I am looking to take trips about 1 week in length. Should i get one of the watertight bags?
Any guidance you have would be most appreciated. Thanks!
If your stuff is protected inside your
pack, in plastic bags, then you can use many things that are less expensive or that fit the boat better. Canvas Duluth packs aren’t so bad.
But you ought to check sierratradingpost.com for discounted roll-top packs. I got one that holds a lot and has shoulder straps. You still should bag and protect stuff inside, because “waterproof” roll top packs can draw small amounts of water through the roll top closure, and can get leaks when they’re dragged or poked.
Might wan’na consider - “Blue Barrels”
– Last Updated: Nov-25-11 6:28 PM EST –
all dem Canada canoofolks kin'na be wrong!
Totally wadda proof, pest proof (but maybe not absolutely baar proof), kinda expensive but will last longer than either o' us. Ah's like de 30 liter size - 2 or 3 o' dem be easier stowin' than de 60l size. Use dem as a table too.
Here be jus' an example o' one o' mine (wit me patent-pendin' auntie-rollerizer)...
http://tinyurl.com/3f9khus
One source
http://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/browse.cfm/4,3252.html
FE
dry bags are good …
– Last Updated: Nov-25-11 7:26 PM EST –
...... my preference is the softer more flexable type made of (I believe) urethane coated nylon ... this type is also lighter but still plenty durable .
The compression type are pretty great for sleeping bags , bulk stuff , etc. ... stuff it , squeeze it down w/the straps .
Don't really like the heavier vinyl type because they're less user friendly to me ...
I think there's a coated polyester fabric that might be pretty flexable but I've not tried one of those yet ... others can tell you about them .
I like dry bags , think they're great , the urethane bonded nylon fabric type . Get a few different sizes .
Mine are all generic brands and have worked great through pouring rains , sitting in water , thrown around , etc. ... I think one of the brand name makers here on p.nets. gear link makes the lighter and softer coated nylon type , you'll have to check it out .
Just remembered , there's a plastic srcew in lid that fits on a standard 3.5 or 5 gal bucket out there somewhere also ... been thinking about trying one someday , suppose to be totally waterproof as well at a fraction the cost of the plastic drum containers ... this lid replaces the bucket's standard lid and the center unscrews to access the contents .
The Igloo Playmate coolers are handy as all get out too ... they aren't waterproof but they keep stuff dry in a pouring rain (just don't submerge them) ... I got all the sizes and use the heck out of them , quite a few of the large size . Always find them at flea markets for a couple few bucks in perfectly usable condition ... real handy !!
3 great responses
You have three good responses, posted by guys that have lots of experience, with three different answers! What gives?
Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Personally, I’m with G2D on this one and I favor the heavy vinyl bags, such as the Hydro Venture by Seattle Sports.
The barrels are tough and dry, just as FE says. But they are heavy and inflexible. The bags have some give to them and reduce to the size of the load you pack in them. The barrels are always big and without give and I think they result in wasted space because they do not conform to the shape of the hull or other items they are lying next to. Agree with FE the barrels make good tables and seats.
I tried one of the coated nylon bags PW writes about. I loved it until my second use, when I ripped the bag wide open. Careful with those bags. They are tender! That was my first and last coated nylon bag.
~~Chip
The Gamma Lids that fit on five gal
paint buckets are not waterproof. There is no O ring. They are water resistant and decent but not as watertight as a blue barrel with latch.
York boxes are back in Canada at Trailhead. Plastic versions of wannigans.
You do not say if you will be on a river or portaging in the BWCA or farther north lake to lake. Nothing is as worthwhile as a Headstrong, Granite Gear Kondos or Ostrom or Cooke Custom Sewing pack if portages are involved.
There is no such thing as a beginner pack, but some have more bells and whistles than others. A pack is a lifttime investment so dont skimp on the fit.
I personally detest the 115 liter roll top dry bags. Invariably they get overfilled. They are fine for on the river and less than comfortable on length portages.
I drybag everything in small drybags that must be kept dry and add them inside a canoe pack with an internal support and with a dry roll top liner inside. Essentially its double dry bagging.
Love a 5g Bucket!
When I was only a canoeist I packed 1 for a kitchen box and one to keep handy for a day pack.
The buckets are not waterproof, but I do hope they are hard to sink and I’d expect to be able to recover them with the top on and contents still inside. The kitchen gear can withstand getting wet. Plates in the bottom, then nesting pots, utensils tucked to the side, flexible cutting surface around, stove-in-coffee-can, fuel container … pretty much the whole kitchen went into the bucket. The bucket laid down in the stern.
And a bucket is a handy thing to have around camp.
