What works

Some things that we've found are Tried and true

Paddles, Matresses, Packs, Stove, Chairs, Sleeping Bags, Tents, And More.

These are the things that we've come to rely on for our comfort and safety With
over 35 years of experience we learned some of these things the hard way.

Bent shaft paddles

Like everyone else from our era, we started out with straight shaft paddles. From 1972 through 2001 we pried ourselves through the water with a variety of paddles. My favourite paddles were Clement's that I bought in about 1974. We had various lengths and widths for use in lake travel (narrow) and moving water (wide).

We began seeing "those funny paddles" at outdoor shows and in paddling periodicals and at first we were reluctant to try them ... we were so used to our old friends. As we began to get serious about longer trips the lure of the write-ups touting the bent shafts was too much to resist and so we got our first pair of Grey Owl bent shafts from Mountain Equipment Co-op. and we haven't looked back.

The only way you'd get them from me now would be to pry them from my death grip. They have become our constant companions and we use them for both lake and river paddling. On our long trips we only carried straight shaft paddled as spares since they are easier to pack ... and in over 200 days we've never used our backups ... we're still using the same set of Grey Owl's

You won't believe the difference in the the distance you can paddle with the same effort you used to put forward ... or the way your shoulders and back will thank you after a long day.

Matresses

When it comes to sleeping comfort, durability, and an iron clad warranty you can't beat the ThermaRest brand.

When we started canoeing the only things available were closed cell foam pads (ensolite) or open cell foam that was like a sponge around water. The closed cell pads we used were a half inch thick, rolled into a huge cylinder and were not at all comfortable. Their only redeeming quality was that they provided some insulation.

We got our ThermaRests in the late 80's and have been hooked. Again, we're still using the originals ... and this is where the iron clad warrantee comes in. After we'd used our originals for over 150 days where they got inflated and deflated every day ... and I used them in the fall for moose hunting ... one of them began to delamiate ... the cover began to separate from the foam core. I called MSR and volunteered to send the matress back so that they could take a look at it and I'd buy another ... but guess what? ... "Oh no", they said, "We're sorry that our product has failed". "Return it and we'll send you a replacement". I tried explaining that the matress had been used for over 150 days in some very trying enviornments but they'd hear nothing of it.
Is it any wonder that we'd gladly tout their product.

Lately we've been experimenting with matresses that are more compact in order to cut down on weight and volume.
Of these we prefer the Klymit Static V.

Packs

Here's a picture of our traveling gear from about 1999. As you can see, we were using straight shaft paddles at the time. However, the pack, barrels and barrel harnesses are still with us.

The pack is an Ostrum Wabikimi and the harnesses are Ostrum Voyageurs.

Team the Wabikimi with a waterproof liner and you'll never worry about your gear getting wet. We bought these in the mid 90's and they've been our constant companions since then. They've got over 500 days of use and when you consider the amount of abuse they take in just the unloading and loading of the canoe it's remarkable that they even survive.

These don't just get used for canoeing ... they've participated in a couple of fish stocking ventures ... they accompany us on our spring and summer fishing trips ... and I use them for my moose hunting trips. They still look almost as good as the day we bought them and we highly recommend them.

Stoves

When it comes to the ability to boil water rapidly or to slow simmer your spaghetti sauce you can't beat an MSR Dragonfly.

With a couple of spare fuel bottles you should be able to get through any stretch of inclement weather ... On our 65 day trip we had a stretch of eleven days where it rained every day so that we relied on our dragonfly exclusively ... that 17 day segment still left us with some spare fuel. For a real treat invest in an Outback Oven and you'll be able to expand your meal planning to new horizons.

We've got over 200 days of use on our Dragonfly and it's still going strong.

My only complaint would be the noise they make ... at full throttle it sounds like you are in a room with a blowtorch ... and we like our silence. However, that hasn't prevented us from encountering moose and caribou while we were using the stove.

Chairs

After having spent a couple of weeks on a trip without a chair to sit in during our breaks or at the end of the day we decided to try a couple ... and what a difference they made ... no more sore back from sitting on our lifejackets.

However, our first set were some cheap brand and the stays soon broke.

We replaced those dime store ones with the Original Crazy Creek Chairs and later with the inflatable model, we haven't looked back.

Again, these things go everywhere with us ... and they've held up like iron. I use mine when I go moose hunting, stock car races or to the grandkids soccer games.

Water Purification

Anybody remember using halazone tablets?
That's how long we've been doing this
It was either chemical, boiling or drinking from the lake or river.
After a bout of giardia following a trip down the Coulonge River we'd had enough.
Our first foray into serious purification was in the form of a Katadyn pump filter. It accompanied us on both our 60 and 65 day trips and did a good job although it gave us a good arm workout and required constant cleaning.

Then at Canoecopia in 2006 we saw Cliff Jacobson demonstrate a device that purified water using ultra violet light technology ... it was called a Steripen and it promised to kill over 99.9 percent of all bacteria and virsuses.
A liter of water could be purified in 45 seconds ... we were sold.
We've been using a Steripen since then.

With improving battery technology we now get about 15 liters of water before we need to change batteries and keeping a set of fresh batteries is not a problem since we're regularly charging batteries for our other devices.

Tents

I admit it ... I'm cheap at heart ... and some of those "thrifty" decisions have come back to haunt me.

I went through a couple of not so reliable tents before learning my lesson. So when it came time to outfit for our big excursions we approached the matter of tents a little differently.

After a considerable amount of research ... and hours spent in showrooms erecting and striking tents we chose a Moss Astraldome. A lot had to do with it's ease of setup and it's bombproof design. The poles get erected and the tent clips to the poles. This is a lot easier than trying to slide the poles through sleeves ... especially if the tent is wet.

After four years of use the fly material began to leak so we acquired a Marmot and when it developed the same problem we got an Alps Mouintianeering Tasmanian. None of these have proven to be superior to that original Astraldome.

Our swing season tent is a trusty 10 x 12 canvas prospector model which we purchased from Reliable Tent. It serves us very well for our spring and fall excursions to the north shore of Lake Superior.

Outfitted with a wood stove from the Four Dog Stove Company and some home made tables it's a snug place to get warm and to dry off. Our stove is the Two Dog model and when we fire it up we soon find ourselves opening the door and window to cool the place off.

Get the fly to go with your tent ... and be sure that it's a flame retardent material ... even if you use a spark arrestor some hot ashes will land on your tent.

My only complaint about this arrangement is the weight of the internal frame and the time it takes us to get completely setup. From arrival at our site to move in time takes about two hours ... and that includes the assembly of the tables and the woodstove.