This thread is really interesting. It goes to the heart of what canoe tripping is all about. Traveling by canoe is an elegant way to travel and can carry more than backpackers can. The conditions help dictate the right answer between comfort and lightness. Personal preferences vary a lot. Some trips are memorable as much for the food and great bar as they are for the paddling and the country. Lake country paddlers dedicated to lightness and ease of portaging would almost certainly disagree. The older I get the more I prefer canoe tripping over backpacking. At 64, it feels like there should be at least another 10 years or so to go. Maybe more with some younger guys along.
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How much does your gear weigh
- Thread starter meopilite
- Start date
I think people who enter into a rigid mindset about lightweight or heavy are missing the boat (another bad pun). For instance, my last little adventure with 4 other inexperienced people and my wife was more about the social aspect. We had lots of good food and drink, and everyone had a great time. After it was over, they all wanted to do another trip next year, and I'm totally game. It's nice to do a trip with total luxury. My next trip on Aug 9 has a 2 kilometre port immediately to get into the lake. I won't be taking too many frills on that trip, no booze (o the horror), very little food…two light carries, one for the canoe, one for the pack.
However, ppine, you are on to something with the "younger guys". If my son had time off to do this trip, I would be bringing considerably more stuff, like beer, cause he's got a young back, and doesn't mind carrying stuff.
However, ppine, you are on to something with the "younger guys". If my son had time off to do this trip, I would be bringing considerably more stuff, like beer, cause he's got a young back, and doesn't mind carrying stuff.
G
Guest
Guest
I totally get the light/heavy dichotomy.
If fact, we have a second set of gear that is HEAVY. It is luxury too. Two burner stove (I see one in that 20' boat), big pots and pans, huge cooler, thick comfy mats, etc...
We usually reserve that stuff for car camping. And we usually do that with other people. We could however do those kind of trips with the boats, we have enough of them, and enough gear for four people (actually for 5)... although that's nothing compared to some of the fleets others on this forum have.
I certainly wouldn't do any trips where I'd have to carry that crap though. It's bad enough just loading it in and out of the car.
As much fun as we have hanging out with others and living large, it's just much easier to keep a simple, light kit. If it's just me and the wife, we use that for everything from an overnight at a campground to backpacking.
If fact, we have a second set of gear that is HEAVY. It is luxury too. Two burner stove (I see one in that 20' boat), big pots and pans, huge cooler, thick comfy mats, etc...
We usually reserve that stuff for car camping. And we usually do that with other people. We could however do those kind of trips with the boats, we have enough of them, and enough gear for four people (actually for 5)... although that's nothing compared to some of the fleets others on this forum have.
I certainly wouldn't do any trips where I'd have to carry that crap though. It's bad enough just loading it in and out of the car.
As much fun as we have hanging out with others and living large, it's just much easier to keep a simple, light kit. If it's just me and the wife, we use that for everything from an overnight at a campground to backpacking.
I think having younger guys along is definitely an incentive. I recently lead a 100-mile trip across my state that included over 20 portages ranging in length from a couple hundred feet to ten miles. In this case, I WAS the younger guy...my three companions were all older, two of them in their 60's (one was 67). I doubt very much whether they would have attempted the same trip without me (or another similarly youthful individual) along as sort of a safety net. We certainly didn't travel very light.
A recent week on the Willamette R in Oregon included an 18 yo and a 23 yo. They were newbies, but took instruction in the bow very well. One was helpful from the start, and the other one got whipped into shape in a hurry. At the take out our boats were 400 hundred yards from the trucks. The boys grabbed my wood OT Guide 18 now a little water logged and hauled it to the trailer without being asked. It was a pleasure to see them figure out life without electronic devices and to pass along the lore.
