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Xero Aqua X Sport Shoes for Canoeing and Kayaking
Back in July Xero sent over a pair of Aqua X Sport water shoes for me to test out over the summer. I’ve been using their Z-Trail sandals, so I was excited to try out this pair of water shoes. I had considered the Aqua X in the past, especially for paddling in moving water where I may want a closed toe and for sea kayaking. During the summer, I used these on canoeing day trips. Features of the Xero Aqua X Sport The Aqua X Sport water shoe features an open mesh upper that breathes well and sheds water out of the shoe. The tongue is non-absorbent. When combined…
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Marmot Ether DriClime Hoody Review
I’ve been a big fan of Marmot’s DriClime Windshirt. It has been a staple of my outdoor clothing system for years. I think it is one of the best layers for shoulder-season canoe trips. It’s warm, breathable, and blocks the wind. You can use it as a base layer against your skin, as an insulation layer under a hardshell, or as an outer layer to block the wind. Over the last two or so decades, I’ve owned multiple and have worn them constantly and year-round. I usually wear them so much that they become threadbare. Earlier this year, I went to buy a new one and discovered that Marmot discontinued…
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A Special Siskiwit LV Built
Back 2020, Jan picked up a Siskiwit LV Sea Kayak Drawing and decided to build a modified sea kayak from the drawings. He recently wrote about what he did and how it turned out: “At the beginning of the pandemic I bought the plan from you. Although you did not recommend modifying the sizes, I tried it anyway. Today I am very happy that I did. I shortened the kayak to 82% by reducing the distance between the stations and decreased the plan to 90%. This resulted in a kayak with 4.3 m (14 feet 1 inch) and 49 cm (19.3 inches) wide at about 16 kg (35 pounds). Usually,…
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GSI Coffee Rocket Review
The GSI Coffee Rocket is a small, compact and collapsible, pour-over coffee maker for camping. It’s one of the many portable coffee makers that I’ve used over the years, and it’s currently my favorite. After about a month or so of use at home and in the field, I’ve come to appreciate the simplicity of this one-person camp coffee maker. I like it so much that it has replaced an Aeropress for making coffee at home. Plus, it’s cheap! It’s just $11 at REI last I checked. It’s also available on Amazon. The Coffee Rocket is a small, polypropylene and nylon coffee maker with a stainless-steel filter. It’s designed to…
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Spring Thaw and Moose Poop
Note: this is an old essay I found in a notebook that had been stored for years. That notebook was from back when I first started PaddlingLight (called Nessmuking at the time). It’s paddling adjacent. I write a lot of these personal essays, but I don’t have a place to post them. So, you’re getting it here. In northern Minnesota, many Forest Service and lake access roads are left snowed in for the winter. So, when spring hits it feels almost like a treasure hunt to try and get back into places with a car. Every year starting with the last week of March, I’ve driven up the Gunflint Trail…
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Custom NOAA Charts for Free
One of my personal dreams has been to have a free tool for creating custom NOAA Charts for sea kayaking. In the past, I spent weeks downloading charts, converting charts to an image file, editing them for printing and then printing a custom chart. Now you can bypass that by using NOAA’s Custom Chart tool. The tool itself is easy to use. I figured it out in a few minutes and had a custom chart of my home port printed shortly after that. If you want to watch a video, NOAA offers a tutorial video on how to make a custom chart. How To Make the Charts The basics of…
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The Triple Crown of Paddling
In other outdoor activities, such as backpacking and bikepacking, participants have a set of three inspiring trips known as a triple crown. For example, in backpacking there’s the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. For bikepackers, there’s the Arizona Trail, Great Divide Mountain Bike Route and the Colorado Trail. Although I suspect that Eastern Divide Trail will boot the Colorado Trail from the list. But there isn’t solid Triple Crown of Paddling, yet. It’s about time that changes. Triple Crown of Paddling Criteria Before establishing potential routes in a Triple Crown of Paddling there needs to be criteria. These are what I’d suggest: Possible Routes I…
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Nitecore NB10000 Power Bank
