Alpacka or Pr-49 hd ?

[akn300wsm]

I have used the PR49 for years and have friends who have the Forager. Hands down with what you want to do I would go with the PR49. However, the PR49 only weighs 15lbs if you are just talking the boat without the floor, paddle and pump. All in with raft, floor, paddle and pump you are closer to 25lbs. Now I still use the cheap pump that Larry sold with the raft with years ago, but it is not that heavy. You could save some ounces with the upgraded pump he linked above.
You will not be able to truly solo a moose hunt with one raft though. You could maybe haul a whole moose across a flat lake, but if there were any waves you wont flip but you are going to be sitting in water. I have hauled a lot of moose down rivers with the PR49 and it has always taken two, though I will admit that most of those rivers have had class III sections to navigate. Even though when on the flat class I water, if you hit a small wave train the water will be in the boat and you will be constantly bailing. I have loaded the PR49 to 850lbs (rated at 1000 with the floor) and had about 2 inches of clearance to the water.
I love these rafts, but realistically you need 2 to haul a mature bull out with camp.

How do packed volumes compare? I don’t mind a few more pounds, but space is premium for me.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

How do packed volumes compare? I don’t mind a few more pounds, but space is premium for me.

A packed pr49 vs a packed forager?

The forager is smaller.

 

[alaska80]

How do packed volumes compare? I don’t mind a few more pounds, but space is premium for me.

The Forager rolled is smaller. However, in making your decision I think it depends on your application as space is a premium for me as well. I carry that thing on my back along with 7-10 days of food, clothing and shelter.

If you are putting it in a cub and flying to a hunting area where it is used on a lake or just to cross an easy river, I think you are good.

If you are using it to float with a moose or any animal in anything class II or above, or even class I that has rocks, sweepers and strainers then I would definitely go with the PR49, it is just more robust.

The question is, can the PR 49 get small enough. I use a seek outside Brooks Range pack, it is 8000+ cu in, and I fit the 49 and 10 days of gear in it.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

If you want to pack around a pr49 one good way to do it is to sort of fold it into a square and clip it to the outside of your pack around your backpack. Like Moffat had pics of him doing that a few years ago, I did the same thing and it worked well.

Ive had both those rafts, used both a lot and moved on from the forager. I still have a pr49 and I'd buy another one. The Cork is awesome as well. Heck, the legend is also great, all of those pristine ventures rafts are amazing for their intended use.

The alpaca forager was good in theory but the inflatable floor and high center of gravity makes them less stable and difficult to use. The only way I could get mine to feel good was to have 100+lbs inside the tubes, that limits your access to your gear which you can deal with by packing a smaller bag of things you'll need through the day but if you don't plan right, you need to deflate the whole damn thing then blow it up again with the bag. Sucks.

I like the cargo nets on the pr49 and I also like that you can use it with or without the floor if you want to save weight or increase carrying capacity on it. it also seems much more durable. I love alpacas and have 3 or 4 of them but the forager, in my opinion is sort of a miss. You aren't going to find hard core seasoned float hunters using a forager.

 

[william schmaltz]

Here’s a forager with one full moose in it. The application here was to just walk the raft along the shoreline to a spot we could portage like 20 yards to a larger lake an airplane could land on. Saved us some serious pack miles. There was no chance I was hopping on top to paddle this thing.
We finally just went and made what we needed. Did about 40 river miles with 1/2 a moose and a very comfortable camp in this thing. No problems at all, but made a few modifications for V2.0. I’d feel confident doing a full moose and a backpacking camp in anything class II and under. Folds down about the same as a forager and shooting for under 25lbs with CF oars, CF oar saddle, and a thwart seat. I hate kayak paddles and I’m on the tall end, so a thwart lets you sorta set the seat height you want.