I am thinking of taking the plunge, pun intended, and adding a packraft to the growing fleet of water craft.
Anyone have recommendations for a packraft that won’t break the bank? I’ll be doing mostly desert rivers, and can’t imagine ever wanting to do anything more than class 3. Kokopelli XPD seems like a great bang for my buck, but fairly heavy for long carries.
Anyone have recommendations?
If you truly only want it for Canyoneering, go as light and sackable as possible. Lots of the trips that require a packraft have long hikes.
If you love the water and rivers in general, an Alpacka will take you places you never imagined.
I had a Gnarwal and it can do amazing things, but I wouldn’t want to carry it into the GC to cross the river.
I am looking at a used Alpacka Classic. I have a San Juan trip this spring that I thought it would be a good opportunity to bring a packraft to get some experience since it won’t take up much space on the raft when not in use.
My plan is more rivers than canyoneering initially, but do suspect an Alpacka might be a gateway boat to getting a second lighter one for canyoneering… Then more boats for the rest of the family… 
Do you have a paddle recommendation? Seems there are a lot of options. For class 3 or easier, I assume I want the lightest I can get since I doubt durability will be an issue?
I use an aqua bound shred and then later a whiskey. carbon fiber break down.
Not cheap, but strong and powerful in any condition. Usually can find reasonable deals on them as well. I think I found my shred on CL for $50