Keewaydin duffel bag

[Boreal Birch]

I would like to put together a Keewaydin duffle bag as outlined in the book The Keewaydin Way. I understand how to make the bag, measurements are simple 14 inches in diameter by 36 inches long. The part about a 12 inch long inner throat is what stymies me. I don't claim to have read the whole book, but I did look at all the pictures, I did not see any pictures of the inner throat. So I am asking if any of the forum member that maybe were Keewaydin campers remember this feature, have pictures or have detailed instructions on making this style of duffle bag with the throat. The only duffle bag that I've have had, is from my four years in the military, that was fifty years ago, I don't remember what happened to that bag. I do know I came home from the service with only the uniform I was wearing, I, was happy to throw it away (my mother took them out of the trash and saved it. I got to throw them away again when she crossed over). Along with wood/canvas canoes, bamboo fly rods, canvas Camille Poirier style packs, Whelen Lean-to and leather tump line, I would like a traditional duffle bag to throw on top of my wannigan, on some of my increasingly shorter canoe trips.
Thanks,
........Birchy

 

[Robin]

I don't know anything about the throat on a Keewaydin duffel bag, but I'm glad I read your post, we have a lot in common, a lot.

 

[Odyssey]

I've been wanting to order one of Brian Back's Keewaydin books for awhile now. I do vaguely remember using a duffle once with a varnished/waxed extendable throat. I have no idea where it came from or when exactly I used it. It would be interesting to know it's history now, but it may have been from somewhere else entirely.
Good luck in your hunt Birchy, I like the direction you're travelling.
Here's some excellent Keewaydin photos, some with duffles and wannigans. (I never had the immense pleasure to attend a youth camp.)
https://keewaydin.smugmug.com/Camp-P...Season-Begins/
https://keewaydin.smugmug.com/CampPhotos2013/Temagami/Post-Season-Photos-End-season/

 

[Mnoutdoorfunguy]

The “throat” isn’t a drawstring closure is it?
I picture a 14” x 36” cylinder with one end closed.
The other end has grommets with a drawstring or military-style closure.
The 12” throat is an internal sleeve with a drawstring casing and drawstring coming out a single grommet.
The outer grommets close around the internal sleeve.
That is how I picture it and would construct it, but it might not be how it is meant to be.

 

[Murat V]

Don't have a Keewaydin bag or Brian Back's book, but here is the canvas duffle I use. Was told it was a canvas tent storage bag when I picked it up. Sort of looks like there is an "inner throat" sewn to the base of of the grommets flaps that can fold upwards or back down into the pack. It more or less provides some protection at the opening instead of a circular flap I've seen on some other bags. Maybe these pics will help out...

By the way, I've found that the sewn handle on the side is very useful to help swing the duffle up and onto a wannigan while I grip the tumpline with the other hand. Or in tricky terrain, you can carry it suitcase style if need be.

 

[clemency]

Sorry to have missed this. Winter comes, water freezes, and I go skiing. Both of the above two posts are pretty much correct. Mine was an OD green canvas bag with 4 grommets to close it, and a cotton (probably treated) sleeve extending from the opening. The sleeve closed with a drawstring, and provided additional waterproofing. There was no shoulder strap -- the grommets were closed with a traditional clasp like on an army issue duffle, but it was on a short strap rather than a shoulder strap.

 

[Boreal Birch]

Thank you, for all for your replys .........
I imagine that is what I was looking for. I bought a couple of military surplus laundry bags and a surplus duffel bag. I cut off about 12 inches of the top of one of the rubberized laundry bags, glued & handsewed the cut edge inside the mouth of the the duffel bag. It now looks like Murat V's duffel bag, with two draw strings. I stick the other laundry bag inside the duffel. Stuff I want to stay dry, I put in waterproof stuff bags, inside the laundry bag, inside the duffel bag. The olive drab look matches my #3 Duluth Pack. When I was younger I could have carried the duffel balanced on top of the Duluth pack, behind my neck. In todays real world, each gets carried separately, unless the are both really light. The duffel bag gets tumped.

 

[Bob B.]

I bought a large canvas duffel I use on occasion as it fits so well in my canoe. I tump as my second carry, and take a small canvas bag and canoe on first carry.

