Pack rafting Sept 20/21/22 in North Wales - 5 ranges of pack rafts to test for free

[summittoppler]

I'll be there, arm bands at the ready!
Fair do's John, it sounds like you've done some great work organising this

[JohnClimber]

Cheers Jeff, it's going to be great.
Take a look at what's on offer as tonight is the "launch" night...... (sorry)

https://thejohnclimber.wordpress.com/20 ... g-meet-up/

[JohnClimber]

Just a heads up for anyone fancying a bit of bike pack rafting.

These will be totally free, just bring your bike, your bike packing harnesses etc to fit the raft to your bike and Andy Toop and Alpaca will supply the rest for a short ride and paddle back.
Some sessions are almost sold out already but I'm saving 4 places for Bear Bones, so please let me know ASAP.

Here he is in action up at Cape Wrath with someone we all know

https://youtu.be/dB7i2T0JBIE

Don't forget you'll get life lessons from Stuart and Sweary Dave included in the free get together, plus beer sampling and loads of other stuff, all you have to do is book the camp site (sorry it's not wild) turn up, pay £3.50 for a water permit for the weekend and pay for camping, but sessions do need to be booked ASAP.

https://thejohnclimber.wordpress.com/20 ... g-meet-up/

[whitestone]

Cath and I should be up for this. Gulp!

[JohnClimber]

A little bike rafting bivi trip from Salsa

https://youtu.be/vcGOja6jTx0

[summittoppler]

Here's some very useful info...
https://salsacycles.com/culture/bikeraf ... ikepacking

[JohnClimber]

A little bump as this is now only 3 weeks away.

New things added,

The highlights
Stuart (BearBones) talks about all things lightweight set up
Sweary Dave Barter talks us through his 2019 Tour divide trip
Gordon Stovin talks and demos how to make sough dough bread while wild camping**
and then Gordon Stovin talks with samples from his range of BeerBods on which is the bet beer to take wild camping, the one with the most bang for the buck and weigh, samples**

Oh and then theres the pack rafts

Test boats from
Longshore
Alpaca - I have the bike carrying specific Caribou model
Anfibio from packrafting.de
and Kokopelli also from packrafting.de

They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes to do different jobs (just like bikes really)
There has never before been such a gathering of test and sample boats in the UK for you to view and test

This meet up is aimed squarely at those who are interested in trying out a few different pack rafts to see what all the fuss is about. to see how it can expand their adventures in the future and to see adventures from a whole different angle.

The main sessions are all sold out (within 24 hours) But there will be a Saturday afternoon taster session to join in if you like on the day on a first come first served basic (small fee on the day).

But the test boats are there for you to take out on the water at your own risk both on Saturday and on Sunday

Cost to you - FREE*

Full updated info here
https://thejohnclimber.wordpress.com/20 ... g-meet-up/


* Free but with not so hidden extras
Camp site – Prices from £11 a night to £25 a night, depending if you are in a tent or a Campervan with EHU. You can pay a deposit beforehand or pay it all on arrival.

Lake paddling permit
To paddle on Lake Tegid we do need to have a canoe paddling permit. I’ve spoken with Arwel Morris The Snowdonia National Parks Warden for the Llyn Tegid and Penllyn area who says the normal charge is £3.50 per day, but as we are a group he will give us a discount of just £3.50 each for the whole weekend, and the good news is that he will collect it from me (or the wife) during the weekend and not beforehand.
So, upon arrival please give my wife (Yola) your name and your £3.50 in the exact cash.
That way she can pay for us all when the ranger arrives sometime on Saturday.

** Baking and beer talks are £5 per person per talk to cover samples that you are tasting and testing

[Bearbonesnorm]

Looking forward to it John.

[99percentchimp]

Looking forward to it John.

Me too - well done pulling all this together John

[BigdummySteve]

I’ll be up with my lad, he’s forgotten about the bogs and tussock yomping

[JohnClimber]

I’ll be up with my lad, he’s forgotten about the bogs and tussock yomping

Cheers lads and thanks Steve.

TBH, I can't believe how well my helpers have rallied around with a large number of test rafts for everyone to try.

The good news is that it's a campsite in the middle of wales so the traders won't be able to sell you one even if they wanted to as they have no way of taking card payments.

I''ll be doing a short bike pack rafting trip with Andy Toop on the Saturday afternoon if anyone fancies joining us.
But don't forget to bring your bike (one that you don't mind getting splashed)

[JohnClimber]

As of this minute there are 2 places left on the bike pack raftiing mini test ride and paddle.

I'd rather offer it here to those keen before I tell everyone at the South Lakes Bike Fest about it.

So if you are free on the Saturday afternoon and you want to see what all the bike packraft fuss is about please let me know on here before this weekend.

All you need to bring is your bike and a backpack around 40 LTRs in size or larger
(It will be less faffing with a back back that straps to your bike)

Also there are now 5 manufactures of pack rafts coming to this meet up.
All of which are free to test paddle they are from

Alpaca
Longshore
Anfibio
MRS
Kokepelli

[JohnClimber]

I’ll be up with my lad, he’s forgotten about the bogs and tussock yomping

Sweary Dave has taken one of the 2 bike pack rafting places.
Steve do you or your son what the other spot?

[yourguitarhero]

Hello BB team.
Is there still spaces for this?
Had to wait til a few "life" things sorted themselves out before I could commit.
Have raft, tent, bike and gf ready to paddle!

