MRE-Mini rafts, frames,oars and more 2022/23 by Pato Pagano

Mini Rafts, Frames, Oars and more river gear 2022/23

Mini Rafts Europe is a small company based in the Swiss Alps, owned and operated by Alex and Ceci. For nearly 40 years we have been exploring the magical rivers of the world and our aim is to introduce private rafting in Europe. To do this we created our own brand of quality mini rafts and frames that are more suited for the rivers of the Alps.

Apart from offering you quality mini rafts and frames, we also offer courses on how to row and multi day river trips to different destinations around Europe and the rest of the globe. All this is delivered with 100% honesty, passion and love.

Our Brand: MRE

We specialise in manufacturing small rafts that are suitable for the rivers of Europe. Our rafts are made of high quality PVC tarpaulin with the floors reinforced. We use C7 valves and add the amount of D rings and handles that you desire. Our design is very unique with raised floors so that you have more speed and less drag in the water and our separation of air chambers make the rafts more rigid so that you can punch through bigger holes without the boat folding.

Although we specialise in making mini rafts, we can produce larger rafts up to 16ft with our same design. Please contact us for details. Each boat is custom made to your requests.

Water mark d ring, handles bafflebaffle baffle baffle Outer d ringsInner d rings Seat patches Foot cups

Material: Our mini rafts are made from 1100D*20*20 high intensity polyester tarpaulin with 0.9mm PVC coating, which is known for its air tightness, strong abrasion resistance and long lasting quality. The floors are re enforced with 2000*15*15 1.8mm fabric and all seams are welded rather than glued. Certificate Model Crew Limit Dimensions Tube Dimensions Chambers Thwarts Net Weight CE MRE 335R 4 335 161cm 10ft 41cm 4+2+1 2 41.5kg CE MRE 365R 6 365 187cm 12ft 48cm 4+2+1 2 53kg CE MRE 395R 7 395 185cm 13ft 48cm 4+3+1 3 58.5kg CE MRE 425R 8 425 195cm 14ft 52cm 4+3+1 3 63.5kg CE MRE 455R 9 455 218cm 15ft 52cm 4++1 3 65.5 CE MRE 487R 10 487 218cm 16ft 51cm 4+4+1 4 67.5kg Colours available: Red, orange, yellow, green, pink, light blue, dark blue, grey, white and black, or you can mix up colours to have the boat of your dreams.

Logos:

MRE 335R, 10ft Mini Raft

in the

This 10 ft mini raft is great to either R1 or R2 with a friend down creek style rivers up to grade 4, or can be set up with a frame and oars to row down rivers up to class 3. Due to the raised floor the mini raft is extremely fast for its size and has very little drag on the water. The separation of the air chambers makes this raft very rigid. This boat has: • 12 outer D rings • 2 inner D rings • 6 handles • 2 thwarts with batten system • 4 outer chambers • 1 I beam floor with pressure relief valve • 2 to 6 foot cups • Self bailing holes on both sides and at the back of the floor • Two wear, seat patches. • 30cm wide armour plating on the bottom of main tubes • Reinforced 1.8mm PVC on the floor • 7 C1 Valves Our mini rafts come complete with a boat bag, a small pump and a small repair kit. The boat will be rigged with a 10mm polyester rigging line, bow and stern line so its ready to go straight on the water.

We are able to make your company logo on a moulded rubber patch and placed on your mini raft

place that you desire. Logo moulds cost CHF 80 and then each patch has a cost of CHF 15

MRE 365R, 12ft Mini Raft

This 12 ft mini raft is the perfect family raft to use on alpine rivers. Its still small enough to have loads of fun when the rivers are low and big enough to feel safe when the rivers are high. It’s the perfect team raft for rafting competitions as it can hold six people comfortably. It can also be set up with a frame and oars to row down those rivers of higher volume. This boat has: • 12 outer D rings • 8 inner D rings • 6 handles • 2 thwarts with batten system • 4 outer chambers • 1 I beam floor with pressure relief valve • 2 to 8 foot cups • Self bailing holes on both sides and at the back of the floor • 2 wear seat patches • 30cm wide armour plating on the bottom of main tubes • Reinforced 1.8mm PVC on the floor • 7 C1 Valves

Alex Frames: Custom Built

Alex frames are made from ¾” galvanized steel which we then spray paint with the colour of your choice. All connections are from key clamps so that you can completely dismantle the frame for easy carrying.

