Introducing the GC

Take your kayak
anywhere.

The Game-Changer is a hybrid hardshell-inflatable whitewater kayak that folds into a backpack. Hard-boat performance on the water. True portability off it. Engineered in New Zealand.

Register Interest — Mk6 Run →
Limited prototype build · 2026 production
Scroll
Why the GC Hybrid?

A hard boat that goes where hard boats can't.

A composite shell forms the hull, sidewalls and ends — the rigid skeleton that drives modern hard-boat performance. A premium inflatable inner sits protected inside. The two come apart, fold down, and turn into a backpack.

01 / Hybrid Performance

Hard-shell hull. Inflatable inner.

Composite hull, sidewalls and ends for the responsiveness you love about modern whitewater boats — protecting a high-spec TPU inflatable inner built to packraft-grade standards. Hard composite coaming runs your standard whitewater spray deck — no implosion, no deck explosions.

02 / True Portability

It packs into a backpack.

Any river that can be hiked into is now in range.

  • Hike-in rivers — long approaches that were off-limits.
  • Heli alternatives — South Island heli runs on your own legs.
  • First descents — the lines you've been sitting on.
  • Multi-disciplinary — climb, fly, canyon, paddle out.
03 / Variable Ballast

Dial in the ride before you put in.

Dual storage compartments (main rear + nose-tip front) turn your gear into a tuning dial — trim, stability, roll inertia. Load low for a planted feel. Forward-trim for big water. Aft for boof clearance on steep, low-volume runs.

04 / Cargo for Multi-Days

~70 L of split storage.

TIZIP closures and an elastic packing system. Easy to pack, easy to access. Take the kitchen sink — or just the kit you need to commit deeper into the backcountry. Anything you carry in on your back has a place in the boat.

05 / Safety By Design

Three independent air sections.

  • Redundancy — lose one section, stay afloat.
  • ~70% air volume inflated — light and buoyant in a swim.
  • Resists pinning — buoyancy works for you under pressure.
  • Resists wrapping — rigid shell holds shape against rock.
06 / NZ-Engineered Toughness

Basalt, Innegra, S-glass, carbon.

A foam-cored composite layup with Kevlar under the seat. Stiff, strong, impact-tolerant — designed to feel like a monolithic one-piece kayak. Modern hull thinking inspired by Waka, Lettmann and Jackson, executed in composite — not plastic.

See It On the Water

Watch the GC do what it was built for.

A full-river demonstration, and a walk-through of the design decisions that shaped the boat — straight from the builder.

On the Water

The kayak running real whitewater — full demonstration.

Features & Benefits Walk-through — Coming Soon

Features & Benefits

A detailed breakdown of the design, the layup and the thinking behind it.

Like what you see?

Tell us. A short market-research survey — it sets the price and the size of the Mk6 batch. If you want one of these boats, this is the most useful thing you can do.

Take the Survey →
The Innovation

A new category of whitewater boat.

The GC pairs a modern composite shell — flatter planing surface, deeper chines and sharper edges than plastic moulding allows — with a premium inflatable inner. A patented interlocking system holds the two together as a single, stiff, high-performance kayak. Pull it apart and it becomes a backpack you can hike with.

The GC Model

Hardshell-inflatable hybrid. ~270 cm × 69 cm. 12–16 kg depending on spec. Built for 65–95 kg paddlers running up to hard whitewater.

NZ Engineered

Designed, tested and refined in the rivers it was built for. Modern hull thinking — executed in composite, not plastic.

2026 Production

A limited Mk6 prototype batch is the next step. Demand from this round determines the path to a V1 commercial build.

GC Hybrid · Mk6 Prototype
Specs at a Glance

The numbers.

Length
~270 cm
Modern hull profile
Width
69 cm
Deep corner & secondary chine
Weight
12–16 kg
Light to full-spec build
Paddler Range
65–95 kg
Single-size, this run
Cargo
~70 L
Split front + rear
Rig / De-rig
~15 / 5 min
Kayak or backpack
Layup
Composite
Basalt / Innegra / S-glass / carbon · Kevlar seat
Coaming
Hard composite
Standard whitewater spray deck

Help us build the boat.

The Mk6 prototype run is next. Demand from this round decides whether the GC becomes a commercial V1 or a community joint venture. If you want one of these boats, the most useful thing you can do is tell us — and tell us what it's worth to you.

Take the Survey →
Short survey · No commitment · Helps set price & build size