The weather was hot and sunny for Oregon, and we needed some relief from the heat. One night a long-time friend and a veteran of many trips over the years, hacked his way into a stand of black cottonwood trees above the gravel bar we were camped on. He propped up some branches and cleared out a "room" in the shade. We moved the cook stove on a table and all the chairs into "the Grotto" to finish dinner. It was Italian Night in honor of our 2 Italian friends. Pesto pasta with veggies, garlic bread, salad and the last of the boxed red wine. Eight friends in the shade on the last night of a week long trip. That is living ladies and gentlemen. I can't think of a better night this year. I am very happy to find a group of people like the ones on this forum that understand why writing this practically brings me to tears of joy.,
The weather was hot and sunny for Oregon, and we needed some relief from the heat. One night a long-time friend and a veteran of many trips over the years, hacked his way into a stand of black cottonwood trees above the gravel bar we were camped on. He propped up some branches and cleared out a "room" in the shade. We moved the cook stove on a table and all the chairs into "the Grotto" to finish dinner. It was Italian Night in honor of our 2 Italian friends. Pesto pasta with veggies, garlic bread, salad and the last of the boxed red wine. Eight friends in the shade on the last night of a week long trip. That is living ladies and gentlemen. I can't think of a better night this year. I am very happy to find a group of people like the ones on this forum that understand why writing this practically brings me to tears of joy.,
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Just remember that all are not created equal... I refuse to eat Mountain House and Backpacker's Pantry... freeze dried nastiness, imho... I'm a die-hard Hawkvittles fan, and while more expensive at first look, they are tasty, rehydrate well, and make massive portions. I have found 3 or 4 that I really like, and I don't need much more variety (but then I'm a little peculiar that way... at the same kind of MRE 2 meals a day for 3 weeks straight during a deployment once.)
Mihun, I'd say 40 lbs of food for 2 people for 12 days is an excellent job. I normally calculate 2lbs/person/day, so that should be 48lbs, which you managed to reduce by 20%... I'd say that's great (provided you didn't go hungry)!
Seeker,
Thanks for the tip about dehydrated brands. We end up using them on longer trips without resupply. Most of them do not seem to have improved much.
Thanks for the tip about dehydrated brands. We end up using them on longer trips without resupply. Most of them do not seem to have improved much.
This is my gear for a seven day trip, which wouldn't change for a shorter or longer one except for less or more freeze dried meals. It's actually the only trip I've ever taken with a canoe cart in the canoe.
Duluth pack behind the seat. Blueish bag chair, usually not taken on portage trips, in stern. Waterproof small backpack in bow on top of boat cart.
All my camera gear is now reduced to one 15 oz. camera, which can take video, or one 12 oz. videocam, which can take stills, either of which fits in a small Pelican box.
That's it.
As I said, probably 50+ pounds for a week without cart or chair. 16 pounds for cart, nine pounds for chair--neither of which would go on a portage intensive trip.
Duluth pack behind the seat. Blueish bag chair, usually not taken on portage trips, in stern. Waterproof small backpack in bow on top of boat cart.
All my camera gear is now reduced to one 15 oz. camera, which can take video, or one 12 oz. videocam, which can take stills, either of which fits in a small Pelican box.
That's it.
As I said, probably 50+ pounds for a week without cart or chair. 16 pounds for cart, nine pounds for chair--neither of which would go on a portage intensive trip.
G
Guest
Guest
When I reciently got back from an ADK paddle trip,I was shocked at the weight of my clothes bag. it was predicted to be cold so I threw in an extra fleece shirt, vest, hat, socks, nylon windbreaker, fleece pants,silk scarf ect. It really added up! What do you all pack to be warm,but lite?
Turtle
Turtle
Long underwear wool shirt nylon shirt. Raincoat for wind protection.
The wool shirt is heavy but warmer than my light down jacket. I wouldn't bring both Right now I am undecided.. need wardrobe help
Leaving 9 am tomorrow for Allagash Lake.
Also packed four pairs of footwear.. one set of boots, one set of hiking boots, one set of camp shoes and one set of trail runners. They all go in the car. The problem is that our trip should not have any portages but the two streams that feed the lake may be a five mile slog. If too low the alternative is hiking a mile in.. With the canoes. Paired solo. If the portage is needed the 65 lb solo goes on a cart, with the Wabakimi pack and the 30 liter barrel and the camera case and the tripod and the paddles..yada yada I have a daypack and will carry the 23 lb boat. For us its a lot of gear. He is in love with his Helinox chair and I am trying to get him to leave it here..there will be a table.
