Cabelas Boundary Waters II Backpack
The bag was semi submerged in moving water last week for 3 or 4 minutes, a few ounces of water made it past the rolled top. Comfort of the waist band could be improved but back support on the bag is pretty good for a canoe bag. I place sleeping bag, stove and other “critical” stuff in dry bags inside the canoe bag. Main issue with the bag is that it’s so darn big you tend to end up bringing more gear then you need since you always seem to have room for just one more thing. Learned the lesson recently to place a dry bag last in the boundary bag and take it out and place it at front of canoe when paddling to balance the load in the canoe. It’s easy then to put it back in the bag when portaging. I don’t like bags handing in front of me during carries as I tend to trip over every root, hole and rock in the trail if I can’t see them.
Use 'em all…
But sometime me be a Canadian (Eh hoser! Tim Horton donuts at de Canadian Tire parkin' lot, etc. etc.) so ah' use de 30 liter blue barrels ta really keep thangs dry an' unskwoosed which fits well inta me solo canoos (notice de auntie's-matter dilippamlico140ium crystal stabilizoor warp ingines attached ta it????)
Sometimes ah' be a ol' Bill Mason wannabe so ah' use de classic #3 Duluth bag or de Frost River waxed bag (all with wadda proof liner bags....
An' sometimes de ol' pack basket wit waddaproof bag.
Of course ye kin' fit dis here whole kitin'-kabootal into a large IKEA bag along wit a small village o' Pygmy's fro' New Guinea.
http://tinyurl.com/3f9khus
FE
Old thread, but figured I would weigh in. There are many others with more canoe experience than myself, but I also don’t carry any traditional canoeing baggage (pun intended).
I got my start with long-distance backpacking (ultralight) and then moved on to long-distance whitewater rafting (heavy) and canoeing (moderate weight). Personally, I trust my life to drybags to keep my gear dry in all potential situations over anything else, bar nun. Sure, drybags can spring a leak, but not before some thin plastic liner crammed with camping gear in a canvas pack. Like anything, you buy the best, test, maintain and repair. And even the best drybags are within financial reach of someone putting together a kit.
I personally like the more expensive zipper duffle drybags. They form flat in the bottom of the boat with the opening straight up and they are supremely easy to organize and access. The waterproof zippers just require a little more attention and I use thin plastic bags inside to further organize and protect.
If you fold or zip a drybag properly it will have positive pressure, doubling as a canoe floatation bag if secured (gear should have multiple uses) and bobbing high like a brightly colored balloon if heading down the river. If that gear (being dry and found) means life or death, there is no question.
They say canvas drys quickly, but nothing like a drybag. Attach some padded shoulder straps and waist belt and it is dry (not getting you cold and wet) and ready for portage. And yes a waist belt! Backpackers know how to carry weight over land and they are not bent over like some early hominid/chiropractor’s dream.
Trumplines have a place if you regularly and painlessly carry weight on your head in regular life (water from the well, bringing home a stray goat, etc). Otherwise, get that weight to your legs as quickly as possible. Those muscles dwarf the muscles stabilizing your neck.
With all that said, the traditional packs are absolutely beautiful, functional enough, and durable for multiple lifetimes. If I was paddling some polished-up wood boat, the only plastic gear in there would be my boots, pack liners, and fishing tackle. Anything else would be a sacrilege. There is a rightly deserved reverence around traditional boats and gear. I expect canoeing with that kind of kit would be a rich experience, assuming you also have the traditional know-how to make it all work and know its limits.
It is just to say that modern gear (however frustratingly disposable and obnoxiously colorful) is typically cheaper, lighter, faster, drier, stronger, more comfortable, and quicker to organize (if you are into that sort of thing).
Dry sacks suck….and they work flawlessly. Everything always gets wet in my lined sacks.
Listen to Glen.