Recreational Barrel Works

[WolfmansBrother]

I just received a expedition pack and liner, 30 L barrel, and miscellaneous barrel organizers (including a cooler). I'm psyched to try everything out on a trip this weekend.

The expedition pack is enormous. Coming from lightweight backpacking, this is the biggest pack that I own by far. It is going to work out great, though. It easily fits my sleeping pad and all my gear with plenty of room to spare. The side straps do a good job of cinching the pack down to a smaller size.

The only criticism that I have about the pack so far is that it is sized for a large person. I'm 5'9" and around 175, and it fits me fine, but I have the shoulder straps and waistbelt tightened almost all the way. Someone smaller may not be able to use the pack. Perhaps RBW will offer different sizing at some point.

The blue barrel and organizers are great. They will be simplfying my food and cook setup a lot. Instead of taking a cooler, a bear can, and carrying my cook kit in my pack, I will be able to get everything in the one barrel. Awesome.

Shipping to the US wasn't cheap, but it was expedited and shipped out the same day I ordered, and I received it just over a week later.

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[Sam82]

I have some of their barrel organizers and barrel cooler. The cooler never gets used. The barrel organizers that attach on the outside of the barrel I detest…sorry but I do. The barrel organizers I have that go inside of the barrel are open and I’ve decided they aren’t for me since whatever you pack in them falls out when the barrel gets overturned…I believe they have upgraded these to zipper closures now? Those would be nice. I really like the look of their portage packs and can see investing in one of those in the future.

 

[WolfmansBrother]

I took a trip this past weekend and was able to test this gear out.

I hear you on the open top organizers. They were out of the zipped organizers when I purchased, so I bought 2 of the coolers and one of the open organizers. They worked out pretty good. I had cold stuff in one cooler and fruits and vegetables in the other, with dry food in the organizer on top. The cold food stayed cold, and the fruit didn't get beat up. It would be nice if the zipper on the coolers went all the way around, but it's still usable with the half-zip.

The kitchen organizer works well to keep things organized, but when loaded it doesn’t easily fit along the side of the barrel. I was able to get it there, though.

The pack and dry bag are way bigger than I need, making them unwieldy when empty or only partially filled, but the combination does a good job as a catch-all canoe pack.

The large dry bag is big enough to fit the guitar that I occasionally bring, so that works out great. I have just been throwing the guitar in a two contractor garbage bags.

I think what I mighy try on my next trip is to pack my things a few smaller dry bags inside of the expedition pack, instead of putting everything in the large dry bag.

Overall I am happy with the gear so far. It was really nice having just my pack, the barrel, and one other dry bag to pack into the canoe. This gear has simplified my approach a lot.

 

[TrailBlaser]

I got the 30L barrel last year and have used it on a couple of solo trips. I have the zippered barrel organizers so no problem with items falling out. I like the way I am able to organize my food in them and I have used the cooler, with a ziplock bag of ice in it with the fresh food items for the first couple of days. I use one of the pockets for kitchen items, but put it inside the barrel. I am also able to get a few other kitchen items in the barrel as well. My do have reservations about it attracting and being found by bears since it really is too heavy to hang. I did one trip with the organizers and the pocket in a dry bag, which I was able to hang. That worked well. I have been toying with the idea of putting them in a packbasket I have, probably lined with a compactor trash bag, but again, that presents a possible problem with bears.

 

[Keeled Over]

Good morning everyone,

Looking for any thoughts on the Rec Barrel Works Expedition Canoe Pack.

Any feedback on longevity and how the pack has held up long term would be great, as well as any other issues that popped up.

Thank you.