I hope the dog can carry her own food. She hasn't carried a pack for a long time and she is nearly 13 years old.
We have probably completely forgotten our portage skills. Haven't used them since last year.
The wool shirt is heavy but warmer than my light down jacket. I wouldn't bring both Right now I am undecided.. need wardrobe help
Leaving 9 am tomorrow for Allagash Lake.
Also packed four pairs of footwear.. one set of boots, one set of hiking boots, one set of camp shoes and one set of trail runners. They all go in the car. The problem is that our trip should not have any portages but the two streams that feed the lake may be a five mile slog. If too low the alternative is hiking a mile in.. With the canoes. Paired solo. If the portage is needed the 65 lb solo goes on a cart, with the Wabakimi pack and the 30 liter barrel and the camera case and the tripod and the paddles..yada yada I have a daypack and will carry the 23 lb boat. For us its a lot of gear. He is in love with his Helinox chair and I am trying to get him to leave it here..there will be a table.
I hope the dog can carry her own food. She hasn't carried a pack for a long time and she is nearly 13 years old.
We have probably completely forgotten our portage skills. Haven't used them since last year.
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I have a jacket and vest with Primaloft Insulation and both pack down very small and are pretty warm for their weight. Many companies use it; Simms and LL Bean are two I know off the top of my head.
Interesting thread. I realize that some of you travel in very different parts of the world and the requirements are very different. I would never carry more than a litre of water over portage. You're going from water to water so why bring it with you, unless of course you can't treat the water you're paddling in.
Then there is no portage trips where if you can carry it from your truck to the canoe it'll go.
Memequay, that is a haul of booze! I am pretty sure if you were stopped they would assume you were bootlegging because nobody could believe that was all personal.
l'oiseau, I think we are kindred spirits when it comes to portaging.
I have never weighed my gear in a long time, but I always guess the weights based on the weight of my canoe. Which is listed at 55 pounds or thereabouts. Now add the two painter lines, fishing rod holder, emergency law kit and assume the canoe comes in around 60 pounds. Then I have the kitchen and food bag which I always feel starts out around 40-60 pounds depending of the trip. After that is main bag which almost always comes in around 50 pounds. I myself come in around 230 in the morning when I'm nekkid so add clothing, camera in my pocket a knife around my neck, PFD, multi-tool and a few rocks I load my pockets with I am guessing I am closer to the 250 mark. So solo I put roughly 350 into the canoe and if my little son comes with me we are now up over 600 pounds. Yes he is bigger than me.
Even at an overnighter the only thing that is reduced in my gear is the food which is not much weight I am make three carries over the portages. As a trip goes on I can begin to carry more obviously, so portage of 100m or less I will double up. Either the canoe and a pack or the Oostrom Pack with another one on top. I know it is over 100 pounds and tell myself voyageurs used to carry 180 or even 270 pounds over a portage at a time.
As time goes on and I improve on my gear I the weight comes down but I seem to just bring more. I carry an axe and a saw and a survival rifle, I also carry a little box I call the repair kit. It has batteries, tubes of seam sealer, sewing kit, tent repair kit, snare wire, and a few other things that are small and ultimately heavy and I never use but feel if I am without them and need them it would be bad.
But, my canoe even at 700 pounds of gear and people paddles better than when empty. It's a prospector and I am sure was designed to be loaded when paddled. Empty I find it to be a difficult boat to handle at times. I am victim to the lightest of winds when it's empty.
Maybe one day I can get it down to a single 60 pound pack but that still won't mean a single carry
Then there is no portage trips where if you can carry it from your truck to the canoe it'll go.
Memequay, that is a haul of booze! I am pretty sure if you were stopped they would assume you were bootlegging because nobody could believe that was all personal.
l'oiseau, I think we are kindred spirits when it comes to portaging.
