Boat types compared

Folding boat

Also: folding kayak

A folding boat consists of a flexible skin and a collapsible internal frame made of wood or aluminium. Usually it is a kayak.

That's how Wikipedia defines it. The skin is made of rubber, PVC, TPU or Hypalon, for example. In 1905 Alfred Heurich built a folding kayak, and from 1907 Klepper produced it under licence. A classic folding boat is set up in about 15 minutes, modern origami folding boats in about five.

Compared to a packraft, a folding boat is faster and tracks better, but it's heavier, packs larger and takes longer to set up. According to Wikipedia, inflatable boats don't count as folding boats.

Sources and further reading

• Wikipedia: Faltboot (German)

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