oh you need to learn the joys
of dehydrating your own food. Three days will weigh less than six lbs and take the room of a six pack cooler.
Try some supermarket backpacking…there are Lipton side dishes that if you throw in some foil package chicken is delicious.
I think getting weaned off the cooler is the way to go…you can try by going slowly…BTW there are some very good mac and cheeses out there. Top with a little white truffle oil for a gourmet treat.
Lots of little bags
In general kayaks pack better with lots of little bags, also look for the nylon or very flexible plastic ones rather than the larger, stiff bags that people tend to use in canoes. Throw a big cotton carry-all bag on top once you’ve finished packing the stuff, to carry the little bags to the camp site.
Gear List
You should post your full gear list. I’d love to give you advice based on the list to specific areas to pack the items, etc.
I agree
Once you have your gear packing mapped out and diagrammed on a sheet of paper its easier next time.
I’min the same boat! couple ideas
Neilk, right now I’m dealing with learning to pack a kayak too (writing an article about it for a local free paper in fact). It IS a work in progress! Some things that have worked for me: when I had to take 5 gallons of water into the Everglades, I bought a bunch of 3-liter flexible plastic Nalgene canteens. They’re great: they stack on their sides. No wasted space at all. When empty, they roll up to practically nothing. The same company also makes an 800 ML wine keeper canteen, just slightly larger than a bottle of wine, which you can pour into the canteen. So that’s my luxury item. I also recommend Knorr sides (dehydrated) from the supermarket: Mexican rice, Spanish rice, red beans and rice. You can add chicken. They make a delicious dinner.
My single-burner propane stove is still way too big, and I think I’m going to move to a homemade alcohol stove. I also plan to get a light down sleeping bag for compressibility. I solved the sleeping mat problem with an inflatable Exped 7 that I love. As others have said here, it’s all about backpacking vs. car camping. I’ve gotten some good ideas and inspiration from a lightweight, long-distance backpacker, Andrew Skurka (google him). You’ll have a lot of fun as you keep making trips and figuring it out. You should report back on your progress. G in NC
do you paddle freshwater?
– Last Updated: Jun-29-11 10:40 AM EST –
If so, leave the water at home and take a filter and some iodine tablets. Filters have come a long way. I like this one (this is the "coffeeII" version):
http://emergency-h2o.com/filter-systems.html
If the water is cool enough, some things will keep for 2-3 days without a cooler. So I'd leave that at home.
If you want a mattress pad, check out something like the big agnes. Inflatable, and it packs much smaller than the thermarest. I can understand advice to do without when using a hammock, but I carry a 2 man tent and a pad, and I can fit it all.
Finally - take the advice to post your gear list. You'll get some great help from folks in this forum. And don't be embarrassed. Like many others, I remember my first kayak camping trip, looking at the big pile of gear and my small kayak and thinking, "how in the h do I get all that in there?"
filter plus iodine?
Slush, I looked at the Emergency H2O site. Do you use the filter AND the iodine (belt and suspenders). Or one or the other? I like the simplicity of the filter.
G in NC
not belt and suspenders
Iodine kills stuff than filters leave behind
I am not saying that water squeezed out of filters is always unsafe to consume. There some bio-pathogens smaller than pore size in most filters.
There are pills that will make water safe to drink without filtration, but I wouldn’t be able to get over the yuck factor 
what he said^
– Last Updated: Jun-29-11 12:02 PM EST –
I usually just use the filter where I paddle. But there are places where I'll use both (to avoid said "yuck factor").
I should note I seem to have a funky digestive system, but I've never had a problem on a trip, water or otherwise. Maybe it's stress-related.
