Bikerafting Trip Recap: What Worked and What Didn’t

I recently did a bikerafting trip on the Namekagon River in Wisconsin. The Namekagon is part of the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, which is managed by the National Park Service. The total distance of the trip was 86 miles of riding, 97 miles of rafting. I finished most of the Namekagon. I started at river mile 91.9 instead of at the Namekagon Lake dam at 99.5 miles due to low water. I had wanted to run the upper section of the St. Croix to the confluence as well, but I cracked my rim where the spoke nipples come out in multiple places. It wasn’t safe to ride further. I risked riding back to my car.

The Namekagon River is much different than I imagined. It offers designated campsites. The designated campsites made it feel casual and approachable more so than other Midwest rivers that I’ve paddled. My favorite section was the 30 miles or so above Earl Landing. If you live in the area, it’s a worthwhile trip to consider.

I paddled it at a flow that was about half of normal. I imagine it would be more fun at a higher level for canoes. I felt lucky to be in a raft in the shallow sections because my draft was so low. The raft wasn’t so great on the slower, flatter sections. Overall, it was a really fun trip even if parts of the trip where type 2 fun.

Looking back at the gear I had on the trip which I listed in My Paddling Gear List for 2026, some of it excelled, some worked well, and some didn’t work for me. Here’s my recap.

The Paddling Gear

For the trip, I used a Alpacka Caribou with a custom backband ordered via their custom labs. I used a Aquabound Whiskey Carbon 4-Piece Posi-Lok Straight Shaft Kayak Paddle in 205cm, and a 2026 NRS Ion life vest.

The Raft

The Caribou was in the open configuration, which meant there was no spray deck and no self-bailing holes. They recommended this configuration for this style of a mainly lightwater trip. The Caribou is also designed to haul a bike on its bow. This worked really well. The higher volume bow kept the bike high and dry even in the whitewater sections of the river. I thought that maybe it was a little too high though. With this raft, you can load cargo into the inside, so I ended up pushing most of my cargo more forward each day. That seems to make the raft float more evenly, which allowed my bottom to draft higher in the water.

I didn’t exactly baby the raft and was surprised how well it held up even when scrapping the bottom. I’ll admit that at the start of the trip, I got out more often in the shallow sections than later in the trip.

I really liked how the raft performed on moving water, especially on the riffles and whitewater sections. It was a lot of fun! For drifting on the river, it was great, too. For the few completely flatwater sections, it was slow. In retrospect, I would have biked around the Trego dam and lake instead of paddled it in the raft. But, other than that it was a fun way to paddle a river!

Overall, I was happy with the raft.

The Paddle

I already own a two-piece Whiskey in carbon and know how it performs. It’s a good paddle. I decided to pick up a four-piece of the Whiskey for the trip in 205cm. I could have gotten by with a 200cm, but they recommended a 205cm for what I was doing. I tried it afterwards with my sea kayak in 1 to 1.5-foot waves along a rocky shore and found that I’d rather have my longer two-piece for those conditions. Usually, I’d opt for my Werner in those conditions though.

My biggest complaint was that when using powerful strokes, I could feel the spring pins used at the secondary splits slightly slip. It wasn’t a huge deal as far as performance, but I could feel it.

Anyway, this was a solid paddle that broke down is size to fit well on my bike rack. I’d buy it again.

The Life Vest

I really liked the idea of this vest. It’s one of the lightest vests out there, and it has a clam-shell pocket on the front. The 2026 version, which I bought, features NRS’s new foam system, which is supposed to fit better than their old vests, but fit is personal. And, this vest didn’t fit me well. If it fits you, it’ll be a great vest, but I’m going to disinvest from this vest. Want to buy it? For myself on this trip, I would have much rather used my heavier (by a pound plus) Stohlquist Descent vest.

Bike

I rode a Rocky Mountain Solo C50 with a mix of bags and a Ortlieb Quick Rack. Other than the OEM rims cracking, it worked great like it always does. I love my bike. I have a new set of wheels ordered, and it’s a frustratingly long wait for them (I had wanted to get a custom set of wheels, but due to time I ordered a nice pre-built set). Since I can’t ride it right now while I wait for new wheels, I feel a little lost. It’s frustrating. I should have gotten the wheels I wanted back in 2024 when I was first looking.

Tent and Shelter Gear and Sleeping Bag and Pad

I loved the Zpack Pivot Solo. Seriously, loved it! It worked great in rain and breathed well. I had bad condensation one night, but I used my wash cloth to wipe all the condensation off and it was nearly dry when I packed it away. I had two nights of heavy rainstorms, and even with the door wide open I stayed dry in this tent. I love it.