All frames are custom made according to the size of your raft and needs. We can make centre frames that either come with a wooden seat layered with one inch of foam or we can add compartments so that you can carry a cool box or dry box making it into an expedition frame. Oar towers can either be fixed in one place by bending the steal or adjustable with a double key clamp system.

All frames are totally collapsible and the oar towers are adjustable. Frames come with 4 straps and a choice of oar locks, mini or standard, and a tool so that you can tighten your key clamps.

Keep on pushing in a positive direction…

Oars:

We sell three different types of oars for you to row with the flow through the mild to the wild of white waters.

Quality wooden oars, Carlise oars and our favourite Cataract oars, all are affordable, strong and of different lengths.

The wooden oars are made of quality pine wood and they are coated with Polyurethane varnish. The oars have a shaped handle for better grip, an oar sleeve and a 12 cm wide blade with reinforced tips.

• 210cm, 6.8ft, this is the perfect oar for a 10ft raft

• 240cm, 7.8ft, this is the perfect oar for a 12 ft raft

• 270cm, 8.10ft, this is perfect for larger rafts or if you are rowing a lot of flat water in a smaller boat

The Carlise oars are great economical oars with detachable plastic blades. The oar shafts can be either one piece or two pieces and come in either blue shafts and yellow blades or red shafts and black blades. We have between 6 and 10 foot in length.

As the saying goes “you only cringe once when you buy quality” The Cataract SGX oar is the oar of our choice. Very strong carbon shafts with magnum blades and totally counter balanced.

Oar rights and oar sleeves are sold separately from the oars and blades

White Water Tubes:

As we love to play the river to the maximum, we decided to design a tube for white water. Tubes are made from the same material as our rafts and come with one valve, two handles, a self bailing seat. It’s possible to add a d ring and your logo.

Paddles:

Tubes can either be used with webbed hand paddles or a normal kayak paddle and are perfect on rivers with class 2 to 4 white water.

Helmets:

Helmets are a universal size medium 56cm to 58cm. we only produce in the colour yellow and we can supply individual or by boxes of 12.

Paddles are 150cm in length and can be made larger if required. We only produce in blue and yellow and we can sell either individually or in boxes of 12.

PFDs, throw bags and more stuff:

As river professionals that spend 300+ days a year on the river, we strive for great gear that works. For the past two years we’ve been helping our friends at ape stuff by promoting their gear and designing some new stuff.

The Pax PFD

The PAX PFD for clients comes in two sizes, adult and youth and it’s possible to put your company logo on either the front or on the back pillow. You can choose whether to have the buckles on the front or our new design, which has all the buckles on the side which makes it easier to pull clients back into a raft.

The Ape Element PFD

The Ape Element PFD, we are convinced, is one of the best PFDs for either kayaking or raft guiding. A side entry PFD with three adjustable straps on each side and the shoulders to secure a perfect fit. It has two side pockets for your rescue gear, a large front pocket that has an extra pocket in the opening side and karabiner loops on the inner side, as well as one small pocket for your keys. It is complete with a rescue harness. It’s very comfortable to wear and you are able to replace the foam when needed.

Throw Bags 1. 2. 3.

We have three different throw bags, all of which contain 20 meters of 8mm spectra rope.

Design one: is the waist belt with pouch. Which means that the waist belt stays with you. The pouch has a zipper so you can put the throw bag away with ease. The zipper is protected by a strap and all buckles are water buckles.

Design two: known as the Bullet bag, the belt is attached to the bag. I would say that this is a bit old school now but for us old river guides we still love them as they are quick to release and nice to throw.

Design three: is the boat bag that also comes with 20 meters of 10mm spectra rope. It has a long neck for easy packing.

Spray Jackets

The universal spray jacket for clients is super basic with elastic at the cuffs, neck and waist. Available in two sizes, small/medium and large/extra large and they can be either blue or red. Your company logo can be printed on the arm of the spray jackets.

Learn to Row… become a private rafter…

The sport of white water rafting in Europe is only known as a commercial activity, where you book through an operator and join a group for a fun trip down a section of river, but who’s to say that you can’t do it by yourself.

