Getting Wet in the Kokopelli Rogue Lite X

Celebrating its 10^th anniversary, Colorado-based Kokopelli has a slew of reasons topop the cork, including the launch of its first full Kevlar X-series packrafts, as well as the Rogue Lite and Nirvana packrafts. This summer it also unveiled a limited edition Smoke Blue version of the Rogue Lite and Nirvana self-bailer, and, for 2023, the launch of its new Durango Bikepacking line set to include high-end seat post bags, frame packs, feed bags, and more.

Honored with a 2022 “Colorado Companies to Watch” award, the company launched its X-Boat series in March, upgrading select models by making them more durable, packable, and feature-rich—including Kevlar construction. “We’re always looking for new and innovative materials and construction methods,” says the company’s Jeff Popp. “We’re all about innovating on our core products to provide our customers with some of the most durable and lightweight packrafts on the market.”

The company says its X-Series are packrafts that can do it all, stronger than their TPU packrafts and lighter than PVC, with a tough DuPont Kevlar floor and sidewalls for durability, rigidity and strength. “The X-series elevate packrafts to a whole new level—a perfect mix of durability, packability and performance in a lightweight package,” adds Popp. “You get similar durability to a hard-shell at a fraction of the weight, with the added ability to pack it and take it places you’d never be able to take a kayak.”

We got our hands on the Rogue-Lite X, one of its most versatile, most durable packrafts. To test it, we took in on our hometown Class II-III town run on the Yampa River, as well as a “triple lake, pack raft, backpacking/fly-fishing outing atop nearby Buff Pass”—complete with a buff, singletrack mountain bike ride down to a bar in town at the end. We didn’t eat beef that night (just trout), but at 10.4 lbs. the Rogue Lite X is full of it, thanks to DuPont™ Kevlar from floor to sidewalls elevating the strength to weight ratio and commercial raft-grade Leafield D7 valves. We especially liked its five-inch inflatable seat made of diamond rip-stop nylon that kept our derrieres out of the drink when we paddled to camp on an island at lake #1.

That proved handy when we decided not to delate and roll it for the halfmile carry to lake #2, but, rather, carry it inflated over our shoulders, prompting several run-ins with errant tree branches. But it easily withstood all of the pokes and near-piercings (and we always had its included repair kit if needed). For the mile hike up to lake #3 we did roll it up to its paper-towel size and stashed it to the side of our pack, which made for way easier walking. Our sleeping bag rolled up bigger. When we got to the lake, we just fired-up its bellows-like inflation bag (trick: force the air down with your hand after filling up the bag), topped it off by blowing into the inflation tube, and paddled away (only we got skunked fishing on this lake).

Built for lakes, oceans, and Class I-II rivers, its marketing spiel says to “take it on backpacking trips, adventure-travel, high-alpine fishing, and bikepacking,” and that’s pretty much what we did. (Except, full disclosure, we gave our backpacks to a driver for the mountain bike ride down). And had been on a multi-day river outing, we could have added its TiZip storage, letting you store gear inside the tubes, keep it dry and out of the way, with a lower center of gravity for stability.

Want something even beefier? The workhorse Nirvana Self-Bailing X rolls down into the size of a sleeping bag with a, if you’re up for it, Class I-IV rating for rivers.

Want something lighter? The X-series is built on the lighter Rogue-Lite platform, which, made from a 210d DuPont Kevlar Aramid-Nylon blend, weighs just 5.5 lbs. Add the optional TiZip zipper to store gear inside your packraft for multi-day trips.

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Rogue-Lite X

MSRP: $1,099

Rogue-Lite

INFO: Kokopelli.com.