Materials and technology

DEET (insect repellent)

Also: diethyltoluamide, mosquito repellent

DEET is an active ingredient in many insect repellents and attacks the boat fabric: the material becomes cloudy, sticky and soft.

The Packrafting Store explicitly names products with a high DEET content as harmful. DEET acts like a solvent or plasticiser. So don't apply insect repellent while sitting in the boat, wash your hands and don't let anything drip onto the tube. DEET-free products are less of a problem for the boat.

Sources and further reading

• Packrafting Store: product and usage FAQ

Research as of 13 Nov 2026. We have marked manufacturer information as such.