In actual fact, the sport started with one man and his boat exploring rivers in the same way you would with a kayak, canoe or any other craft. At some point the man realized that he could break away from the rat race and make a business doing what he loved by taking clients with him and so commercial rafting was born.

Now I am not here to sell you a commercial raft trip, I simply want to tell you that you can get out there on a river in a small boat by yourself or with your partner or your best mate and simply enjoy the wilderness and white water for yourselves

A river trip is one of the few ways to get off the beaten track and immerse yourself into nature. You make long lasting friends that you’ll always share incredible memories with and on top of this you will find peace in mind, body and spirit as you find that soul connection. I invite you to come and learn the magic of running rivers in a mini raft on one of the many rivers in the Swiss Alps. We have designed a number of courses that can be either two or three days long.

We have a number of courses to get you rowing down any river:1. The basic boat man’s course 2. The intermediate oarsman 3. The advance boat man’s course 4. River rescues 5. Planning and organizing a multi day raft trip 6. a one day refresher course to brush up your strokes.

Multi Day Rafting Trips:

There is nothing more enjoyable in life than to be on a multiday rafting trip, flowing into the wilderness. The longer the trip, the better. During my career as a raft guide, I have led trips in 56 countries and I am able to offer you two types of trips:

1. A high end multi day rafting trip. This means that from the minute that you arrive in the country of our destination river trip, everything is included, food, hotels, transport, guides, logistics. All you have to do is enjoy the moment and of course paddle your heart out.

2 An outfitting style multi day trip. This means that we supply a trip leader, the gear, menu and shopping list, maps of the river etc. You just row your own boat, put up your tent, cook dinner and enjoy each other’s company and mutual love for the river.

Each year we pick a few destinations and run both styles of river trips. The highlands of Scotland. Rivers of the Alps, France, Switzerland, Italy. The High Atlas Mountains, Morocco. The Blue Nile, Ethiopia. Rivers and Safaris, Kenya, Uganda. The Matsiatra river, Madagascar. Rivers of Veracruz, Mexico. The Mayan rivers, Chiapas, Mexico The San Pedro Grande, Bolivia Rivers of the Incas, Peru.

Endless rivers to explore, rivers of the world from where you pour, from the mountains high to the streams below, rivers always go with the flow. Endless rivers to explore, pumping blood as rapids roar, fast and furious or a peaceful float, river Gods please guide our boats.

Questions and answers:

Do we have boats in stock:

Yes, we always have two new mini rafts in stock that can be sold on the spot. But if you wish for a boat in a certain colour, it is best to place an order.

How to order a Mini Raft: Simply send us an email with the model of Mini Raft that you desire, the colour you would like, your address and contact number. We will then contact you to see if you require anything else before sending you an invoice.

Raft Production:

All our mini rafts are made at our factory in China. Once you have placed your order and paid a 50% deposit, it will take ten to twenty days for the production of your raft.

Shipping:

We have the mini rafts shipped to our warehouse in Switzerland, which takes around ten to twelve weeks. The delivery time after that will be two weeks and we tend to use UPS or DHL.

Invoice and Payments:

Once your order is complete, we will send you the first of two invoices. The first invoice is a 50% deposit for your raft. Once the deposit is paid, we start the production of your raft. Before we ship the rafts to Europe, we will send you photos of your boat and once you have approved, we send the second invoice with the other 50%. You can pay by cash or bank transfers.

Rigging:

When rafts arrive at our headquarters in Switzerland, we personally rig all the rafts with a 10mm Polyester rope, inflate and check them. Then we pack it into a boat bag along with a small pump and a repair kit before we send it to you.

How to order other gear: helmets, paddles, frames Simple, give us a call or send us an email with what you are looking for. We have many products in stock and can send what you want to you.

How to order some Ape Stuff: Again, just give us a call, we always have PFDs and throw bags from Ape in different colours.

Once you have your mini raft: Get in touch, we are always on the river having fun, come join us on a trip and we give you some good tips on how to row.

What happens if I puncture my raft?

We have all the tools and material needed, take some photos of the puncture and send them to us and we will let you know how much it will cost to fix.