[BigdummySteve]

I’ll be up with my lad, he’s forgotten about the bogs and tussock yomping

Sweary Dave has taken one of the 2 bike pack rafting places.
Steve do you or your son what the other spot?

Yes please John, do you need pre-payment?

[JohnClimber]

I’ll be up with my lad, he’s forgotten about the bogs and tussock yomping

Sweary Dave has taken one of the 2 bike pack rafting places.
Steve do you or your son what the other spot?

Yes please John, do you need pre-payment?

No mate, it's a free one. I'll message you now.

[BigdummySteve]

[Bearbonesnorm]

Hello BB team.
Is there still spaces for this?
Had to wait til a few "life" things sorted themselves out before I could commit.
Have raft, tent, bike and gf ready to paddle!

I'm sure the weekend as a whole is operating on a 'more the merrier' basis but you'll need to have a word with John about places on the bikerafting excursion.

[JohnClimber]

Hello BB team.
Is there still spaces for this?
Had to wait til a few "life" things sorted themselves out before I could commit.
Have raft, tent, bike and gf ready to paddle!

Hi YGH,

There is no limit to the numbers who are welcome to come along.
Although all of the session have sold out, there is a taster session on the Saturday afternoon for those interested and who've missed the booking, it will be first come first served and only booked on the Saturday at the meet up


Full details are on this web page.
https://thejohnclimber.wordpress.com/20 ... g-meet-up/

There are 5 manufatures with pack rafts to test and around 50 people and traders to talk and paddle with over the weekend. Plus the evenings entertainment.

And don't forget it's not an "event" it a meet up and is free to attend*
* You pay for camping, session on the day and if you want to listen and try samples at the Beer and Bread demos that's just £5 per person per bread and beer talk.

So bring your bike's boats and please get stuck in to helping the hobby grow.

[JohnClimber]

Update with 17 days to go.

There will be around 20 test pack rafts to try out over the weekend.

I sent a speculative email to Kokopelli to see if they would like to send over their all new heavy duty white water pack rafts called the Recon which is designed for up to grade 4 white water.

I've just had an email in this evening and they are shipping one out to me as a "sample" without I the need for me to send it back
https://kokopellipackraft.com/product/recon/


White water grades
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internati ... difficulty

So it's not just bike pack rafting that will be covered this weekend, but pack rafts that are super lightweight for remote calm weather lake adventures, tandem pack rafts, sea going pack rafts, canal pack rafts and for rivers for all grades up to and including grade 4.

Look at maps and see how much blue there is on it which is currently an obstacle to get around and avoid, now they can be part of your adventure, and nowhere (unless private) will be out of bounds for you on each and every map you have.

So think about the use of a pack raft to enable your future adventures and take a look at a map to see what trip you can envisage with the right pack raft for the job.

Come and try them out for free in 17 days time.

[composite]

This looks like a cracking weekend and it's my birthday on Saturday too! Just wish I had seen it before I signed up to another audax. Shame as I reckon the Mrs would have been up for coming along too, she likes a paddle and as it's my birthday she could hardly say no! Anyway, hope you all enjoy it.

[JohnClimber]

Updated info
Well, for the first time 5 manufactures of pack rafts have got together for a free meet up with around 25 pack rafts of all shapes and sizes for you to try out.
This time in 2 weeks time some of us will be at the meet up over in North Wales.
For those unsure if it's worth the trip here are some of the weekend highlights that I'd just updated on the main meet up page, I estimate that there will be around 50 of us there and around 10 meet up helpers who I couldn't have done this without (cheers all) and around 25 different makes and models of test pack raft to try out on the water
--------------------------------------
Jason Taylor Taylor of Tirio and his team have kindly offered to lead a Saturday afternoon taster session that can only be booked on the day for a minimal charge (cash please)
Andy Toop will be down from Back Country Scotland with a range of around 10 assorted Alpaca Packrafts of different makes and models for you to have test paddles in.
Tim Clark of Longshore International who will be up with 4 or 5 of his Longshore Packrafts.
Jason Taylor from Tirio will have a full range of Kokokelli pack rafts to demonstrate.
Sven Schellin and Thomas Butzmannn from packrafting.de with pack rafts from MRS and Anfibio
Zach from Kokopelli has kindly sent me one of their all new 2019 (for up to grade 4) white water heavy duty pack rafts called the Reccon for testing on the lake and the calm river nearby over the weekend. Personally I can't wait to try this one out on the rough stuff after getting training from Jason of Tirio in a month or two on a 2 day WW course.
--------------------------------
Updated web page with all the details in the one place
https://thejohnclimber.wordpress.com/20 ... g-meet-up/

[AlasdairMc]

I’ll be along for this. Unsure if I’ll be doing much rafting as I’m completely last minute - I’m sort of in the area (England and Wales) beforehand so will extend my drive home by a couple of days. Looks great!

[JohnClimber]

Cheers Alasdair,

I hope it's going to be a success for all those travelling.

Can all those who are coming from on here please let me know if they want to attend the wild camping soughdough bread making and the beer bids best beer for wild camping talks as £5 per person per talk? This is to ensure that the correct stock is brought for the day as there are samples for all attending these talks.

[JohnClimber]

This looks like a cracking weekend and it's my birthday on Saturday too! Just wish I had seen it before I signed up to another audax. Shame as I reckon the Mrs would have been up for coming along too, she likes a paddle and as it's my birthday she could hardly say no! Anyway, hope you all enjoy it.

Can't you miss the audax this once?