I’ve gotten away from using the buckets because I started kayaking and the buckets just don’t work in a kayak.
Plus they end up leaking
I agree - the river bags are not my cup of tea. I good portage pack, canvas duluth bag or nylon Granite Gear portage pack with cheap heavy plastic liners have worked well for me.
I have three wonderful Voyageur
slide-closure, inflatable, urethane coated Nylon bags. They are tapered for kayaks, but I use them under the (urethane coated Nylon) float bags.
The coated Nylon is lightweight, and therefore liable to puncture. But they sure are nice. My fourth tapered, inflatable, urethane-coated bag is a Watershed Futa. Its fabric is much heavier than the Voyageurs. But Watershed makes the best flexible, totally waterproof, bags, if you can afford them. Voyageur’s slide closure bags are no longer sold.
Portages?
You left something out of your original post. Do you plan to do portages? If you do consider the length of the portage when choosing how you are going to carry your gear. Various barrels, 5 gallon pails etc, while they’ll work if you don’t do carries (portages) are going to be a real pain if you need to carry your gear for any distance. Cooke Custom Sewing, Granite Gear, NRS or Cabellas and a number of other companies sell waterproof packs that will work better if you need to portage.
The alternative of using dry bags or heavy plastic bags in a pack will also work but be sure to enclose your critical gear, such as your sleeping bag, with the best waterproof protection you can reasonably afford.
Try searching packs at these two sites they will have information on various packs for canoe tripping.
http://www.adkforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=62
http://www.solotripping.com/gear.php?cat=Canoes&p=6
Get several sizes of bags…
rather than a couple of large ones. Easier to organize and pack your canoe. Clear bags let you see the contents - for non-clear use multiple colors to help you organize stuff (red is clothes, yellow is sleeping bag/pad, etc.)
I’ve have both the coated bags and thicker vinyl bags but the vinyl seems to hold up longer - my older coated bags seem to have the coating start peeling off over time and now leak.
One thing I’ve moved to over time is to pack my tent in it’s own dry bag. On a week long trip if you encounter multiple days of rain your tent body (even with the fly on) will become damp and you don’t want to pack that in with other really dry stuff. If the fly becomes wet from the rain, I jam that into a mesh bag (not in the tent dry bag) to keep it away from the tent body - shake it out that evening before using it again.
Pack all your evening camp gear separatley so you don’t to open the bag(s) during the day.
Duffle shaped dry bags are great for getting to stuff with their wide openings. When I only had the tall cylinder bags, it seemed like the clothing I needed was at the bottom, and if it’s raining where do you put all the other dry clothes you’ve just pulled out?
Separatley pack a small dry bag of clothing you’ll need during the day - that way your other evening clothes can be in another bag and stay closed all day. I pack my rain gear in its own dry bag - so once it gets wet and then later I need to put it away I don’t have it next to dry gear.
Have fun - overnighting on extended trips is a great way to travel.
not as elegant
as a portage pack or barrell. A good backpack using good plastic bags for all the things that need to stay dry. Pack carefully and your gear will stay dry, and a regular backpacking bag is great on the portage trail. I would throughmy pack on, cinch up the hip belt and then put my canoe an my shoulders and walk. Thirty two pound pack, forty two pound canoe. seventy four pounds on the portage trail, no big deal! I was in my early 50s though. (the PFDs and paddles were carried by the scout who paddled with me)
The pack if packed propery would float and keep all my stuff dry long enough for recovery.
I suggest you but this book -
– Last Updated: Nov-26-11 7:12 PM EST –
Expedition Canoeing by Cliff Jacobson. Cliff is quirky, but he has a lot of experience. You will get a lot of interesting and helpful information from his book and benefit from all his experience. There are others here too with lots of experience. Ultimately you will develop your own way of making it in the woods. Do what makes sense to you now, then be willing and ready to make changes. That is what its all about. BTW - Cliff is a member here.
advertisements say the Gamma lids …
– Last Updated: Nov-28-11 1:38 PM EST –
........ are airtight and waterproof .
They say the lids have two polymer gaskets , one for lid to bucket and another for screw out lid .
kayamedic , is this something newly added because you said they have no seals and aren't waterproof ??
I've been thinking about getting some myself and was expecting them to be as advertised ...
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/gamma_seal_lids_gamma_lid_products.aspx
I have one of these also Chip …
– Last Updated: Nov-28-11 2:41 PM EST –
...... it's the polyester type I'm almost sure . Still very flexable and so far plenty tough enough , probaly noticably tougher than the nylon one you ripped .
It isn't very expensive but has held up for years now and still going . This bag goes out everytime I'm on the water , not just paddle/camp trips but all day trips , bay fishing , etc. , so it's been used the most .
