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The Dagger Meridian: One of Americaโs Best Sea Kayaks
In 1996, Dagger introduced their first composite sea kayak using techniques they had developed to build whitewater slalom kayaks. It was one of the first British-style kayaks made commercially in the US for the US market and that placed it squarely in competition with the NDK Romany, which would have been one of the most popular British-made boats sold in North America at the time. It had a big target, and I think it succeeded. The Dagger Meridian is still one of the best designed British-style kayaks of all time, and this is its story as I know it. The research for this article was done for an article thatโฆ
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Crescent Lake Canoe Route in Northern Minnesota
One of my favorite day trips outside of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota is the Crescent Lake Canoe Route. The Crescent Lake Canoe Route is referenced on the US Forest Serviceโs website, but there are no maps currently offered. Iโm adding maps in this post. I remember when you could pick up a paper map of the route at the Gunflint office in Grand Marais, but that isnโt available anymore. USFS Map of the Route About 10 years ago, I tried to get a copy of the old map and route guide from the USFS, but they couldnโt find it. Instead they sent me an oldโฆ
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What Paddling Gear Am I Using In 2025?
With the paddling season just around the corner, Iโm starting to look at what paddling gear Iโll be using for canoe trips this year. I have a couple of goals: As always, I like to travel with as light and as little of gear as I feel makes sense. I do carry camera gear, which wonโt be included in my totals. While everything is dialed in, I may be testing a few new pieces of gear to review here. So far, Iโve accepted one piece that was offered (and testing is done), and Iโve requested an item that is brand new this year and looks great. They donโt have aโฆ
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Hands Off the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
On Saturday, Chris Knopf, Executive Director of the Friends of the Boundary Waters, spoke at the Hands Off Rally in St. Paul, Minnesota to deliver an urgent message about the current attack on the Boundary Waters. Iโve written about this before and you can read my brief article about the Threats to the Boundary Waters. The Boundary Waters is one of the most pristine wilderness areas in the world. The water is so clean that many people will dip a cup into the center of a lake and drink directly from it. Itโs a million acres of protected wilderness with over 1,100 lakes, 1200 miles of canoe trails, and overโฆ
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He Was an Expert Kayaker: How Reporters Get Paddling Fatalities Wrong
As we move out of winter and into the early paddling season, weโre bound to see reports of deaths of paddlers due to cold water and not wearing life vests. This happens every year. Journalists will often write, โHe was an strong, experienced paddler by all accounts,โ but if they researched their actual experience they would often find that they werenโt. Instead they would find that they were considered to be experienced by their friends and family, but by any objective measurement they wouldnโt be consider that. This is a common mistake that journalists make when reporting on paddle sports tragedies. It wouldnโt be a problem, except that it buildsโฆ
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FLEXTAIL Tiny Helio 600Z Headlamp Review
For the last few months, Iโve been reviewing the FLEXTAIL Tiny Helio 600Z Headlamp, which is a new headlamp from the company that brought you the FLEXTAIL Zero Pump. I liked the Zero Pump, so when Flextail offered me a review sample of the Tiny Helio, I jumped on it. What is it? The FLEXTAIL Tiny Helio Headlamp is a lightweight 2.1-ounce with the battery headlamp. It ships with FLEXTAILโs 650CHT battery, which offers three hours of runtime at the highest brightness. Users can upgrade the battery to FLEXTAILโs 900cht battery, which offers four hours of runtime. As of publication, the upgraded battery was $12.99 when bought directly from FLEXTAIL.โฆ
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A New Siskiwit Bay SOF Hits the Water
A new Siskiwit Bay skin-on-frame kayak has hit the water. This one was built by Daryl W.. He built this sea kayak starting in December and had it on the water for saran wrap tests by the start of February. He used undyed white nylon to finish the kayak. For the challenging bottom chines, he used the wet towel, and hot iron method and he reported that it worked well. He wrote me: I used a white pigment from Coreyโs, in their urethane on the ballistic nylon. Time will tell what the UV does to the white but New Zealand is the place to test it with our extreme UV.โฆ
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Protect Our Public Lands Workforce
