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Northstar Phoenix Mini-Review
I’ll admit it right up front: I’m a Ted Bell and David Yost fan. I used to own a Bell Magic and Bell Wildfire. Those canoes really paddled like Magic and were the best combo to own. The Magic was perfect for fast and light tripping in the BWCA and the Wildfire was a fun boat to take down rivers or just mess about in on flat water. I was bummed when I heard that Bell Canoe went out of business. And then Ted Bell got back in business under the name of Northstar Canoe. And then I ran into a perfect deal. The deal was a trade from my old…
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Under Armour UA Storm Tactical Patrol Pants Review: Best Canoe Pants?
Late this summer, I was in a store looking for a first aid kit (I left mine at home) and I stumbled across Under Armour’s UA Storm Tactical Patrol Pants. I wasn’t aware that Under Armour made pants or anything other than underwear, so I was surprised to find the pants. Over the years, Under Armour has formed strong relationships with the hook and bullet stores, and these pants are geared towards the hook and bullet crowd, such as hunters, sport shooters or people who fancy themselves some kind of tactical-militia person. They have all the features a pistol-carrying enthusiast would desire, such as an offset belt loop to allow for proper…
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Tubism Review: Lightweight containers for liquids
I’m always on the lookout for lightweight products that can carry liquids easily without leaking. The gold standard is Nalgene bottles, because they don’t leak. But, they weigh more than I’d like at 0.5 ounces, and they don’t work with food or products you need to squeeze. I was excited when I saw the Tubism resealing zip tubes. At 0.4 ounces for 1.7 fluid ounces, they looked like a good deal. They could carry small amounts of liquids on trips while keeping down the weight. The Tubism tubes are unique because they’re flat instead of round. One end has a zip closure and the other end a squeeze lid. They are…
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Red Paddle Company 11′ Sport SUP Review
For that last few months I’ve had the opportunity to test a Red Paddle Company 11′ Sport SUP and review it. I got it on loan and had planned on taking it to Florida in March and April, but as you’ll read below that didn’t happen. I managed to test it in the lakes of northern Minnesota after the lakes thaw. NOTE: For those of you who follow the site, you might be surprised that PaddlingLight started covering SUPs as this has been primarily a canoe and kayak website mixed with philosophy about and advocacy for wilderness and wild places. Ultralight trips are being accomplished on SUPs, and SUPs are…
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Watson’s Merino Wool Long Underwear Review
Starting in late winter and early spring, I’ve been testing Watson’s Merino 150 Wool Long Underwear. Watson’s, a company I wasn’t familiar with, is part of Chateau Lingerie, a company based out of Quebec, Canada. While I used the long underwear mainly for walking around and on photography outings instead of paddling trips, I feel like I’ve used it enough to provide an honest review. For canoeing, it will function basically the same as it does for wearing around. For kayaking for me, it’s all about whether or not it’s comfortable under a drysuit (see below). The two pieces I was provided with for review were the Merino 150 Long Sleeve Top and the…
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Vargo Titanium Ascent Tent Stake Review
Most campers put little thought into the stakes that they use. With newer tents, you almost don’t need to because they often come with v-shaped stakes. It wasn’t always that way. Just a mere 10 years ago, most tents were shipped with flimsy aluminum pegs that bent the second that they even saw the ground. Not so today — at least with the tents that I’ve bought recently. So, any aftermarket stake that you buy has to be something special. For me that means a lighter and stronger stake beats out the stakes included with a tent any day. With that in mind, I had a chance to test out…
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Enerplex Solar Power Review
Over the summer, Enerplex sent me a few products to test out and review. I received Enerplex Kickr IV and a Enerplex Jumpr Slate 10K for review. I spent the summer using them to charge my smartphone and tablet and other USB powered devices, such as a camera. And I’ve found that I love the products. I find writing reviews for products that I love more difficult than for products that I’m so-so on, so I’ve been procrastinating on this review, because I love this bit of kit. Enerplex Kickr IV Reivew The EnerPlex Kickr IV solar panel is a foldable and flexible 6.5 watt charger. EnerPlex claims that it’s powerful…
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Aquabound Manta Ray Carbon Paddle Review