With more paddlers carrying electronic devices on their trips, there’s a need for a lightweight and small power bank that can charge a phone or other devices several times. If that’s you, then you may want to check out the Nitecore NB10000 Gen 2 Power Bank. It weighs only 5.4 ounces. Nitecore claims it is the world’s thinnest and lightest 10,000mAh power bank. In the past it only came in black, but it now comes in silver, too. I’ve been using the Nitecore NB10000 for several years and have found it a lightweight and reliable piece of gear. When in the field, I’ve used it to recharge a phone, camera…
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Stabilize a Tippy Solo Canoe
It’s spring in the northern hemisphere and paddlers are itching to get out on the water. Recently, I heard a comment that someone found their solo canoe a bit tippy this spring. While that’s likely normal, there are a few steps that you can take to make your tippy solo canoe feel more stable. First of all, if the boat felt good at the end of the season last year, it’s likely going to feel fine again. You just need a little seat time. Go out and paddle it. Lower and Upper Body Separation If that doesn’t work to solve your tippy solo canoe problems, the main tip is to…
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First Ascent Coffee Review
After hearing about First Ascent Instant Coffee blasting into space to quench the thirst of decaffeinated astronauts aboard the International Space Station, I was super excited to try their instant coffee. It isn't widely available, so I felt lucky when First Ascent Coffee sent me a sample pack to review.
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Sea to Summit 50L Big River Dry Backpack
The brand-new Sea to Summit 50L Big River Dry Backpack just arrived at my door. I was excited to see it because I’ve been looking for a lightweight 40-to-50-liter portage pack for canoeing. I’ve written about my dream portage pack before. The 50L Big River Dry Backpack fits the bill. Description The Big River Dry Backpack is a 50-liter pack that weighs 26 ounces. It’s made of a beefy 420D nylon that’s bonded to a TPU lining. This gives the exterior good abrasion, tear and puncture protection while providing a waterproof construction. The TPU lining is bright white which makes the interior of the pack nice and bright for packing…
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Kayak Paddle Size
Kayak paddle size can be personal, but it’s an important consideration if you are going to get the most out of your kayaking. Many stores end up sizing paddles too long, and you want to avoid that if you don’t want to have to buy two paddles — one the right size and the other too long. The below image in this article is an example of a store that got it wrong. The problem with paddles that are too long is that they are harder to get into the right positions for some strokes — particularly any strokes that require a vertical shaft such as draws. Longer paddles also…
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Nitecore’s EDC27 is Slim, Flat, and Perfect for Your Vest
Over and over, Nitecore has innovated in the flashlight and electronic category and has found its way into my paddling kit. With the introduction of the EDC27, a everyday carry (EDC) flashlight, I’m now using three different Nitecore devices for various trips. The first device is lightweight NU25 headlamp that I carry on all my canoe and kayak camping trips. The next is the NB10000 power bank. The final is the EDC27. What is the EDC27? The Nitecore EDC27 is a high-performance EDC (everyday carry) flashlight. This flashlight has an ultra-slim and flat design that’s easy to carry in your life vest, but is packed with features. It’s most eye-catching…
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Kayaks As Art
Last year, fiber artist Moira Bateman purchased the drawings for the 1888 West Greenland Kayak. Her plan wasn’t to turn the drawings into a usable kayak. Her plan was to turn it into art. The artwork that she created is on display in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA until April 8th, 2023. The silk and wax kayak is called Vessel No. 1. It was made with two long strips of birch for the gunwales to support the silk and waxed fabric. Bateman creates her works from waxed silk that you stains using sediments from various Minnesota waterways. On her website, she writes: I create assemblages from silk that has been stained with…
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Boundary Waters Canoe Area Protected!
We received good news today about the fight to protect the Boundary Waters from toxic sulfide mining pollution. They completed the two-year study about this type of mining and how it could affect the BWCA. They found that due to the potential harm that there was justification for a twenty-year moratorium on federal lands within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area’s watershed. Maybe 20 years will be long enough for the mining companies to develop technology that would prevent this type of pollution. They haven’t been able to do it, yet. It’s the most toxic industry in the country, and there’s never been a sulfide mine around the world that hasn’t…
