I have not tried packing them
because even when I pack with my smallest sleeping bag and the small sleeping pad and just 3 gal of water I do not have any room left. I do not even have room for a set of lightweight fleece that I would need in fall.
Mark
Thanks Jack
That was the kind of really useful info I was looking to get.
Mark
Good points Lee
I have a Mariner Elan with no bulkheads and really think it is easier to pack for camping than any of the kayaks with hatches that I owned. I can get about 4 days worth of food and water in it.
I may just end up using the Elan and pack the thermarest in a dry bag on the back deck to free up some room. I do not like having anything on the deck, but a thermarest on the back is probably the least offensive option I can think of to free up space. Still will not have room for everything on my wish list and 6 days, but maybe can squeeze out 5 with the extra comfort items.
Mark
I was thinking of 2 of the solo
size that are listed as 4 day size. Thought the shorter solos would be more likely to fit in the hatches.
I assume you are taking about the 12 in ones that are listed at 7 days.
Mark
With a list like that you need a canoe
…Kayakers are a tougher breed and don’t need all those luxuries. If you had a canoe you could take a flat screen TV too.
G_K
Glaciers
OK, that adds some clarification. You might not need to carry all that water on the Glacier trip but since that’s part of the same road trip and would use the same boat, your space needs are driven by wherever has no streams to get water for filtering.
BTW, boiled glacier ice is DELICIOUS! Takes a long time, though (think: fuel) because the stuff is incredibly dense, unlike regular ice. But you should really try it at least one time because it tastes so good.
Agree with Pika.
Paddled a lot up there in a small boat. Bear cannister in front of feet, water under hamstrings.
Ursack
Unless hard container is “required” these work great!
aha!
the Elan could easily carry 250lbs, it’s a matter of being able able to cram stuff into flattish nylon dry bags in the aft compartment and around the bear cannisters(if they fit forward). I had a mariner Express crammed with a similar load plus my 30lbs extra fat body. A friend who was a little heavier and taller than you loaded his Caribou with a similar load,it was lowwww to the water. Sounds like you’re going to have to carry those bear cannisters to the boats and see what fits.
I don’t think I would want to take …
my canoe into Glacier Bay.
I have been there and other surrounding waters, and when the wind blows up in the PM I want a skirt on and in my kayak, and yes— even my PFD on.
cheers,
JackL
Some questions for you Salty
Which small kayak do you paddle?
What is the most water and days of food you have carried in it?
Have you done a wet exit with the water under your legs? I tried that once and it seemed like a real entrapment hazard. But I never actually did the wet exit test so it might be something to try out again.
Mark
A slight correction if I may
A bear can still get the food odor through them, but they are constructed so they are just big enough that a bear cannot get it’s jaws around them and the edges of the top and bottom are rounded smooth so it cannot get a grip with it’s jaws there either.
We watched a brown bear, (from a distance) try for about fifteen minutes to get one open after sniffing it.
It ended up batting it all over the place and finally gave up and wandered off.
cheers,
JackL
Express can carry quite a bit more
than the Elan because of the difference in deck height. It is especially limiting right behind the seat where you have the width for larger items, but the lower deck height keeps lots of things from fitting.
Mark
might want to consider a Tempest 170
or 180—kind of like an explorer but maybe with slightly bigger hatches.
Many Things
I have a Q700 and always take too much gear, I’ve been six days with room to spare. Also 5’7 and I use a 92" GP with no problem. You can fit a two piece paddle thru either hatch that makes packing easier.
A good and cheap way to carry water is to use 2 liter coke bottles, then you can spread weight out. Ive got a Big Agnes air mattress comfortable and about 1/2 the size of a thermarest.
In Yellowstone the front country has bear boxes, backcountry has bars to hang food.
Good Luck it sounds like a great trip.
Randy
Hatches
In NDK’s defence, they are water tight hatches.
The hull may leak but the hatches I have found to be of the highest quality.
They are small.
some brands come with odor-proof
ziplock bags, though, to use inside
Tempest 180
Impex Assateague
Eddyline Nighthawk 17
Nigel Foster Shadow
Kajaksport Vivianne
CD Solstice/Exteme
etc.
Wow!!
You carry alot of crap…
Paddle easy,
Coffee
Idea for packing bear canisters
– Last Updated: Nov-26-08 9:01 AM EST –
If the smallest diameter you can get is 8.8", you could get it into the 10" Explorer hatch (or other smaller ones) but I am not sure how you'd get it out again with your hands. If just lifting it out is your only option, you'd probably have to open and empty it in the compartment then pull out top and bottom separate.
BUT - a clearance of an inch in plenty of room to pull it out if there is a strap around it so that it could be lined up straight with the hatch opening and pulled straight up. You could probably go to any fabric shop and buy some lengths of stretchy velcro that would make such a harness for it. Or put it into a properly sized dry bag that is nice and slick, but you'd still have to get it lined up decently with the hatch opening. That may be easier if you can see it directly.
This may go to the hull shape of the boat. If you need to get say 12" of height that is a diameter of 8.8" all the way to the bottom, rather than the canister tapering at the ends, you'll need a boat whose hull cross section is that width at least 12 inches below the hatch opening. Some of the boats you mention may have a very tapered cross section rather than the relatively square cross section of the Explorer. And you may have to sacrifice a low foredeck if the rear of the boat is too low to accommodate that shape. Some of the boats you are considering are Brit style, so they'll have a fairly low rear deck.
OR - as proposed by Salty, the bear canister goes in the cockpit.