The only thing with this bag is that it only comes in one size , a 30 qt. which is a very convenient size , holds quit a bit if you stuff it . I think you'd like it , I know I do .
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=56713
I’ll mention my favorite method again
– Last Updated: Nov-28-11 3:46 PM EST –
I only disagree with one post so far, and that was the one about getting several dry bags of different sizes. That would be okay if they were then consolidated into one or two large packs, but of course that would require the use of very lightweight (and expensive) dry bags because otherwise you'd soon find that everything would take up maybe 30 percent more volume. Anyway, when canoeing, nothing makes less sense than having a large number of items to pack. First, since it's so convenient to use one or two large packs (perhaps with one additional very small pack), it only makes sense to do so. Second, one or two packs are easy to tie into the boat, and if not tied in, are easy to retrieve. Multiple bags in an open boat is a "yard sale" waiting to happen, and that's real trouble with no other boaters to help. Even paddling in a group, no one wants to be the guy that needs help from the whole gang after a capsize. Yeah, most of us virtually never tip over on calm water, but better safe than sorry.
Now for my favorite method, which addresses dry storage and easy gear organization. It turns out that one model of side-zippered duffle bags from CCS exactly fits the inside of a #3 canoe pack. You can stack them horizontally one top of each other in the pack, 3, 4, 5 or a bunch of layers high (depending on how full they are), and any of the packs can be accessed in a few seconds because they go in and out so easily, and anything within each pack can be found just as quickly, thanks to the full-length zipper. Line the canoe pack with a super-heavy-duty plastic bag (Cliff Jacobson recommends two layers) and you are good to go. If you are just starting out, this might be too much stuff to buy, but down the line after you wish to accumulate gear, it might be practical.
The advice from someone else about putting your tent in a separate dry bag is good, and a smaller super-heavy-duty plastic bag works great for that, since it does not increase the size of the bundle like a regular dry bag. Thus your tent can still be part of the main baggage rather than a separate item.
Regarding the heavy-duty plastic bags, they seal better than a dry bag if the top is twisted and then tied TIGHTLY with string. Check them now and then for punctures though. Fix any holes with a little square of duct tape.
tip on sturdy liner bags
You’ve gotten great advice on bags – I would only add that if you decide to use plastic trash type bags for pack liners, look for a box of the white bags made specifically for trash compactors. They are a perfect size for most gear and several times heavier and more durable than even most yard waste bags.
I am a fan of multiple smaller dry bags
and hate duffel bags and rummaging.
One compression dry bag for sleeping bag. One compressible dry bag for clothes, one for the tarp (mostly to contain the beast), one for the sleeping pad (exped. I like it dry) and one for the tent which can be alternated to carry the tent only and expel the wet fly, which combined along with the wet tarp can go in the tarp bag.
If its raining I know exactly what I am getting. There are really only four drybags in a roll down pack liner and all in an Ostrom or Woods pack. No need for the pots and toiletries or stove fuel to be in a dry bag.
Also the first aid goes in its own little red dry bag right on top. When you need to find that one its likely a time sensitive mission.
Anyway you run into a double dry bag setup. The basic Sea to Summit bags that slide into a pack (not the PVC ones but rather the coated nylon bags) are not expensive. The OR compression drybag is a gift idea…its a little more though you can sometimes find it at Sierra Outlet.
The PVC ones that are heavier are more suited for packing in a kayak, where you are not portaging and where scuffing against the hatch openings is probable.
Sure you can start with various contractor and tough trash can liner setups to start. No need to break the bank at first.
I am a fan of multiple smaller dry bags
and hate duffel bags and rummaging.
One compression dry bag for sleeping bag. One compressible dry bag for clothes, one for the tarp (mostly to contain the beast), one for the sleeping pad (exped. I like it dry) and one for the tent which can be alternated to carry the tent only and expel the wet fly, which combined along with the wet tarp can go in the tarp bag.
If its raining I know exactly what I am getting. There are really only four drybags in a roll down pack liner and all in an Ostrom or Woods pack. No need for the pots and toiletries or stove fuel to be in a dry bag.
Also the first aid goes in its own little red dry bag right on top. When you need to find that one its likely a time sensitive mission.
Anyway you run into a double dry bag setup. The basic Sea to Summit bags that slide into a pack (not the PVC ones but rather the coated nylon bags) are not expensive. The OR compression drybag is a gift idea…its a little more though you can sometimes find it at Sierra Outlet.
The PVC ones that are heavier are more suited for packing in a kayak, where you are not portaging and where scuffing against the hatch openings is probable.
Sure you can start with various contractor and tough trash can liner setups to start. No need to break the bank at first.