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Fenix E12 Flashlight Review
The Fenix E12 V2.0 AA Flashlight for Everyday Carry is a flashlight designed to fit in your pocket and be forgotten until you need it. Because it weighs less than 1 ounce without the battery, it made me wonder if it would be a good replacement for a headlamp. So, let’s dig deep into a Fenix E12 Flashlight for Everyday Carry Review. As with my other Fenix reviews, I received this flashlight in exchange for an honest review (see Fenix PD36R Flashlight Review and Fenix HM65R Headlamp Review). While I love headlamps, there are downsides. One of the downsides has to do with people who use headlamps but aren’t familiar…
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Tracking Lions, Myth, and Wilderness in Samburu by Jon Turk Book Review
Long-time friend of PaddlingLight, Jon Turk has a new book coming out. Called Tracking Lions, Myth, and Wilderness in Samburu, the book explores humanity’s evolutionary need to tell stories and how that need fails us now. As with Turk’s other books, he wraps the scientific and philosophical ideas in the book within an adventure narrative. In this case, the adventure narrative is a journey to the mountains and plains of the Samburu. “We don’t need to listen to stories someone tells us or stories we tell ourselves. We don’t need to follow mass movements. There are too many pitfalls along that pathway. Presence in the NOW is sufficient. Presence in…
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DIY Lightweight First Aid Kit – How to make one
I typically find pre-made first aid kits lacking in some way. To get around that, I usually make my own lightweight first aid kit based on the sport, my training as a Wilderness First Responder and in Wilderness First Aid, and over 16 years of experience guiding trips. If you don’t have that training or experience, it might be a bit harder (and you should take a Wilderness First Aid course). But, you can still figure one out. As an example, I recently put a new one together to stash in my bike pack. I’ve have a day kit that I usually switch from pack to pack, but I have…
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What do you use for bears?
Before they closed the entire Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness due to fires, the US Forest Service issued a bear advisory. With the extreme drought and limited food, bears were coming into camps. There was concern that bears were searching for low-hanging fruit, so to speak. The USFS issued the advice that the preferred method of food storage was a bear-resistant container, but included advice on how to bear bag, and the preferred methods to use in Superior National Forest. That got me thinking about how much I hate bear bagging and bear-resistant containers. If the BWCAW reopens this fall, I’d like to try a container. Single Tree and Pulley…
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Best Waterproof Map Case for Paddling
Wet paper maps equal a bad day when paddling. That means if you use paper maps for canoeing or kayaking that you should use a map case. Map cases also protect waterproof maps from blowing away or sticking together when they dry together. Instead of an article that lists every single waterproof map case that you could use for paddling, like all the affiliate marketing sites do, we’re going to tell you the BEST waterproof map case for paddling. This is part of Best Series articles (as an example see: Best Pump for Kayaking) in which we tell you what the best currently available piece of gear is. Best Waterproof…
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How to Stay Clean While Camping
On day five, I crawled in the tent with my canoeing partner. We were halfway through our trip, and he smelled bad. I mean he smelled like a bucket of ripe clams left out in the sun on a beach in 100-degree weather for five days. I looked over at him and said, “Dude, you stink. Don’t you know how to stay clean while camping?” He shrugged his shoulders and said, “We’re in the woods, of course, I stink.” And from that moment forward, I’ve made it a point to try and stay clean while camping when on adventures, and you can too by following these easy steps. Take a…
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NOLS Cookery Ration Planning
Exploring NOLS system of menu planning for an canoeing expedition across the Boundary Water. This article shows a NOLS plan for a twelve day trip, and discuses how well it worked.
