CCS-Pathfinder Thwart Bag

This past April on a solo, my 10 year old Granite Gear map case started to separate from the fabric to the clear plastic. Time to replace it. My birthday came and one item from my fambould family was the CCS Pathfinder.

Let me say I am not a big fan of additional accessories in the canoe while tripping. I had purchased seat bags that went unused because they screwed up the balance of the boat. I lash a spare paddle, lines in front and sometimes rear and the map case.

The pros-the bag and case can be used separate. You can tighten the straps so it doesn't move on the thwart. The bag is spacious and the map case closure is strong. One of the best design points of this item is that the map case can lay on top of the bag so that it is easily readable from a semi flat viewpoint while paddling rather than hanging vertically as a stand alone case would. Very slick. The size of the case also keeps the maps out of any water that may be in the bottom of the canoe. Of course, it is very well made!

Cons-The space of the bag allows for over packing and the size of the map.
Neither of these are real cons, but considerations. I loaded a few too many items in the bag and it threw off the balance of the canoe when portaging. The map case is a little smaller than I was used too, needs to be to keep it off the bottom of the canoe. But not, IMO, too small to have an effective area of the map viewable.

Overall-I give this a 5 of 5. Well made and well designed for something you can easily say it's just a thwart bag and map case. I would recommend this to EVERYONE! A recent thread talked about map cases and zip lock bags. While cruising across Burntside last week with heavy tail and cross winds, I thought to myself, good luck with a zip lock slipping from your hands and having the ability to view it while navigating around islands. With the CCS Pathfinder, I could glance at the map at will and always stay connected with our location.

John

I've mentioned it in 2-3 previous threads, this is one of my favorite, most functional pieces of gear.

I just purchased the regular thwart bag and map pocket from CCS. It is constructed as solid as my other CCS items. I had a minor glitch with it and Dan provided top notch service and an unbeatable experience. I also purchased a 10' x 14' 1.1 oz. tarp and a ridgeline bag. It's hard to find such high quality products, at such a reasonable price, with unbeatable service. I can't wait to make another CCS purchase!