tdoughty
12-02-2012, 09:32 AM
Many military and civil aviation survival/life boats produced in socialist Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and the SU were also used as pleasure boats and are surprisingly robust, also weighing less than 4 kg. I am fortunate to have two of the legendary model B73 rafts manufactured by VEB Gummiwerken, GDE (also known as the East Germany company Pneumant, which after the collapse was at one time a part of Dunlap, and which also reached the laudable one million mark for tire production).
You might consider this boat as a “Quasi- Packraft” as it was not designed by the manufacturer to be utilized as a Packraft, but rather as a recreational/survival/military raft. However, it does have the acceptable ratio of weight, compatibility, and robustness which fulfills packraft requirements.
I am willing to sell one of these rafts for $250.
The tradeoff bulk and weight for this raft compared to many on the market today is its durability and weight bearing capability. Materials are far more robust than those utilized by NRS, Alpacka, and Supai, and it easily carries 300 lbs. This means that you can confidently run class III water and bounce off boulders and branches.
I've taken this raft on loops through Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and out in the Pacific Ocean.
B73
Materials / Construction: nylon fabric with rubber coating, dual chamber construction.
Dimensions: 1.92 m (outer), 1.33 m (inner), 29cm tube diameter. Weight: 4.0 kg. Condition: no damage, no patches, good condition.
Contact me at tdoughtyjr at gmail dot com
You might consider this boat as a “Quasi- Packraft” as it was not designed by the manufacturer to be utilized as a Packraft, but rather as a recreational/survival/military raft. However, it does have the acceptable ratio of weight, compatibility, and robustness which fulfills packraft requirements.
I am willing to sell one of these rafts for $250.
The tradeoff bulk and weight for this raft compared to many on the market today is its durability and weight bearing capability. Materials are far more robust than those utilized by NRS, Alpacka, and Supai, and it easily carries 300 lbs. This means that you can confidently run class III water and bounce off boulders and branches.
I've taken this raft on loops through Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and out in the Pacific Ocean.
B73
Materials / Construction: nylon fabric with rubber coating, dual chamber construction.
Dimensions: 1.92 m (outer), 1.33 m (inner), 29cm tube diameter. Weight: 4.0 kg. Condition: no damage, no patches, good condition.
Contact me at tdoughtyjr at gmail dot com