heres list and thanks
Hennesy Hammock
3/4 thermorest (will try to do without)
Kelty Noah Tarp
50 degree Kelty sleeping bag or
18 degree Marmot
1.2 liter MSR Pot: inside
Pocket Rocket
Gas canister
Matches/ighter/glove as potholder/small towel
Frying kPan
Utensils in Roll up
Spatula/cutlery etc
TP and small shovel
First aid in 4 liter dry bag
4 1 liter bottles and 1 1gallon bag of water
Clothes in a 12 liter vented bag
Expidtion top and bottom long johns
Rain Pants extra swim suit
Pruning saw with extra fire starter
sneakers and Tevas
Food(vegatarian)
Mac and cheese/ string cheese oranges and the cooler with phoney meats etc
instant oatmeal/hard boiled eggs
Peanut butter in small jar/jam
Bread or pita
oil some spices
Spare paddle/PFD/pump/sponge rain top ready to use as well as skirt I know I’ve missed stuff. OH and sweets
forgive spelling as trying to get this in in 30 minutes
Thank you for all the time you have put this
Maybe more smaller bags
Unless I am missing something the list isn’t all that huge. But yeah, more tapered and smaller bags may make a big diff.
agreed
That doesn’t sound too excessive for a Looksha. Crap, I tend to take more stuff for 3 day trips in my AT-17, but it all fits. Besides lots of little dry bags, it might help to lay it all out next to the boat to help visualize where things can go - keeping in mind you want to keep heavier things closer to the center. Did you play “Tetris” as a kid?
Iodine doesn’t kill crytosporidia
The tiny pills that Katadyne sells do. (They’re expensive.)
If your filter screens out cryto, it won’t matter. But iodine gives the water its own nasty taste.
spare PFD?
– Last Updated: Jun-29-11 2:10 PM EST –
that one is strange, the rest of the list is not excessive.
Most likely you could use some pointers on packing :)
Youtube is the ultimate source of video "how tos". No one can promise they are good, but see if there is anything worth following.
For example-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgHr-j6HAWg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOZ2F5KiD1k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2fqu7DzJKQ
alot of that stuff
Doesn’t need a dry bag. Just get some smaller stuff sacks. Ie. Rain gear, ropes, jars. I take way more things. I even take a full size memory foam pillow.
Ryan L.
HH and a tarp?
Does that include the tarp with the HH? Seems you only need one.
Now I am a big fan of down bags because the compress to nothing. You don’t need the 18 degree Marmot. And I suspect the Kelty is a bulky beast. I have seen grown men cry shoving a bulky bag through a hatch…worse trying to get it out.
Waterproof compression sack for the bag really helps.
why a bathing suit??LOL…
Also a four liter first aid kit is a big kit… Mine is much smaller…what is in that four liters?
Packing Article
Even with several smaller drybags instead of a couple larger ones, it’s all too easy to leave vacant spaces inside the compartments, which limits your total space. Try to make each bit of gear fit into the next one like pieces of a puzzle, to really pack it tight.
Also, for some items that won’t be harmed by getting wet (tents, tarps, etc.), try this: place an empty, heavy-duty trash bag into the hatch, then start stuffing the loose tarp into the bag and then further into one of those irregular-shaped spaces, then keep cramming to fill that space. Some gear seems to virtually disappear this way, leaving space for the next item, and a tarp doesn’t need to stay in a tidy roll …
Here are some more kayak-camping packing tips:
http://www.aquadynology.com/packing1.html
Good luck!
Delphinus
http://www.AquaDynology.com
Only a couple of red flags
That list isn’t huge. Two things caught my attention, though:
The frying pan and cutlery–how big are they? Does the pan have a folding handle? I can put my tiny cookstove, lighter, plus a folding spork inside a small solo cookset.
Four liter bottles–instead of using up space with hard bottles, you can buy collapsible containers such as MSR Dromedary bags (come in different capacities, but again it’s better to have several smaller ones instead of one huge one).
A water filter is always good for freshwater paddling. On my first camping trips I carried several gallons of water but later saved the weight and space by filtering daily and carrying only 1 gallon at a time. Later I backed that down to 2 or 3 liters per day.
Why a bathing suit
– Last Updated: Jun-29-11 2:21 PM EST –
Depends who else goes!
Actually, the list says "extra bathing suit"--don't need two of them; just take one (or none). Or make some paddlewear or campwear double as swimsuit.
I have some very thin shorts and short-sleeve tops that dry fast and roll up into almost nothing. Tyr men's triathlon shorts and a Mysterioso lycra rashguard. They can serve as warm-conditions paddlewear, camp kickaround clothes, and swimsuit. Could be slept in if so desired.
and if ya are
gonna jam stuff up the bow or stern , tie a piece o line onto them to pull them out ,