My sleeping gear worked well. The Western Mountaineering FlyLite worked well. It’s rated at 36°F. The coldest it got on the trip was 46°F. I wore boxers, socks, and a wool shirt to bed, and I was fine. I imagine that closer to 36°F, I’d have wanted slightly warmer clothing. I did have a few nights that were above 70°F, and those nights were too hot for the bag. I just opened the zipper completely and used it as a quilt with a sewn footbox. For storage, I used a Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Bag, inside my panniers, which are waterproof, inside the raft.

The sleeping pad worked as expected. I left my pump bag at home, because that bag that inflates the raft doubles as a pump for the pad. I did bring the Zero Pump, too. It’s what I used each night to inflate my pad.

I was disappointed in the pillow. Even when I put my Alpha Direct 90 shirt under it, I found it too hard. I’m going to try something else or go back to a Nemo Filo Elite.

Water Treatment

No complaints. I loved the Igneous NOBO water bottle. It worked well in a feed bag on my bike and on the river. Everything else worked as expected.

Cook Kit

If you remember from my gear list, I was trying a new alcohol stove kit. It worked great! It was easy to use, boiled water quickly, and used hardly any fuel. I brought nine ounces of fuel and could have brought half of that and still had enough for the entire trip. If you are just boiling water for freeze-dried meals for dinner, consider this setup. It was light and easy to use, and it just worked without a hassle.

The rest of the stuff in the cook kit I had used before, and it worked well.

Cleaning and Personal Care

This is all stuff that I’ve used before, and it worked great. In retrospect, I do wish I would have brought a bigger towel. I did figure out that a bike bottle makes for a great showering device. That was really nice on the boiling hot days.

Electronics

I was in the middle of reading a really thick book and wanted to finish it on the trip, so I borrowed it via Libby from my library and read it on my phone. I didn’t want to carry it because it would have taken up a third of one pannier. I hadn’t really done any book reading on my phone before, but it worked well. But… that meant that I had to bring an extra power bank. I took two. Both the Flextail Zero Power Bank and the Nitecore worked great. I probably won’t get a Kobo Clara, but if I did want to read electronically that’s what I’d bring on my next trip. I weighs the same as a power bank. Since I was powering my phone mainly to read at night, I could have brought just one power bank, and saved the weight of the book I did carry, which was Where the Green Light Shines: A Fifty-Year Odyssey from the Boundary Waters to the Far North, and I started it after I finished my other book. You’re probably going to want to read this one.

Navigation, and Show Me Your Papers, Please

I used the park services maps. They list each campsite and landing by river mile, so it makes knowing where you are on the river easy. The only time I had questions were in the impoundments behind the biggest dams. Those were at Hayward and Trego. The Trego was to more confusing of the two, but it was that confusing.

My wallet, etc… worked fine.

Journaling

I haven’t carried a journal in a long time, but I did on this trip. I used it each night. It was fine. I’m not sure it added much to my trip, but if I write about it I may remember things better.

Clothing

It all worked well. I used my PEARL iZUMi Canyon bike shorts without the padded liner to paddle in. They worked well. I also paddled in a Patagonia Capline Shirt, which smelled so bad by the end of the trip. I’m going back to wool. I used a OR sunshirt hoody as well. The OR piece was great to have. I tossed it into my gear at the last minute, but I was glad I did. It allowed for less sunscreen and I felt it kept me cooler. I should have left the Patagonia shirt home.

I ended up bringing the Senchi Designs Alpha Direct 90 hoody, and for this trip I found it too warm and too tight. I wanted something looser. Maybe a Alpha Direct 60 would have been better. I left the Ghose Whisperer Vest in my car at the last minute. I didn’t need it. It was too hot! I also didn’t need the buff. I brought the head net, but it was weirdly not buggy. I used DEET once on the trip and that was because the campsite I was in was full of ticks.

Shoes

I ended up paddling in Chacos, because that makes sense, right? They didn’t work that great for me in the raft. In the areas that were deep enough I took them off, but even then I ended up with a lot of abrasion from the straps. In retrospect, I think I would have switched pedals to flats on my bike and rode in the Chacos and brought them along for camp. For paddling, I would have used my Xero water shoes.

Camera Gear

I brought a Nikon Zf with a 24-120 f/4 lens. It worked well. I carried it in a “waterproof” bike bag. It’s definitely bike waterproof, but I’m not sure if it is paddling waterproof. I didn’t feel like I’d capsize on this trip, so I didn’t worry about it. I wrote more about my camera gear on my Substack.

Wrap Up

Overall, the gear that I used worked well on this trip. Most of the new stuff worked great. My biggest disappointments were the vest, the shoes, and I got my clothing a little wrong. But it all worked out anyway. I hope this gear recap is helpful for you.