Reviews

TomOB VIC 10/11/2024

Lattitude have designed and made a great white water pack raft that hits all the pertinent marks. Its easy to paddle, stable and incredibly responsive. While it still has the flatter base, it means you can use it on some very shallow water, giving access to even more waterways than previously. I outfitted mine with both the semi-rigid and the rigid floor, and use them for slightly different things. The rigid floor is perfect for playing in waves and holes, and also running big drops, keeping the pack raft itself very rigid and allowing for some great boofs. However, it is slightly heavier to carry and therefore I avoid taking it when I have a long distance to hike. The semi-rigid does do a fantastic job though and provides mostly the same grade of experience, but is a little bit softer on high landings.

With the tubes being slightly smaller, its easier to paddle as a mid-size adult and you can easily paddle with a shorter paddle.  Its still too wide to roll successfully all the time, but as the stability is so high, that hasn’t been a problem even on grade 4.

I have had the privilege of using the pack raft on many different creeks and rivers and the construction and materials have been perfect.  The material is quite resilient to knocks and scraps, which are plentiful in Australia. And the other outfitting has been perfect for my needs.

The Tzip is easy to use, and the pack raft can carry quite a bit of gear for overnighters. Perfect.

Best of all, the price is economical for all the inclusions in the package.

Value *****

Design *****

Whitewater suitability *****

Stability *****

 

 

BrookeCP NSW 1/3/2025

The New Malu is reminiscent of the Alpacka Valyrie V3. However, at present it is a self bailing kayak, with hones of rocker and small tubes.  Its easily rolled, making it a great boat for larger volume kayak trips where you don’t want to carry your heavy plastic kayak. The self baling makes it easy to take anywhere as you don’t need the extras to attach a spraydeck, and also save the weight.

The Malu surfs well in holes, but is easily directed when you learn how to paddle it. The drop floor sits about 10cm below the outside of the tubes, so the rocker on this boat is more pronounce, but this also means that you need to  be very directional and pro-active in your paddling style.

It’s a great kayak for all the fun stuff, but will be slightly heavier to carry any distance, with the extras on the floor meaning it weighs in at about 600g more than normal style pack-rafts. The design more than makes up for any increase in weight.

The other materials and outfitting are of the same calibre as the rest of the latitude rafts and mean that this is almost the perfect pack raft for die-hard kayakers dreaming of wilderness journeys.

Comes with a Tzip and all the goodies, ready to go

Price is still relatively low compared with other pack rafts of this nature.

Value ****

Design *****

Whitewater suitability *****

Stability ***

 

Natasha Tyrrell  VIC *****  2/4/2025

The team at Canoes Plus are wonderful. We were novice to Pack rafting and they were thorough in helping explain and determine the best pack raft options for our family and all the kit needed. Their shop has all the equipment and good range of price options.
The pack raft safety course at Lake Eildon was well crafted course for beginners in swift water. Felt safe and supported across different skill levels in the water.

 

 

RandallN VIC ***** 4/4/2025

What a great packraft is Jumu. From the moment I first got in and set up I felt comfortable and secure. The knee braces adjusted and fitted perfectly, the internal boat length was accommodating, The seat and inflatable floor insert provided me an upright posture. My first outing was on the Mitta below the dam (one play wave and one 200m class 3) and Snowy creek (punchy class 2).  On flat water the Jumu easily tracks straight and I am able to maintain a reasonable high angle stroke using my standard white water paddle. On the white water the Jumu comes alive. It glides over and through waves, holes and eddy lines. It surfs well. It’s playful and engaging and stable. It feels tailor made. I feel confident to take it on bigger water and look to using it on overnight downriver journeys. It’s brilliant.