I am, along with many outdoor equipment brands, such as Nemo, and the Outdoor Alliance, concerned by the reduction of workforces at the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. On the Superior National Forest, which is where the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is located and where I live, was already short of staff before the workforce reductions. Now itโs even more short on staff. These reductions put outdoor recreation, our safety, and public lands at risk. You can learn more and take action by joining me and the Outdoor Alliance in asking lawmakers to reinvest in our workforce to manage our public lands.โฆ
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Port Huron to Home Expedition
A version of this story was originally published in Ocean Paddler Magazine. I took the trip in 2011. The shore, obscured by fog, looked gray, and the hard edges of the three-story mansions separated by tall fences soften in the mist. At each house, a metal breakwall extended 30 or 40 feet out into Lake Huron, the second largest Great Lake. Pulleys and cranes large enough to lift a 20-foot powerboat topped the walls. I stopped paddling and pulled my hood over my head. My fingers โ the skin shriveled, white and stiff โ fumbled to pull the tighteners. I pushed the cord into my mouth, bit and pulled. Myโฆ
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Threats to the Boundary Waters
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and itโs a place that changes lives. People who visit often return home with a greater understanding of the value of the outdoors and the need to protect it. Itโs also Americaโs most visited wilderness with over 1 million acres protected. As far as canoeing, it contains over 1,000 lakes and over 2,000 campsites. The lakes are connected by portage trails. Itโs not exaggerating saying that for canoeing, the Boundary Waters is the most important area in the world. It is in trouble. With the new administration taking power in theโฆ
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Turn Your Sunglasses Into Readers
Back when I was younger, I donโt think that I would have expected to ever write this post. But I now need readers to read maps when canoeing and kayaking. In that past in order to read the maps, Iโd take off my sunglasses and put on a pair of readers. Or if I was lucky, I could squint in just the right way and maybe get lucky. I didnโt want to spend the money on sunglasses with readers built into them, so I just made do. Earlier this year, I decided to drop $20 on a pair of StickTite Lenses and Iโm glad I did because it turned myโฆ
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Sawyer Squeeze End Caps
One of my frustrations with the Sawyer Squeeze is that they arenโt shipped with caps that close both ends, such as the ones on the Platypus QuickDraw. Light Up Outdoors has solved the problem with its Sawyer Squeeze End Caps. This is one of those inexpensive products that make you wonder why it hasnโt existed before. The Cross Contamination Problem In the past, to avoid cross contamination when transporting a Squeeze, there would need to be cap on the output. That wasnโt a big deal when using it only for squeezing. It now ships with a cap. The cap it comes with doesnโt solve the problem if the Squeeze isโฆ
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Average Canoe Paddling Speed
If youโre planning a canoe trip, you might want to know what an average canoe paddling speed is. Knowing this will help you potentially plan daily paddling distances or calculate the total number of days needed for a distance. There may be other factors that slow you down such as wind, current, and portages. Here are a few general rules of thumb for estimating paddling speed. Average Canoe Paddling Speed Rule of Thumb If youโre looking for an easy rule of thumb, then Iโd suggest that on a loaded trip when making distance from point to point that youโll likely be paddling a tandem tripping canoe at about 3mph (5kmโฆ
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The North American Odyssey Book Release
Back in 2010 shortly after Amy and Dave Freeman got married, they left on a three-year honeymoon odyssey across North America. They called it the North American Odyssey. They recently completed writing a book about the trip. Itโs title shares the expeditions name, North American Odyssey: 12,000 Miles Across the Continent by Kayak, Canoe, and Dogsled. The book, their second, documents the trip across the continent by sea kayak, backpack, dogsled, and canoe. The trip started in Washington on Earth Day and took them by sea kayak up the Inside Passage to Alaska. From there they backpacked and canoed north to the Arctic Ocean. They then switched to a dogsledโฆ
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Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp For Sale
SOLD. This Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp โ SilPoly is a nice shelter for backpacking if you use trekking poles. I donโt backpack muchโI thought I was going to start again when I bought thisโand the shelter isnโt working for me on biking trips or paddling trips. I used it on one trip of 10 days. I used it with a short pole set from Yama Mountain Gear. I wish I would have gotten the longer poles, because at that height when using trekking poles it works really well. Ideally if you want one, youโll use trekking poles or get the longer pole set. Iโm selling mine with aโฆ
