The Advanced Elements PackLite Inflatable Kayak weighs just over 5 lbs and can be quickly put in a backpack and taken on your next overnight adventure in the wild. When trying to get out in those remote locations, you simply can’t beat the portability of this model.
Easy to install, and surprisingly stable for its size, we liked being able to paddle where no other boats could get close. We had some concerns about the durability of PackLite, but we were saved by the quality repair set. We think this is a great modality to kayak in a way that no one has kayaked before! PackLite is a 5.25 lb, one-person inflatable with a capacity of 250 lbs. It is made of polyurethane-coated ripstop polyester and, importantly, comes with a repair kit.
Handling
Advanced Elements PackLite Inflatable Kayak is quite wide, which makes it more stable than we expected, but it is also quite short and has no skeg. Still, this keeps the boat very much maneuverable and can turn without any problems.
Now for the not-so-great news; the cockpit is open and everything goes so low in the water that it is not ideal for anything rougher than flat and calm waters. The back of the chair does not attach to anything and is not very useful, acting instead as a kind of marking point to sit in, rather than a real support structure. Being so wide also makes the foot placement a bit of a guessing game. PackLite also claims a capacity of 250 lbs, but when a 220 lb man used it, he had to stop it from folding in half.
Comfort
While we don’t mind to paddle in Advanced Elements PackLite Inflatable Kayak, it’s certainly not the most comfortable boat we’ve tested. The backrest is OK, but it will not support an inclined position of rowing. Being the widest of all the kayaks we tested, we appreciated the increased stability it offers, especially since shorter boats can often be quite hectic.
Having a smaller capacity than most other single-person boats means less space for equipment (or dogs!) and limits the size of the person who could comfortably use this kayak. During our testing, PackLite strived to fit even a single person weighing 30 pounds below the published weight limit.
Another less-than-optimal feature that affects comfort is the way you inflate the floor. Unless you have the right adapter, which is NOT the same as the one used for larger valves that inflate the hull, the floor is inflated using the mouth and thus it is difficult to reach the proper pressure. For us, this most often resulted in feeling like sitting on a floating pool mat, because we could feel every little wave we passed.
Ease of configuration
With only three fairly small chambers, installing the Advanced Elements PackLite Inflatable Kayak is relatively easy. Keep in mind that no pump is included with this kayak (although Advanced Elements sells them). The waterproof material is also quite easy to clean or wipe off sand and debris when you are ready to pack. And while it doesn’t have a hole to drain water as you paddle, it’s extremely easy to get all the water out when you’re done reversing this ridiculously easy kayak.
We also found that the style of valves used in PackLite is quite easy to open accidentally, as we noticed when we detached the pump. The PackLite instruction book recommends filling the floor with a pump, but even with four separate, standard and kayak-specific pumps at hand, we didn’t find the right adapter readily available. We resorted to using lung power, which was quite cumbersome. Advanced Elements has several types of pumps available for purchase on their website, which include many adapters, one of which is probably the right one for this valve.
Another minor complaint is the specific size that PackLite has to fold to fit in the small carrying case. However, with a little practice, this was not a big deal. At the end of the day, despite our initial hiccups with the installation of this kayak, we found that this boat is quite fast and easy to install and pack.
Portability
Here the best advantage of owning an Advanced Elements PackLite Inflatable Kayak shines! Weighing just 5 lbs, this kayak is by far the lightest kayak we’ve tested. PackLite is not only the lightest but also the smallest, both inflated and packaged, which is probably the reason why you are thinking of buying it in the first place. Thus, when it comes to purchasing one, we recommend you go to amazon.com for the best-researched offers on the market. At just 7.5 ft fully inflated and barely over a foot on its longest, packaged side, PackLite just needs to be taken anywhere with you. Although it doesn’t have bow or stern handles, like most other kayaks, at such a low weight, it is because you don’t even need them!
Durability
Advanced Elements advertises this small and very cool inflatable kayak as having an environmentally friendly “rip-stop” polyurethane material. We’re not sure how eco-friendly it is, but we certainly tested that “rip-stop” statement! The first time we took PackLite out of the water, it broke into a considerable hole in contact with the side of a dock. However, using the included repair kit with detailed instructions, we had no problem applying the tear and continuing to use the kayak for many other adventures.
We also noticed that the fabric faded into patches during use. Although we did not encounter any direct issues with any of these complaints during our testing, this raises some questions about the lifespan of this boat.
Short conclusion
Although Advanced Elements PackLite Inflatable Kayak would not be our top choice for the rowing experience, we love what new possibilities it brings to our adventure opportunities. The possibility to kayak in a lake in the middle of nowhere or to be prepared to kayak at any time, because of the easy transport of this nice boat makes it even awesomer. More so, it is clearly almost unnoticed in a backpack, thus, increasing our expedition potential. Let’s have some fun!