For a little over a month, I’ve been using Aquabound’s Manta Ray Carbon paddle as my primary paddle for personal trips and for guiding. Aquabound sent me the paddle so I could do a Manta Ray Carbon paddle review. I’ve used the paddle with a number of different boats, including a NDK Explorer, Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Pro and a Dagger Alchemy. The conditions that I tested it in ranged from calm to 4-foot choppy wind waves. I also used it for surfing in waves up to 3 feet and for playing in rock gardens in waves to 3 feet. I tested the 210 cm version. Aquabound describes the Manta…
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Review: The Battle of NRS Cockpit Covers
A kayak cockpit cover keeps the gunk out of your cockpit when travel down the road and helps save gas money — I lose about 1 mpg when traveling without cockpit covers. It can also keep gear inside of your boat. For example, I strap by paddle float and pump into the cockpit, but a cockpit cover can ensure that they stay in the cockpit and that the wind doesn’t rip them out. When you’re storing your kayak (especially if you store it outside), a cockpit cover will keep debris and mice from getting into the boat — if you leave something for mice to eat in your under deck…
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Kelty TrailLogic TN2 Tent Review
I really wanted a Sierra Designs Lightning tent and had ordered one last fall only to find out that they were out of stock, so I decided to wait until spring to buy the new version when it came out. When I saw the new SD lineup, I was pretty shocked. The Lightning was gone and something that looks like it fell off the deepend replaced it. I know that Kelty is a downline of SD, so I decided to see if the old tent somehow filtered downline into Kelty. It sort of did in the form of the Kelty TrailLogic TN2 tent. I ordered one and this is my…
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Initial Big Agnes Wind Lip Review: a Sleeping Bag with Pinneco Core® Insulation
This spring (if spring ever comes to the polar vortex), I’ll be testing out Big Agnes’ Wind Lip sleeping bag on kayaking and canoe trips, but I had a chance to test it out over the last week while in the Badlands National Park. I was out there photographing the park and scouting locations for a potential photography workshop that I’d run in December (if you’re interested, email me). I used to be a geek about sleeping bags and sleeping bag insulation when I worked as a buyer/line leader for a major sporting good retailer, but since then I’m fallen out of the loop. The Big Agnes Wind Lip sleeping bag…
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Orange Mud Transition Towel and Seat Wrap Review
One of the awkward parts of paddling happens after you finish kayaking and need to change out of a wetsuit or wet swim trunks. If you’re like me, you usually forget bringing a towel, but if you have one, the worst is when you have it wrapped around your waist, your wetsuit is around your ankles and then the towel lets go. It’s a quick naked shuffle to the car door and you hear lots of jeering from your friends. This is where Orange Mud’s Transition Towel and Seat Wrap comes into play. Orange Mud’s Transition Towel and Seat Wrap is a towel with a built-in belt clip and a…
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Sawyer Mini Water Filter Review
When a 1.6 ounce, $24 Sawyer Mini water filter showed up at my door, I felt hopeful that it would be all that it claimed to be, but skeptical as well, because of an experience I had testing another lightweight water filter over the summer (one which the company withdrew from review after I told them it was like sucking concrete through a straw). I also knew that by getting a chance to test the Sawyer Mini Water Filter in the fall, I’d be one of the first people to review it and because it stands to be a revolutionary water filter in the way the bigger Sawyer Squeeze Filter…
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Sawyer MINI Filter Preview
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to review Sawyer’s Squeeze Filter (see: Sawyer Squeeze Filter Review). The summary of that review was that I loved it. It completely revolutionized the way I filter water, because I no longer have to pump. Since then, Sawyer has been working on a new water filter called the Sawyer Mini Filter, and I’m going to review it during the next month. Here’s a note I got in my email the other day: A 0.1 micron absolute filter, that weighs 2 ounces, is rated up to 100,000 gallons and costs $20???? You might think we’re crazy but we’re not (well maybe just a little…
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Review: Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown Volume 3
I’ve been a big fan of the Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown videos. I thought that the first volume was innovative in its approach in that it intermingled the instructional aspects of the video with a journey narrative. The approach kept the instructional components fresh and although you could watch each section separately, it was fun to watch them together. Volume 2 took the same approach and applied it to rescues and towing. I thought Volume 2 was a big improvement over an already great volume 1. In Volume 3, Simon Willis and Gordon Brown take the series a different direction; the journey narrative is gone and the instructional components no…
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