ultra-durable to handle a variety of paddling conditions whether white-water rapids or a serene float around Deep Cove. Whatever level of water-jock you might be, these crafty little boats are proof that goods things come in small packages.

Stikine’s packrafts start at $1,100.