Klymit Ultralight LiteWater Dinghy

Product Description

The LiteWater Dinghy is a gamechanger. It is an advanced pack raft that will beckon adventurers toward new horizons. Designed with input from pro kayakers and packrafters, Klymit’s first entry into the paddle sports market has been made, and made with vigor. Featuring an advanced boat shape that tracks water and an ergonomic seating position that allows comfortable, upright, and well supported paddling position, the LWD paddles well and feels good on the water. Weighing in at 35 oz and packing down to 4 x 9 inches, you will forget you had it in your pack. Alpine lakes and rivers are now part of your backcountry playground, stay dry canyoneering, go camp on an untouched island with the LWD...why not?

Features

• Inspired by the Pros: Designed for kayakers and pack rafters, the LWD inflatable boat is an advanced blow-up kayak that tracks well and is stable; Arrow-shaped design increases maneuverability and allows for use of a canoe or kayak paddle
• Easy to Inflate: Our inflatable rafts come with an easy-to-use and efficient dry sack that doubles as 4.5 by 9 inch storage bag; These inflatable boats have 2 valves for quick inflation and deflation
• Secure Design: Oru folding kayak has 6 tie-off zones for lashing gear or securing the dinghy on shore
• Ultra Lightweight and Ergonomic: This kayak weighs only 44 ounces, making it one of the lightest rafts of its kind without compromising on comfort; The built-in inflatable seat is ergonomically designed and provides insulation from cold water
• Get Outside with Klymit: We want you to focus on soaking up your time outside with the company you keep and spend less time worrying about your lightweight camping gear

Top Reviews

Fantastic packraft and sleeping pad!
by no (5 out of 5 stars)
August 22, 2017

The LWD is a tank. Mine has been to dozens of alpine lakes, drug across granite rocks, stabbed by sticks and jagged rock and I can't even see a mark! It also pulls double duty as a sleeping pad in my tent at night and I've gotten better sleep on it than anything else I've tried. And I've thrown some money at gear! I've found a technique to get into the raft without getting my butt wet. The floor is incredibly tough and you start by putting your feet together at the pointy end and sort of buckling your knees and falling back gently. I use mine primarily for fishing mountain lakes and the tie off points are great for dummy cording paddles and fish stringers or just lashing it down against the wind at night. Lite weight ping pong paddle shaped oars work best.

Pros:

Light weight and durable! I'm rough on gear and this thing hasn't flinched. Never had to patch any of the 3 I own and it's not for lack of use and abuse.

Can easily handle heavier loads. I'm a 6'4" 230lb male and with my pack and other gear it rides fine.

Inflates easily with the included dry sack which is also a great gear bag when afloat.

Cons:

Only tracks in reverse, paddle forward toward your feet and when you stop it'll spin a 180 every time.

The Stevie Griffin shape to the head of the raft could be streamlined a bit to help with the bending crease at the neck where you're most likely to take on water.

Colors are too bright. The bright orange stands out way too much. More subdued colors would be awesome!

Every alpine lake enthusiast should own one of these.
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Actually 46.85oz total!
by mjamazon (4 out of 5 stars)
August 16, 2016

I like everything about this, but I was really disappointed in the 35oz weight claim. You'll see in my photo that this weighs 43.25oz WITHOUT the stuff sack. That weighs 3.60oz, so the TOTAL IS 46.85. Over 10oz heavier than the claimed weight is a lot when you're backpacking.

I verified the scale that I used is working properly, weighing common items that I know the weight of (empty fuel canisters, soup can, my iPhone).
1 star for the weight discrepancy, but I'll give it four stars for the actual product.

One thing I want to try is leaving the stuff sack on this while paddling. Hopefully I will be able to reach back and add some more air while on the water since the water is usually colder than the air causing it to shrink a bit.

Update 10/4/17: I finally used this recently to float down a creek...what a blast!! The water was only 2" in some areas and I managed to slide over no problem with only a few spots rubbing. It stood up against those rocks, but they were pretty smooth. I don't think my kayak would have made it in such shallow water. The tracking is pretty bad, but that was expected. The seat valve blew open right away when I sat down, so I only refilled it half way and that did the trick.

