MANCOS, Colo. (Jan. 23, 2024) – Alpacka Raft, the packrafting industry leader, today announced the release of the Valkyrie V3. Since its initial release in 2022, the Valkyrie has been widely recognized as the pinnacle of inflatable whitewater performance. Not content to sit on their laurels, the Alpacka Raft team made significant updates to the design of this latest edition, dramatically improving the boat’s capabilities.
After extensive testing, Alpacka Raft designed the Valkyrie V3 to be lower volume and more responsive than previous versions, making it easier to do everything from ferrying and eddying, to rolling and carving. The Valkyrie V3 is a true inflatable kayak, closer to a hardshell kayak than any other inflatable kayak has come to date. The patented Valkyrie Planing Hull and Valkyrie’s signature inflatable floor, paired with Alpacka’s patented whitewater features makes this packraft more rigid and better to paddle than previous versions for paddlers to push their limits.
“We’ve been working on high performance whitewater packraft designs for over 15 years,” said Thor Tingey, CEO and co-founder of Alpacka Raft. “We wouldn’t be where we are without Sheri’s design innovations, tester feedback and willingness to take untested shapes into harder whitewater runs, and the entire team’s relentless efforts to improve. We really like where we’ve made it with the V3.”
The Valkyrie V3 features the brand’s lowest profile tubes, modern creek boat shaping, generous bow and stern rocker, and a spacious and comfortable cockpit. The patented floor sits below the bottom of the tubes to create stability when the boat is put on edge, allowing paddlers to more easily cross eddylines and carve through features. The bow and stern rocker keep the boat high and dry, making it incredibly easy to boof over and skip out of holes and steep drops.
“During my first experience in the Valkyrie, I could hardly believe I was paddling an inflatable,” said Tyler Bradt, a professional kayaker and Red Bull athlete. “It rolled with ease, boofed like a dream, surfed waves, and edged so well. I’m so happy to see that every rendition of this boat is a leap above the last, and the boat that is now on the market is undoubtedly the gold standard of packrafts by which all others will be measured.”
The Valkyrie V3 comes in medium and large sizes, weighs 13.7lbs in the medium size, and retails for $2,350. The new boat is available for purchase at alpackaraft.com
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About Alpacka Raft
Founded in 2000 by mother and son team Sheri and Thor Tingey, Alpacka Raft makes the world’s best packrafts. With packrafts designed and handmade by a talented group of makers in its Mancos, Colorado facility, Alpacka Raft packrafts have been used and trusted on expeditions by some of the most well-known adventurers on the planet. Alpacka Raft is committed to building a diverse community of boaters and is proud to provide high-quality, living-wage manufacturing jobs in a rural, mountain-town economy. For more information, visit alpackaraft.com
