• Articles,  Equipment,  Technique

    How to Use a Padded Food Pack

    Padded Food Packs are being used more often in canoe trips. They provide a couple advantages over traditional unpadded packs and olive barrels. They provide protection like an olive barrel, but conform easier to a canoe like a traditional Duluth Pack. They also take up less space than an olive barrel, which allows you to squeeze in that extra pack. There is no right way or wrong way to use a padded food pack, but there things you can do to take advantage of the padding, the extra insulation that the padding gives, and the shape to help you carry fresh food into the wilderness comfortably. Making it Waterproof There…

  • Articles,  Equipment,  Tutorial

    Icom M72 VHF Radio Cheatsheet

    The Icom M72 VHF radio or M73 is a great compact handheld with a good form factor. It transmits at slightly greater power than most handhelds, is extremely loud, offers IPX8 submersible protection, and uses a shorter antenna that’s as efficient as a standard sized antenna. It also includes every feature a kayaker or canoeist might want. For years, I’ve been using an Icom M72 VHF radio and love it, so I’ve created a handy cheat-sheet to carry around with me that shows button commands to get into the more complex features. The cheat-sheet also includes a handy cheat-sheet covering the basics of good radio talk and a step by…

  • Articles,  Equipment,  Personal Essays

    Things I Broke in 2007

    Gear breaks and wears out and most of the time it happens in the worst moments. In 2007, I only managed to break a few items. Here they are: Current Designs Phantom FX Composite, Fiberglass straight-shaft, compression molded fiberglass blade with a Lever-lock adjustable ferrel: It’s a mouth full to say and it broke right at the put-in. The Lever-lock adjustable ferrel broke putting the paddle together. Thank goodness for spare paddles, because we had to use a spare for the rest of the four day trip. The North Face Paramount Convertible Pant: I finally ripped out the butt seam in these 7 or 8 year old pants. I’ve worn…

  • Articles,  Equipment,  Technique

    Get Bent: Using a Bent Shaft Canoe Paddle

    A couple of years ago, I paddled down the Turkey River in Iowa with two friends for two days. They were in a tandem canoe, and I paddled my solo. The first day of the trip, we enjoyed small riffles, quick turns, and swift water, but they out paced me, so, while they took numerous breaks from paddling, I worked hard to make gains on them. Without these small gains, I would have been left far behind. We paddled all day, and well into the night, finally pulling out around midnight when we noticed lightening and heard thunder. During the night, a strong storm blew in. My friends battened down…

  • Articles,  Equipment,  The Lightweight Philosophy

    35 Day Challenge

    Why the 35 Day Challenge? Simple. The 35 Day Challenge is engineered to challenge your perceptions as what is possible when traveling by canoe. A small waterproof pack, like the Sealline 35 Day Pack can be used to carry everything you need for a backcountry trip. And you'll still be comfortable while doing it.

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