Unfortunately I don't have many opportunities to use this, but at least I have one good creek/trail to do a fun float>hike loop.

Plan on getting a little wet, but not much if you're careful. The only water I had come in was from my shoes but a small packtowel under your knees is handy to catch the water before it gets to your seat.
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Not bad for mild rivers.
by Demo_Dude (4 out of 5 stars)
November 8, 2017

I used this to cross a river in Alaska. I did not fill the seat with air, which allowed helped keep my center of gravity a little lower. Very pack-able, but would not recommend for heavy rapids.
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At first... ehhh... then later... this thing's pretty darn good
by John Gunz (5 out of 5 stars)
June 6, 2014

Ok... for a long time i wanted to try out packrafting, but no way could I stomach the price for something like an alpacka. Saw this thing online and tried to research it a bunch but there was literally no reviews or much youtube footage. I heasitated for a while then saw a review by PATMAN on youtube that finally sold me on it. Glad I bought it.

First let me say this is no way an alpacka raft but that being said its no way near as heavy and for the price its great. Secondly you will get wet. Don't expect this to be as dry as a kayak... its not that. packrafting is not a dry sport anyhow.

However, This thing is extremely packable (loaf of bread size), and can be blown up and taken down in mins. I've had this thing out on ponds and some rivers. It actually can be paddled. Again, not a kayak but way better than swimming.

The material seems fairly solid... its not a pool toy but not as tough as my zodiac boat either. Also its not that pool material madeout of PVC, its feels more cloth like. Definately durable and light (did I say VERY Light... cuz it is). The shape is just plain odd, but it works. You look like a dork in the thing, but i gotta say i was grinning ear to ear.

Its definately a niche product, but a blast for when you want something to float around on, fish from, camping / hiking and need to cross pond, river, or lake. I weigh 200 lbs and floats me more than fine. Its a really well thought out package w/ its bag that doubles as an inflator. I'm sure this thing will be fun for quite some time. Being out 5-6 times I already feel like i have gotten my moneys worth.

Also, it adds to the variety of hiking / camping you can do drastically. hike up river, float back down... camp on islands, cross rivers ect.
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Product is crap. Amazon is wonderful.
by DaxRunner (1 out of 5 stars)
June 14, 2019

The raft inflated cockeyed right out of the box. One side is straight as it should be, the other side has an enormous kink on the side. I knew my butt would get wet from other reviews, and it did. I got in as carefully as possible. Some water came in but not too bad. It won't track across the water unless I stretch out full length, arch my back and push forward and backward with my feet and hands to get the kink out, then lie stiff as a board, pushing on the bow with my feet and the stern with the top of my head, carefully paddling with my hands. What a piece of junk. So I went to Amazon to return it. Amazon's return process said I had to contact Klymit and gave me a phone number. I called Klymit, the recording (no people) said to go to their website. At Klymit's website it said if you bought it from Amazon it's Amazon's problem.

At this point I'm ready to bite nails! I called Amazon ready to read someone the riot act, but before I could utter an expletive the nice lady said no problem, sorry this happened to you, I've issued you a refund, no need to return the product.

And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is why I've been an Amazon customer for decades. It's also why I will never buy another Klymit product. I have several, and they've always been pretty good products. I've never had to deal with their customer service, but now I know. Don't buy Klymit unless you're prepared to be left high and dry on your own if there's a problem.
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Light Weight floaty toy
by Benjamin Herbst (5 out of 5 stars)
July 30, 2019

