Rugged, Reliable, Perfect for New Whitewater Paddlers: NRS Neutron Packraft Review

“Whoops” is not typically the word you want to hear from your partner as he’s running a rapid. Moreso when he’s trying out the loaned packraft you’ve brought — and then plants it headlong into a wicked little boulder garden, smearing across granite the whole way.

We quickly eddied out to inspect the damage. “Hear any leaks?” We splash water across the bottom, scanning for bubbles, but the new NRS Neutron Packraft has shouldered the hazing like nothing has happened. Impressive for something you inflate via lung power.

Better known for its burly whitewater rigs and catarafts, NRS has earned a reputation for rugged paddle craft, and it apparently used all that knowledge in crafting the new Neutron. This packraft uses hull material that is double what most others are running and adds on all of the trim you’d expect in a whitewater boat today.

Of course, we needed to ensure its survival wasn’t a fluke — so we lapped the toothy rapid a few more times for good measure. From this day to an entire summer of paddling, the Neutron proved a worthy raft that could hang in the rough stuff.

In short: The NRS Neutron is one of four newer packrafts that the brand has rolled out recently, and it’s certainly the most sporty of the bunch. Crafted for whitewater paddling, this raft is one of the most durable I’ve paddled to date and meets the needs of modern packrafters excellently. I paddled it for 6 months to get the skinny.

Looking for a new packraft? Check out how the Neutron compares to the rest of the rafts on the market in GearJunkie’s Best Packrafts Buyer’s Guide.

NRS Neutron Packraft: Review

The last time NRS made a packraft, it looked like something you’d expect to spring from the aircraft as you make an emergency exit. One look at the new Neutron shows that the designers have been playing the long game. 

Adopting nearly all of the highlights of the last decade of packrafting, this raft leapfrogs the growing pains and nails it. Chunky 12-inch tubes keep this self-bailer planted squarely in the trough of Class II and III water, thigh straps make sure you’ve got the control to stay there, and a standard TiZip splits the rear of the boat to open up the interior to storage space.

To test it sufficiently, I took it to three rivers — the Nooksack, Chilliwack, and Yakima — to try its mettle. The low flows of the Nooksack challenged its durability, the Chilliwack threw a few burl rapids its way, and the Yakima demanded versatility as we used the raft to access remote fishing holes. Here’s how it handled.

A Burly Build

Let’s start with the highlights: Using a 420D double-coated TPU material in the hull, the Neutron has a thicker skin than comparable packrafts like the Alpacka Raft Gnarwhal or Kokopelli Nirvana. This is all bound together with overlapped heat-welded seams and then taped internally — making this a rugged little craft.

Self-bailers naturally ride a bit higher in the foam, which was a boon when I paddled the Neutron for the season’s first run in Western Washington’s Nooksack River. Flows were low, and I sometimes needed every inch to skirt over gravel bars. The 840D floor hosts some new scratches, but nothing more than skin deep.

Because the Neutron is a high-volume packraft, you’ve got to get it inflated pretty firm to have it respond quickly. The Bravo valves used in both the hull and seat are a little less stout than the Leafield D7 valves you’ll find on whitewater rafts, but hold air excellently. These valves mate well with a high-volume top-off pump like the Aire K-Mini, which got the boat to get the temper I was after.

After a day-long romp (that used all of the available light on an early March day), we took out and were faced with the final challenge of the day: Devil’s Club. These spiny stalks can tower overhead and do more than enough damage to a packraft. Wildly, we bashed through a quarter mile, and no damage was done to the boats. Point goes to the Neutron.

Hang On Tight

Thigh straps on packrafts have ranged widely, from simply rigged climbing webbing bands to four-point options from Alpacka Raft that transfer a great deal of control. NRS leaned on the simple two-point design when whipping up the Neutron, and I found them to be just about right for the boat’s proportions.

These straps attach to D-rings at either end of the cockpit and are simple, only adjusted with a single ladder lock buckle. Because there’s no tag-end to yard on, they are a bit difficult to cinch down snugly for the performance fit you want. However, with enough time, I could dial them in on almost every paddle.

Paddling a rougher section of British Columbia’s Chilliwack River, the Neutron locked in on Class III rapids. Being a self-bailer means that water drains through the floor in this boat. The pre-production model I was paddling had a slightly oversized floor (which slowed down drainage a bit), but these dimensions have been tweaked in the final version of the raft.

The Neutron likely isn’t the boat I’d take into Class III+ water consistently, as a decked boat that rides a bit lower will perform better, but it is an excellent “getting into whitewater” packraft. The buoyant 12-inch tubes make this boat feel planted, and the open deck means that portaging is quick and easy.

Stash Your Kit

While adding the luxury of a TiZip waterproof zipper to your packraft is an upgrade on some other boats, it’s bog standard here and considerably appreciated. These zippers are pressure-resistant and allow you to split the stern of the Neutron to access the interior of the boat, greatly opening up your storage abilities. 

In practice, you can fit an entire weekend’s worth of kit into these tubes and even secure your dry bags with the lash tabs inside the boat. When paddling the Yakima River in late summer, we stashed an extensive lunch kit inside the Neutron to enjoy midstream while fishing for the day. Good to note: You’ll need to remember to pack along a means of reinflating your boat!

I also appreciated the small details when it came to this zipper: While the pull direction is away from the bow, a small securing loop wrangles the zipper pull and keeps swimmers from accidentally deflating your boat while they hitch a ride. Nice.

The position of the zipper itself is also superior, and while TiZips placed on the side of packrafts lie flatter, boats like the Neutron with the access dead-center simply open wider and are easier to load awkward kits such as backpacks.

What Could Be Better?

The scales always weigh out somewhere, and with durability, it’s weight and bulk. That isn’t to say that the Neutron is some overbuilt tank, but that 420D hull material raises the overall weight a bit to 11 pounds, 13 ounces in the standard-size raft. Comparably, the Kokopelli Nirvana weighs 9 pounds, 13 ounces, and the Alpacka Raft Gnarwhal weighs 8 pounds, 6 ounces.

For the type of paddling the Neutron will excel at (day trips, chucking it into the backs of pickups, etc.), that weight isn’t as much of an issue, though, and the boat carried and packed well when I carried it into a high alpine lake last summer.

The two-point thigh straps are another area where you’re giving up a bit of performance on the Neutron, and as mentioned, I found them a bit tough to get fully cinched down. Thankfully, NRS considered those who would desire a bit more control, and the Neutron is cross-compatible with the padded Inflatable Kayak Thigh Straps that the brand also sells.

Conclusion: Who Is the NRS Neutron For?

The NRS Neutron is an impressive packraft from the brand, making a big entrance among a line of new rafts that get it right nine times out of 10. It certainly leans further into the rough and tumble durability side of the spectrum, which means that while it’s not the lightest packraft you’ll carry out, it’ll shrug off any bushwhack (or boulder garden) in getting there.

This raft would suit beginner whitewater paddlers perfectly, who won’t have perfect edge control yet and won’t need the power transfer that more complicated thigh straps would provide. These folks also more often run vehicle-assisted laps on rivers, which makes the slightly heavier weight a nonissue.

For those looking to really twist the dial and get into Class III+ whitewater, a packraft with a deck and more aggressive rocker would likely serve them better, such as the Alpacka Rafts Expedition or (if you’re really savvy) the new Valkyrie. That said, I was still able to style through Class II and III in this boat. All told, the new NRS Neutron impressed me greatly — even before I started running it into sharp things.