Many military and civil aviation survival/life boats produced in socialist Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and the SU were also used as pleasure boats and are surprisingly robust, also weighing less than 4 kg. I am fortunate to have two of the legendary model B73 manufactured by VEB Gummiwerken, GDE (also known as the East Germany company Pneumant, which after the collapse was at one time a part of Dunlap, and also reached the laudable one million mark for tire production).
One is for sale for $250.
You might consider this boat as a “Quasi- Packraft” as it was not designed by the manufacturer to be utilized as a Packraft, but rather as a recreational/survival/military raft. However, it does have the acceptable ratio of weight, compactability, and robustness which fulfills packraft requirements.
The tradeoff for the bulk and weight for this raft compared to many on the market today is its outstanding durability and weight bearing capability. Materials are far more robust than those utilized by NRS, Alpacka, and Supai, and it easily carries 300 lbs. This means that you can confidently run class II/III water and bounce off boulders and branches.
I’ve run this raft in the pacific ocean, down the Colorado Rover after a descent of Shinumo Canyon, and also backpacking on the Tuolumne river. I’m 265, 6’4″ and carry a heavy pack. This thing’s does right by me, therefore I’m keeping one, but my wife wants to let her’s go.
B73 Materials / Construction: nylon fabric with rubber coating, chamber construction. Dimensions: 1.92 m (outer), 1.33 m (inner), 29cm tube diameter. Weight: 4.0 kg. Condition: no leaks, no patches.
end me an email an I can send you pictures. tdoughtyjratgmaildotcom