I have never weighed my gear in a long time, but I always guess the weights based on the weight of my canoe. Which is listed at 55 pounds or thereabouts. Now add the two painter lines, fishing rod holder, emergency law kit and assume the canoe comes in around 60 pounds. Then I have the kitchen and food bag which I always feel starts out around 40-60 pounds depending of the trip. After that is main bag which almost always comes in around 50 pounds. I myself come in around 230 in the morning when I'm nekkid so add clothing, camera in my pocket a knife around my neck, PFD, multi-tool and a few rocks I load my pockets with I am guessing I am closer to the 250 mark. So solo I put roughly 350 into the canoe and if my little son comes with me we are now up over 600 pounds. Yes he is bigger than me.
Even at an overnighter the only thing that is reduced in my gear is the food which is not much weight I am make three carries over the portages. As a trip goes on I can begin to carry more obviously, so portage of 100m or less I will double up. Either the canoe and a pack or the Oostrom Pack with another one on top. I know it is over 100 pounds and tell myself voyageurs used to carry 180 or even 270 pounds over a portage at a time.
As time goes on and I improve on my gear I the weight comes down but I seem to just bring more. I carry an axe and a saw and a survival rifle, I also carry a little box I call the repair kit. It has batteries, tubes of seam sealer, sewing kit, tent repair kit, snare wire, and a few other things that are small and ultimately heavy and I never use but feel if I am without them and need them it would be bad.
But, my canoe even at 700 pounds of gear and people paddles better than when empty. It's a prospector and I am sure was designed to be loaded when paddled. Empty I find it to be a difficult boat to handle at times. I am victim to the lightest of winds when it's empty.
Maybe one day I can get it down to a single 60 pound pack but that still won't mean a single carry
Usually multiple light layers of long underwear. It looks like a regular lightweight long sleeve shirt, don't really know why they call in "underwear". It's lightweight and packs quite small. They vary from kind of tight to a bit baggy. I bring multiples anyway so I have a couple extra changes of clothes so as it gets colder I just keep putting on more and more of my "spare" clothes, including my t-shirts. One is always a turtle neck. If I think it will get a bit chillier I bring a light jacket or vest to go over the top. Neither of those are very light or pack small and are something I should upgrade for next year.
Fleece stocking cap almost always comes along. Maybe a pair of light mittens. The hat stays handy, the mittens live in the jacket pocket.
Alan
Ok... update... my wife (girliest of girls, etc) stunned me the other day by asking if she could accompany me on my next trip (Low's Lake, Adirondacks, 2 weeks from now, for 4-5 days.) My load will probably be up around 125-150 lbs for this trip... tent, air mattress, sleeping bag, clothes, food, wannagan, tarps, chairs... Clothes, housing, and furniture for her esteemed Highness seem to be the big weight culprits. but it will be fun regardless. (and I know lighter options exist... but not for possible one-time use.)
To be honest, we chose lighter gear in a roundabout way.
In the beginning there was man. He wanted to paddle and camp, but not all on the same lake. That mean't carrying his stuff across trails from lake to lake. Then there was woman. That mean't more stuff. And they were pretty happy. Except for the hassle of all that stuff. Eve spake to Adam and said "There's got to be a better way." Adam replied "danged if I know." And the creator looked down and thought
"She turned out just right, but he's gonna take a lot of tinkering."
That's pretty well how we came to stumble upon the idea of reducing the detritus of bags and packs and hand carried stuff across portages. When we reorganized our junk into larger, fewer and more manageable loads, the accidental result was we wound up investing in lighter more compact gear, to reduce the junk pile. Tinkering with the gear organization into packs "his" and "hers" means we've no choice but reduce gear weight. She prefers the barrel and dry bag. Canoe, kitchen pack and day pack is my load. I don't know how much our stuff weighs. We don't have a scale in the house. We heft the packs before loading up the car. If she can't handle "her" dry pack of tent, sleeping bags and clothes...we edit the contents. If I can't handle "his" packs, I pray for our creator to hurry up with the tinkering.
