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.

 

[akn300wsm]

How does the kork compare, packed size wise? How hard is it to load in a smaller plane? Would two people and a moose be able to fit comfortably in a Kork?

 

[alaska80]

How does the kork compare, packed size wise? How hard is it to load in a smaller plane? Would two people and a moose be able to fit comfortably in a Kork?

Kork is a little larger rolled than the 49. It weighs about 45lbs when including pump etc. Larry designed the Kork to actually be the lightest smallest raft that can take 1 person and a whole moose. It will not carry 2 people and a moose comfortably.

It would work for 2 people and a moose on a calm lake, but it is going to be cramped, and if there are waves your are going to get wet.

 

[alaska80]

The smallest you could go with 2 people a moose and no camp would be the legend.

 

[akn300wsm]

The smallest you could go with 2 people a moose and no camp would be the legend.

Could 2 people, a modest camp, and a moose float safely down a mostly tame river in a pair of PR49s (or even foragers)? I have very little rafting experience, but there’s a river near by that I’ve wanted to raft hunt for years!

 

[alaska80]

Could 2 people, a modest camp, and a moose float safely down a mostly tame river in a pair of PR49s (or even foragers)? I have very little rafting experience, but there’s a river near by that I’ve wanted to raft hunt for years!

Yeah absolutely. I would go in light, like sheep hunting. This is a whole moose in two PR 49s. Had three people and packs. There is a section on this river that is solid class III. The 49s are tough boats, would go with those just for the durability.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Could 2 people, a modest camp, and a moose float safely down a mostly tame river in a pair of PR49s (or even foragers)? I have very little rafting experience, but there’s a river near by that I’ve wanted to raft hunt for years!

Yes, 2 pr49s are what you need for 2 guys and 1 moose.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

yup

 

[mtnbiker208]

if you are a river runner, loves whitewater ect, the alpaka will be more your style.
remote alaskan hunter, you will probably lean towards the pristine ventures boats.

both get the job done, but the "roots" of the companies are different. my opinion.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

if you are a river runner, loves whitewater ect, the alpaka will be more your style.
remote alaskan hunter, you will probably lean towards the pristine ventures boats.

both get the job done, but the "roots" of the companies are different. my opinion.

I love the smaller alpaca rafts, I even used my scout on a sheep hunt last year where it was amazing. I've also used my mule for a caribou hunt up north where it was an amazing tool for that job but the forager I just couldn't get setup the way I wanted. That inflatable floor, lack of 2nd seat, high center of gravity. My wife took it once to paddle around with our dogs and she found it nearly unusable due to how tippy it was.

My only regret about getting the PR49 is that I should have gotten the Kork since it's more substantial and Ive never had to pack the pr49 more than a few hundred yards anyhow after getting dropped off. The first year I had my pr49 my buddy ran me maybe 30 miles up a place we hunt with his jet boat and dropped me off, I camped a few days and made my way back out. I shot a bull on that trip and spent a few days floating when I could, dragging and lining solo. It's still probably my favorite hunt I've ever done even though the moose was just an eater at ~47". That was a hard hunt but doable, lots of shuttling and lining but it was cool.

The year before I used an older version (I think of the pr49) and floated down a larger faster river to a branch where I hunted for 4 days, I shot a bull there as well and had a hell of a time getting back, I could pretty much only use the raft with the tides so I d get some movement and have to stop for the day/night, that sucked but I got the bull back, I did almost drown on that trip.

Ive done probably a dozen 3-7 day float trips now for moose, all successful and the only complaint I ever had about my pr49 is that it's not a Kork. The design intent is there and it's easy to set that thing up with my dry bags and rifle. With a full moose on it, you can't float much (a little but not much), you can line it out though.

 

[Meanderthal]

Could 2 people, a modest camp, and a moose float safely down a mostly tame river in a pair of PR49s (or even foragers)? I have very little rafting experience, but there’s a river near by that I’ve wanted to raft hunt for years!

I've done this with my Alpacka Mule and my partners Alpacka Caribou. It was a true backpack in and float out hunt where the heavier boats wouldn't have been practical. For the float back we had all of our camp + rifles zipped up inside the raft tubes. The meat and empty packs were piled up atop the rafts with just enough room to sit with legs inside. Rapids would have been sketchy but riffles and small standing waves felt stable and safe.

 

[Xperimental]

Alpacka rafts are not designed for the sort of load a hunt brings. They are adventure travel boats, incredibly light, impressive, but not a hunting platform. In my opinion. I am not sure the PR49 really is big enough to be something I would consider adequate either...but it is closer. I might be able to talk myself into a hunt trip out of that...but probably not. Still a little too small...especially if you are talking about loading it down and then running whitewater. Again...in my opinion. Good luck. Float safe.