It is white heavy canvas, and I may dye it to be a more muted color, but so far I do not mind it white ... albeit dirty.

 

[Art D]

How would you tie a tump to a duffel? I’ve seen pictures of two duffles stacked and tied together with the tump but couldn’t make out how it tied.

 

[Bob B.]

I take one of the tump tails and make a wrap around the bottom of the bag ( 8 inches or so up from bottom ). I bring the tail over my first make another loop and tie off. Then repeat with tail near the top of the bag. Art, I do not convey my meaning very well. I will try to take pictures this weekend and try to do a better job.

 

[Boreal Birch]

Page 100 of Brian Back’s book ‘KEEWAYDIN WAY’ show how to tie a tumpline to a Wannigan using the tump knot. I have tumpped a duffle and a canvas bed roll. I tied them stacked together first then lashed them like in Backs pictures and illustrations with the tumpline. The load wasn’t at all heavy, just bulky.
Maybe someone with higher pay grade than mine can photograph page 100 and post it. Or see if your public library can inter-library the book for you.

 

[kahel]

 

[clemency]

Page 100 of Brian Back’s book ‘KEEWAYDIN WAY’ show how to tie a tumpline to a Wannigan using the tump knot. I have tumpped a duffle and a canvas bed roll. I tied them stacked together first then lashed them like in Backs pictures and illustrations with the tumpline. The load wasn’t at all heavy, just bulky.
Maybe someone with higher pay grade than mine can photograph page 100 and post it. Or see if your public library can inter-library the book for you.

One duffle, two duffles, wannigan, whatever. Same knot. Just a lot more loose end with a single duffle -- wrap that around the tump line at the bottom, top or back of the load.

 

[lowangle al]

I've never seen or used a Keewaydin duffle but have been using a military style duffle on most of my trips over the last 30 some years. The one I predominantly use was given to me by a friend after his father died. I believe he was still active in the National Guard. This duffle has shoulder straps, but I rarely used them preferring to stack it on top of a #4 Duluth.

I think the duffle is a great canoe/portage pack. They carry well and fit perfectly in the canoe. I have picked up a couple more duffles along the way. One is a cheaply made and not military issue, I use this one for the Luggable Loo, when I bring it. Another I got at a second hand store. It belonged to a veteran, probably WWII era. I never met the man, but his name is on the bag, and I think of him and my friends father too when I'm out there.

I use another duffle filled with firewood for ballast when I'm paddling an empty boat. Previously I was strongly opposed to adding weight to a boat for ballast, but now I rarely go out without it.

My suggestion to anyone that trips is to be on the lookout for used military duffles at second hand stores and flea markets as I bet you'll find a use for it at some point.
Ballast

Fits nicely in the boatcarries well

 

[paddler123]

The typical way that duffels are carried by Keewaydin and others in their tradition is tumped together into a "double pack". Two wannigans, one double pack, and a canoe makes for a tidy two-trip portage. Here's the best picture I could find (blurred for privacy). The knots are the same as on a wannigan (note that Wabun, shown here, uses a slightly different knot than Keewaydin). The lashing around the sides is used to hold the ends together, instead of around the handles of the wannigan. The biggest difference in the tumping technique comes from the fact that duffels are squishy and compressible whereas wannigans are not. You have to make sure to tie it tight and squish them down at the beginning. Otherwise, they will compress on the portage trail from their weight, lengthening the head strap in the process. A poorly done tump job can end up with the duffels at your knees, which is not a very efficient configuration for effective portaging. A single duffel can be fairly easily portaged on top of a wannigan.

 

[clemency]

A poorly done tump job can end up with the duffels at your knees,


View attachment 141859

And a frustrated, crying 12 year old. Not that I'd know anything about that.

 

[Bob B.]

OK Art ... here goes.

I hope this pics explain it better than my typing does. FYI ... my duffle on trips weighs in the mid sixty pounds area. When tumped it is much more manageable for me than s large pack on my shoulders and fits extremely well in my canoe.

 

[Art D]

OK Art ... here goes.

I hope this pics explain it better than my typing does. FYI ... my duffle on trips weighs in the mid sixty pounds area. When tumped it is much more manageable for me than s large pack on my shoulders and fits extremely well in my canoe.

Thank you!