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Fenix HM65R Headlamp Review
Headlamps are the most convenient way to light your way through the dark. When paddling, they point where you look, and when in camp they help you see the area so you can complete your chore or just kick back with a good book. I recently received a Fenix HM65R Headlamp for review. In the past I reviewed another Fenix light and liked it. The Fenix PD36R was a solid flashlight. I was looking forward to trying another one of their lights out. So, how did the HM65R do? Fenix HM65R Headlamp Description The Fenix HM65R Headlamp is a rechargeable headlamp constructed from a lightweight magnesium. It features a USB-C…
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KÜHL Sun-Protective Shirts Review
Being outdoors and on the water exposes us to harmful UV from the sun. The leathery outdoors person is a typical cliché, but if you spend a lot of time outdoors, that’s the look you’ll get. According the the Skin Cancer Foundation, “An estimated 90 percent of skin aging is caused by the sun. People who use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher daily show 24 percent less skin aging than those who do not use sunscreen daily.” This doesn’t even touch on the health issues, such as skin cancer, caused by sun exposure. That’s where men’s sun-protective shirts and women’s sun-protective shirts come into play. They help…
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Sea Kayaking on the Decline and Canoeing Bounces
The Outdoor Foundation’s 2021 Outdoor Participation Report Trends Report is out, and it has some interesting findings, including a some good new for paddling. First off 2020 was the biggest year for outdoor participation, but… Research from Outdoor Industry Association indicated that about one-quarter of new participants say they don’t want to continue their new outdoor activities, a number that may grow sharply as consumers return to pre-pandemic habits Another interesting piece of data from the report shows that although there were record numbers of outdoor outings in 2020, individuals continue to participate in fewer outdoor outings. The average number of annual outings per participant continued a steady, long-term decline,…
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Sawyer Water Filter Bottle Review
After using this product on my 11-day, 160-mile trip, I feel like it’s time to do a quick Sawyer Water Filter Bottle Review. Usually, I like to get 30 days on a product before reviewing it, but in this case it’s based on technology from Sawyer that I’m comfortable in providing my full thoughts. I’ve used both the Sawyer Squeeze and Mini before. This water filter bottle uses the Mini. Sawyer Water Filter Bottle Description Here’s what Sawyer says about the product: At just 4.5 ounces in weight, this durable BPA FREE water bottle can deliver clean water as fast as you can drink it. Use the included filter with…
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Annual North House Folk School Wooden Boat Show Trip Report
After a year lapse due to the pandemic, the North House Folk School held its annual Wooden Boat Show again. My kid, who is six, wanted to go with me to see it, so we went early in the morning before the crowds showed up. Because he is six, he isn’t eligible for the vaccine, yet. While our county is over 70% vaccinated, in the summer most of the people here are tourists. We didn’t want to take a risk. I also didn’t take any time to talk to anyone about their boats. Instead, I’ll present a gallery of the wood boats that were there this year. The Pilgrim also…
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PaddlingLight Mid-Year Update
At the beginning of this year, I decided to watch PaddlingLight more closely to see how it was doing in comparison with the time that I’m putting into it. Over the last couple of years, I’ve watched PaddlingLight’s income decrease. I wanted to track if increasing the time spent on the website and doing some design changes would increase revenue. Unfortunately, it hasn’t. Here’s PaddlingLight’s YTD gross revenue: Gross Type of income $1790 Affiliate links and ads (Google Adsense, various stores, Advertising Sponsors and Amazon Links) $719.12 Canoe and Kayak Drawing Sales ($4.12 of taxes collected) $2,509.12 Total There’s still about $150 worth of affiliate income out there that hasn’t…
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Solo Paddling Gear for the Boundary Waters
To wrap up the series (except for electronics), here’s a list of the solo paddling gear for the Boundary Waters that I used on my recent trip. It’s pretty basic compared to all the rest of the gear lists. I plan on making a public spreadsheet and getting the electronics list up soon. Canoe for the Boundary Waters I use the Northstar Magic. IMHO, there isn’t a better solo canoe for the Boundary Waters. It’s fast, stable, and holds its directional stability in the wind regardless of where you point it. It’s a dry ride. The flare gets it over even steeper chop that you might encounter on the bigger…
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Food for a Canoe Trip to the Boundary Waters
For my recent Boundary Waters trip, I decided that I was going to bring food for the Boundary Waters that met specific criteria: easy to make, no cooking for breakfast or lunch, no prep time for any food between breakfast and dinner, could be eaten on the move, and boil-only dinners. I wanted each day of food to weigh about 1.5 pounds and have around 2,400 calories per day. Planning this way kept my cook kit for this Boundary Waters trip simple. To meet my criteria, I decided on freeze dried or dehydrated food that could be rehydrated in the bag for dinner. I made homemade granola for breakfast. During…
