I recently bought the Anfibio Nano RTC, a very affordable watercraft called a packraft, and took it out on Nakagawa River (旧中川) for a test spin. This raft is tiny, and it and all of its accessories (ex-paddle) fit completely in one small backpack-like waterproof bag.
Since most navigable waterways and lakes in Japan are open to use by the public for unpowered transits, I figured I would try it on the cheap. This model of raft is suitable really for only slowly moving / flat water, but that covers many stretches of natural rivers, reservoir lakes, natural lakes, and man-made rivers.
Along this path there were blooming spider lilies, a view of Tokyo Tower, some white cranes, and fish jumping up out of the water to catch bugs.
There are a few learning points for next time I go rafting:
- If returning via the same station, store my phone, keys, wallet and anything I might fret to lose in the station lockers
- I probably shouldn’t use a paddle tie, even on flat water; they’re not safe
- After first inflating the raft, you should let it sit in the water for 10–15m and cool down before hand-pumping it back up to full pressure, as the water cools down the air
Pros of the Anfibio Nano RTC:
- It’s very cheap and very compact
- It has lots of storage inside it because of the roll-top closure
- The seal was perfect
- It sets up in 5m
- The material it’s made of seems quite durable
Cons:
- It doesn’t handle particularly well (but hey, it’s a raft!)
- I probably cannot find paddles that break down to be very tiny
