9 Top Canoe Packs & Barrel Harnesses

[Glenn MacGrady]

No Duluth!

The Load-Out: 9 Top Canoe Packs & Barrel Harnesses

Nine best packs and barrel harnesses for every canoe trip and tripper.

paddlingmag.com

 

[Boreal Birch]

Frost River packs # 3 and #4 are the same as Duluth Packs. Frost River is owned and manufactured by former Duluth Pack employees that started Frost River when new ownership of Duluth Packs started make an inferior product.

 

[Mason]

Or Cooke Custom Sewing. On my last trip (6 people), we had 10 CCS packs (and two CCS spray decks). My group (mostly from the West) had been using them for well over 20 years. For Boundary Waters, they are one of the standard brands (as they're made in Minnesota). PaddlingMag is tending towards AI-ness, just stuff thrown together.

 

[TimG]

I really like my Watershed packs. They’re well known in the whitewater world but it seems not so much in canoe tripping circles. Just as air and water tight as my blue barrel, but more comfortable to carry and easier to fit in my solo boats. I bought new old stock military issue versions on eBay for less than the regular bags, and they’re made of a more durable Hypalon material. I have one 80L pack I use most of the time, often with a 10L handbag, and two 50L packs that sport inflation/deflation valves for use as floatation, or compression. Great American made products.

 

[Robin]

No Duluth!

Duluth Pack fell out of favor with many in the canoe world when they signed a pledge to educate and train American workers back in 2020. The pledge was promoted by the Trump administration.

Frost River packs # 3 and #4 are the same as Duluth Packs. Frost River is owned and manufactured by former Duluth Pack employees that started Frost River when new ownership of Duluth Packs started make an inferior product.

Maybe so, but everyone says their product is superior to the competition. Sounds like sour grapes to me. Frost River makes nice waxed canvas packs, very popular with the modern YouTube “Bushcraft” crowd. It looks nice but it’s not practical for canoetripping. Just because it sheds water doesn’t make it waterproof, it still needs a waterproof liner so why the wax?
I had an old Duluth Pack repaired recently after many years of use, the sewing and leather work was excellent.

 

[Nick Pending]

I really like my Watershed packs. They’re well known in the whitewater world but it seems not so much in canoe tripping circles. Just as air and water tight as my blue barrel, but more comfortable to carry and easier to fit in my solo boats. I bought new old stock military issue versions on eBay for less than the regular bags, and they’re made of a more durable Hypalon material. I have one 80L pack I use most of the time, often with a 10L handbag, and two 50L packs that sport inflation/deflation valves for use as floatation, or compression. Great American made products.

I applaud your sentiment here. My wife and I have over a thousand bucks worth of Watershed bags that we've used a lot, whitewater and tripping over the last 20 or so years. Great products! None of ours are hypalon, but they still take a real beating with no failures.

 

[TimG]

None of ours are hypalon, but they still take a real beating with no failures.

Agreed. My small Ocoee bag is the standard material and it’s plenty durable, and light. It just happened to be that the best deal I could find on any of their larger dry packs was new military issue ones on eBay. 50L for $80 and 80L for $120 was a steal!
Their customer service is excellent as well. My Ocoee arrived with a cracked Fastex buckle and they promptly mailed a replacement, simple as that. I’ve heard they can do sonic weld patches and repairs if needed as well.

 

[ppine]

Is anyone really going to spend $450 for a canoe pack?

 

[BWCA66]

Is anyone really going to spend $450 for a canoe pack?

Well when I bought mine they were only $350 and have been on 50+ trips over the past 15 years and still going strong so I'm down to $7 per trip.

 

[jdeerfoot]

My stuff is almost all Duluth Pack, but I purchased the first of them over 50 yrs ago and the last of them maybe 15-20 yrs ago. And at nearly 77 yrs of age, I will not be making any further investments in this gear. On a recent trip I carried a friends Ostrom pack several times and I really like them. Uncle Phill of Wabakimi Project used Ostrom stuff exclusively. They are very well made and Bill Ostrom stood behind them. I understand he recently retired so hopefully these packs which have been sewn in China for awhile continue to be of the quality they were always known for.

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

No Duluth!

Is anyone really going to spend $450 for a canoe pack?

We don't pay much heed to "Top [insert # here] [insert product here]" lists.

Two #4 Duluth Packs with Recreational Barrel Works Liners. We bought both used for under $100 each back in the day. They held up better than expected. While they are heavier than some alternatives and don't offer waist belts we have no plans to replace them anytime soon.

(I did add homemade sternum straps and treat the leather once a year.)

 

[MyKneesHurt]

I've used a single large Watershed for close to ten years now, coupled with a little thwart bag for all-day stuff. The only time I've regretted it is rolling a cane miles down a highway at low water two separate days last year, would have much preferred an actually backpack.

 

[Alan Gage]

The only time I've regretted it is rolling a cane miles down a highway at low water two separate days last year

Since you said you were rolling the canoe I assume you mean it was on a portage cart? If so why not leave the bag in the canoe?

Alan

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Since you said you were rolling the canoe I assume you mean it was on a portage cart? If so why not leave the bag in the canoe?

Alan

Not exactly sure what MKH meant, but if you are going to cart a tripping canoe, it's highly preferable to get a central wheel cart with large diameter wheels rather than an end wheel cart because you then don't have to lift an end of the canoe. If the trail is in decent shape or if you are on a road, you can indeed pile all the load in the canoe, making sure the load is centralized and balanced over the wheels.

 

[MyKneesHurt]

@Alan Gage Because my dumb a$$ built myself a portage cart that fit way back under the stern thwart in a homemade boat, leaving most of the boat's weight hanging off my already wrecked shoulder, rather than in the dead center like I should have. Putting the 45-50lb weight of the bag in the center of the boat - the only spot large enough to take it - meant I was actively increasing the stress on both the boat and my shoulder. That's fine for a half mile, or even a mile, but I was doing twelve, thirteen mile portages around dry riverbeds.
When I build another I'll avoid that mistake, but I still think an actual hiking backpack with a waterproof liner is better for massively portage-heavy trips like the NFCT.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

I prefer use the same pack I take backpacking with a lightweight Sea to Summit drybag as a liner. Can't beat the suspension system on my Osprey pack. Before I had that, it was the freighter frame pack I used for both hunting and backpacking (I'm a fan of multi use gear). When I do use the blue barrel, it just happens to fit perfectly inside an old no-frame Camp Trails pack that I picked up for a song decades ago. Gives me a few outside pockets for trail gear, and with its padded waist belt it's quite comfortable.

 

[lowangle al]

I was on a trip last fall with both a Duluth and a frost river waxed pack. I got caught in a heavy rain and was surprised that the unwaxed duluths dried out first while the waxed bag was still wet. I’m not saying which is better, just an observation.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

I really like my Watershed packs. They’re well known in the whitewater world but it seems not so much in canoe tripping circles. Just as air and water tight as my blue barrel, but more comfortable to carry and easier to fit in my solo boats. I bought new old stock military issue versions on eBay for less than the regular bags, and they’re made of a more durable Hypalon material. I have one 80L pack I use most of the time, often with a 10L handbag, and two 50L packs that sport inflation/deflation valves for use as floatation, or compression. Great American made products.

We are big fans of Watershed bags. Love them.
They beat the crap out of the standard roll-down "dry" bags. And Watershed bags are submersible, truly waterproof. Roll down bags are only as good as the roll. You can't over fill a roll down bag and still have enough bag to roll. A watershed bag can be filled to the top. Just zip it closed, engage the straps and you are good to go.