In the beginning there was man. He wanted to paddle and camp, but not all on the same lake. That mean't carrying his stuff across trails from lake to lake. Then there was woman. That mean't more stuff. And they were pretty happy. Except for the hassle of all that stuff. Eve spake to Adam and said "There's got to be a better way." Adam replied "danged if I know." And the creator looked down and thought
"She turned out just right, but he's gonna take a lot of tinkering."
That's pretty well how we came to stumble upon the idea of reducing the detritus of bags and packs and hand carried stuff across portages. When we reorganized our junk into larger, fewer and more manageable loads, the accidental result was we wound up investing in lighter more compact gear, to reduce the junk pile. Tinkering with the gear organization into packs "his" and "hers" means we've no choice but reduce gear weight. She prefers the barrel and dry bag. Canoe, kitchen pack and day pack is my load. I don't know how much our stuff weighs. We don't have a scale in the house. We heft the packs before loading up the car. If she can't handle "her" dry pack of tent, sleeping bags and clothes...we edit the contents. If I can't handle "his" packs, I pray for our creator to hurry up with the tinkering.
Resurrecting an old one here but as I prepare for my 10 day solo I actually weighed my gear albeit on the bathroom scale.
Small CCS Bushcrafter Pack = 35 lbs
Has my hammock, tarp, sleeping bag and pad, rain gear, repair kit, water filtration and few other odds and sods. I'm not sure how I could make this lighter, the pad is a Neos pad which as far as I can tell is about the smallest available. Bag is down. No tent poles.But it does have a GB Small Forest Axe
Large Pack Oostrom Wabakimi pack = 65 lbs
Has the food which was 22 pounds for 11 days, stove pot and pan 2L white fuel, big wool sweater/coat and a change of clothes plus a few other small items.
So despite trying to lighten up the load this year, I am still faced with triple carrying longer portages and 100 pounds of gear. I don't think it is possible to make a week long trip with a 20 pound pack. I know I have luxuries with me but not more than 10 pounds. I don't call an axe a luxury, nor a repair kit. If you are days away from any sort of help you can't just go with 20 pounds of gear. No way no how. Robin I am still impressed with your 70 pounds of gear using old school packs and gear. I'll make a video on my trip and go through my gear and you guys can critique it and maybe let me know what to do different. Leaving in tomorrow, very excited.
Small CCS Bushcrafter Pack = 35 lbs
Has my hammock, tarp, sleeping bag and pad, rain gear, repair kit, water filtration and few other odds and sods. I'm not sure how I could make this lighter, the pad is a Neos pad which as far as I can tell is about the smallest available. Bag is down. No tent poles.But it does have a GB Small Forest Axe
Large Pack Oostrom Wabakimi pack = 65 lbs
Has the food which was 22 pounds for 11 days, stove pot and pan 2L white fuel, big wool sweater/coat and a change of clothes plus a few other small items.
So despite trying to lighten up the load this year, I am still faced with triple carrying longer portages and 100 pounds of gear. I don't think it is possible to make a week long trip with a 20 pound pack. I know I have luxuries with me but not more than 10 pounds. I don't call an axe a luxury, nor a repair kit. If you are days away from any sort of help you can't just go with 20 pounds of gear. No way no how. Robin I am still impressed with your 70 pounds of gear using old school packs and gear. I'll make a video on my trip and go through my gear and you guys can critique it and maybe let me know what to do different. Leaving in tomorrow, very excited.
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I do pretty well with about 80 lbs plus the boat.
This gear list is outdated but it gives some idea of how I pack. I don't use the Knu-Pack system any more and my current tripper (Peregrine) is a bit lighter, but the overall weight is about the same: about 120 lbs total.
http://codabone.net/canoeing/bwca/gearlist.htm
This gear list is outdated but it gives some idea of how I pack. I don't use the Knu-Pack system any more and my current tripper (Peregrine) is a bit lighter, but the overall weight is about the same: about 120 lbs total.
http://codabone.net/canoeing/bwca/gearlist.htm
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