What gear to use

This coming summer I want to take a 2 or 3 day kayaking trip wit a friend and was wondering what gear is out there to carry food and any other supplies we might need for 2 or 3 days? Any help would be appreciated.

Do you have a boat?
Or a PFD or spare paddle etc? Or are you getting these boats from somewhere?

Are you looking for drybags or
a gear list?

You could help us answer your question by telling us a little more about where you want to go and what boat you will be using.









This is one example of a typical gear list. It is good to be prepared.





http://gorp.away.com/gorp/gear/packlst_ky.htm

Water!!
Are you kayaking in salt or fresh water? If fresh water, you need a filter or those pills to treat the water before you drink it. The filter weighs more but will give you a much better tasting water. The pills tend to taste like iodine or bleach (still perferable to being sick though). Plus you’ll need a couple of canteens/nalgenes or water containers (per person) to put your water in. This way you only need carry a day’s supply of water and treat more at the end of the day for the next day. Another basic item that I always carry is a large bandana. Use it for hot weather to dip in the creek and put around your neck to keep cool, as a pot holder, to dry your tent, to dry yourself, as a pre-filter for your water, oh yea and to blow your nose!!

for two or three days
if there is no portaging, I just use two old military duffle bags. one for food, one for clothes. You will also want a water filter, or pack water with you. Remember that after you filter your water it still needs to be treated or boiled. Bring a tent thats easy to set up, and set it up before you go out so you are familiar with it. 2-3 day trips are pretty easy to set up - you don’t need a whole lot of stuff. Don’t forget toilet paper

Wet wipes…
…Really handy for old Brown Eye! So fresh and so clean! Hand sanitizer in case you misjudge.

I 2nd that on the wet wipes…

– Last Updated: Jan-04-09 11:51 AM EST –

much more compact than TP and you end up cleaner. Cottonelles are the best. I've gone on week-long trips without using any TP

you might need to invest some decent $ in a backpacking-size tent and compact summer weight sleeping bags, or a hammock.

for treating drinking water get some Aquamira (works faster than iodine or chlorine and has no taste). If you use iodine, you can add some crushed vitamin C after treatment to neutralize the taste.

here's a simplified list from an outfitter for what to pack on a weekender, check out a few lists and use your judgement to cull the best info.
http://clorebros.com/twoday.htm

don't count on firewood for cooking, sometimes you can't find any at campsites or it's too wet, and it gets your pots all sooty anyway. take a gas stove and plenty of fuel. if you're not too concerned with space/weight a one-burner propane stove that uses the 1-lb cylinders works great and is inexpensive (WalMart). you can also get a small lantern that takes that same fuel cylinder.

Get a boonie hat to ward off the sun and if there's any chance of rain, get a decent rain suit like from Campmor. don't use a poncho, if you end up taking a swim with one of those on it might be your last.

get a book or check out some websites on backpacking, camping and Leave No Trace, you'll pick up a lot of tips.

an article with some info
http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?317

Love the hatch full of cliff bars :slight_smile:
Those c b packages are crazy water tight.

Water purification?
Do the pills kill everything? They used to. I just read though that there’s new bacteria that iodine doesn’t kill http://gorp.away.com/gorp/activity/hiking/skills/watertrt.htm. How about Aquamira for killing all bacteria?



Also, I thought filtering did filter out all harmful bacteria? If not and you still have to boil, then why filter? Just to take the silt out?



Been a long time for me. 30 years ago backpacking, we used to add iodine and a little orange flavored tang to neutralize the bitterness. Or boil.



Looking forward to updating my knowledge on this topic.

Wet wipe question
We always take/use the wet wipes. I recently started wondering about what they are made of and will they break down after use. Some of the places we camp have composting type pit toilets that you are not supposed to put anything “permanent” or harmful to the process in. Anyone know if these things will decompose?



Tom

nice list
only, I think he means “asterisk”, not “asterix”

MRE’s…




…compact, taste a lot better than the old C-rations…


Filter
A good filter will take out pretty much everything. No need to treat or boil. Look at the specs on the filter. Biggest problem with filters is that they can silt up and clog if you process a lot of dirty water.



Carry iodine and some type of citric acid (yeah Tang!) as a backup. Citric kills the iodine taste. Iodine used to kill just about everything including Giardia. The latest threat is cryptosporidium? (aka crypto) and iodine doesn’t do a good job on that. In the old days we used to use regular old clorine bleach and my guess is that is a little less effective than iodine becasue of the mixing factor. With any of the chemicals, make sure you leave enough wait time to kill the nasties. On river trips I will still use a touch of bleach in the dish rinse water for insurance (disposed of properly of course, no washing in the river).



Without a doubt, filtering is the best way to go. My filters have a cap that fits on a regular nalgene. Nice setup. Mine are made by PUR.



Another tip, this time of year we will filter water out of the snow buckets in the huts on ski trips. If the water is too warm, you get alot of charcoal residue in the water yielding true ‘gray water’. Can’t be good for the filter.

a filter is best
A good filter will produce the cleanest water, both by getting out the nasties, as well as filtering out silt and other particulate. The only thing most filters won’t get out is viruses, not usually a concern in North America; but if you’re paranoid, a supplemental chlorine bleach treatment can help with that.



But, filters are expensive and can clog up fairly easily (or you get tired of pumping) so you need a backup method anyway. (Another backpacker tip, use a paper coffee filter with a rubber band around the pickup tube of your filter, and it’ll go a lot longer before clogging or needing to be field cleaned.)



Aquamira drops are supposed to be effective against cryptosporidium; iodine only partially so.

they are biodegradable
Cottonelle wipes FAQ:

http://www.cottonelle.com/faq-wipes.aspx

another good recommended gear list
check out pgs. 36-37 from the Boy Scouts’ Canoeing merit badge book:



http://www.meritbadgeonline.com/2004/canoeing_2004.pdf