I got an inflatable backpacking pad, and this boat is constructed from the same material. Much tougher than the pool toys, but nothing close to an Aire raft or IK. I paddled a class 3 yesterday, and a couple of the guys were using the alpacka packrafts, with the spray skirt, and I was totally blown away that they didn't swim, and the boats stayed fairly dry inside (I was in an Aire Tribitutary solo inflatable kayak). In comparison, I would never put this thing in that river, or any river that I didn't feel comfortable swimming down with my life jacket on ... i.e. more warm water "beer float" type river situations only! The Alpacka's are tougher, have knee straps and a foot rest, good hull design and a nice spray skirt - so can do amazingly well on decent white water. You would be bounced out of this thing on the first big hole! But, It is super small and light, and I can ride a dual sport motorcycle to a river and float, and easily inflate and deflate and have fun on the smaller more tame class 1 to class 2 warm water floats. So, totally worth the money. The stuff sack doubles as an inflation bag - it all works really good - and is real quick to inflate and deflate.
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Great compact lightweight little raft.
by Brian C (4 out of 5 stars)
July 30, 2017

Very simple design. Comfortable to sit in. I would recommend for casual floating down a river etc. Would be very leary of anything that could snag and puncture the bottom. Durable but not heavy duty. Best use would be when backpacking and having an easy to inflate, lightweight raft would be great to cross a body of water or go down a smooth river. Possibly decent for survival or keeping in your BOB kit as an emergency water craft. You don't even need a pump as the stuff sack acts as the inflation device (and subsequent dry bag). Although blowing up with the stuffsack will take some time. Having a lightweight collapsible paddle is recommended and should be bought with it.
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Absolutely awesome. It inflates much more easily than expected with ...
by Nick Antonaccio (5 out of 5 stars)
February 28, 2016

Absolutely awesome. It inflates much more easily than expected with the included bag. I imagined laboring awkwardly to get it blown up, but I figured that would be the necessary trade off for such a small solution. As it turns out, inflation is really easy, and takes just a minute or two! I'm very impressed with everything about this unit, especially for the price. Together with the Onyx M-16 PFD and an ultralight 4 piece paddle, the entire setup fits in a little day backpack. Perfect for my short morning outings to the local county lake and state park creek.
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Quality Hiking and Camping Raft, inadequate inflation system
by Twndggys (4 out of 5 stars)
May 29, 2019

I have not been in the water with the raft. I will update this review when I have a chance. It appears strong and durable for occasional use. It also seems well-made. I bought it as an emergency raft of sorts for my small offshore fishing boat, not wanting to spend up to several thousand for a certified auto inflation rescue raft. If for some reason I had to abandon my boat, it would keep me afloat long enough for my emergency beacon to affect a rescue. I almost returned the raft because I could not find a suitable device that would inflate it rapidly. The included stuff sack inflation system was inadequate. After trying hand pumps, etc. I came up with a solution that works like a charm. I bought a USB mini air pump on Amazon that will inflate the raft in less than five minutes. I highly recommend the Micronovelty GIGA USB pump. Incredibly small and efficient, I would buy this pump for any application this raft would be used. The adaptors work for the inflation valve on this raft and it can be used for air mattresses, etc with other adaptors provided
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Great fun !
by rhy (4 out of 5 stars)
December 25, 2016

I bought this to fly fish hike-in lakes where brush, trees and reeds around the lake make fly fishing from shore next to impossible. It is light, inflates relatively quickly with the supplied inflator bag, packs down small and seems reasonably durable. I am really liking it so far and have been out about five times with it. It comes with a patch kit (haven't used), but I don't expect it to last forever. It is not as durable as an NRS or Alpacka, but it isn't as heavy or expensive either.

I use a kayak-style paddle with it: the Advanced Elements Ultralight (230cm) and Supai Olo (~196cm). As for most inflatables, wind is not your friend but you can certainly compensate with paddle strokes.

Yes, you will get wet, either from entry/exit or from paddling, but that should come as no surprise. I just wear rain pants (which I normally bring on backpack trips anyway), neoprene socks (NRS carries all kinds), and roll up my hiking pants (you do know not to wear jeans or cotton on hiking trips, don't you ?)

I am fairly light (135#) with a short inseam (30") so the raft works well for me for the kind of stuff I do with it. I prefer the light to ultralight backpacking style, so the idea of making certain tradeoffs is just fine by me. "Your mileage may vary" :)

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