What do most people use for a main backpack? my whole crew uses internal frame packs, with everything packed waterproof inside them. Personally, i carry a Jansport Adirondack, i usually pull out the aluminum stays if i don't have any long portages. It is about 6400 cu in, and has exterior daisy chains on the face and top. it has done well every time i have used it.

my dad uses packs that he bought used from VNO. he swears by them, but i worry about not having the load support for long portages.

i was just kinda wondering what people used, it's my birthday soon and i'm gonna try to talk my old lady into gettin me some new equipment.

anyway, leaving wed night with 8 guys in a fourdoor pickup with a topper for the 14 hour drive to ely. should be interesting, it's amazing what we'll go through to keep down the trip cost. putting in on Lake One on the morning of the Fourth.

went fishing in nebraska yesterday and we caught 2 bluegill the size of dinner plates. they were master anglers by length, the dark spots on the gill shields were bigger than a quarter. The fish were hitting like crazy, there was a huge storm front movin in that generated tornadoes and 107 mph straight winds. i spent all day today cutting up trees that fell. anyway, i know this doesn't have anything to do with gear, i just wanted to brag about the bluegills.

kclamken

oh yeah, what is a good bar in ely? we have gone to the Portage the last 2 years, but the crowd seemed a little older than us. we are all around 25 to 27 years old. I have heard some talk about cranberries. is that a good bar? anyway, any help is greatly appreciated.

I have used Duluth #3 packs for many years and I just this year got a Cooke Custom Sewing pack. The duluth packs are a great traditional method and I will continue to use them, but for comfort and portage ease the CCS pack can not be beat. I have an explorer for taking with on my solo journeys. I love it so much I may need to get a Guide pack to replace a Duluth Pack.

I carry both a Granite Gear Superior One and a CCS cook/food pack. Both are excellent packs. Each have seen several hundred portages over the years, a good many of them longer than I care for. The Granite Gear pack will hold more stuff than anyone should want to carry. It has foam padding in the back, a hip belt and a sternum strap. This pack has served me well for fifteen years of three to five trips a year and still has many years left in it. The CCS pack has a top opening with a heavy duty zipper. It has 1/2" closed cell foam all around so it stands up wide open for packing and rummaging. It also has hip belt and sternum strap. This pack also carries very well. If I could justify buying yet another pack, I would not hesitate to get the Granite Gear Great Northern. The Great Northern is a hybrid frame / portage pack. It has a metal (formable) sheet in the back for fitting, excellent suspension / strap system, and a separate section to stash items in the top. I have carried many a Duluth pack across portages, and they work well. I personally like the addition of hip belt and sternum strap to help distribute the weight for a easier carry and a more stable load.

I am sorry for my ignorance but what is a Cooke Custom Sewing Pack and where do you find them?

Here is the web link to his site. He sells packs, tarps and canoe spray skirts. Good quality-highly recommended by myself and many others. Where do you live-he does sell at Midwest Mountaineering and Piragis also.

http://www.cookecustomsewing.com/

I use an internal frame by Dana Designs, the Terraplane to be exact. I love this pack as a backpacker. However, my girlfriend bought me a water resistant Duluth pack that I use in the BWCA. It is great and all you need for portaging. Unlike the traditional canvas Duluth's, this one is rubber coated with a folding closure that theoretically will help it float in a rollover. I haven't tested this, luckily, but I tend to pack items that I want to stay dry in it. My internal frame gets soggy after a day of paddling but we bring both because the internal frame does have a nice comfortable fit. The thing about Duluth packs that make them great for paddling is their ease in loading and unloading from a canoe and they sit low in the boat. You can try out different packs by renting them from an outfitter when you go out. Happy paddling, Saganagaguy

for many years now I have been using various models of the hybrid nylon canoe packs. These are what you see if you look at the Granite Gear lines. I believe that you don't have to pay $200.00 to find a pack that will meet your needs. Cooke Custom Sewing make these types of packs as do a number of other companies.

A couple of reasons I like this type of packs is : They can carry a lot of stuff and they fit easily into your canoes (no external frames to catch on stuff).

If find these packs to be more then adequate to carry loads need for the ditances needed on average portages (180 to 240 rods at a crack).

I have two Duluth style #4's one from Kondo's bought used at VNO and the other ordered on-line from Superior Packs. I this year as a food pack I put a 10 gallon blue barrel in an Army Duffle bag with Should straps... Put the cooking gear on top of the food... plenty of room and everything was great. The #4's to carry each groups tent, sleeping pads, sleeping bags, clothes and accessories... Had one other waterproof large dry bag, (Rubber coated) for all other items... Each person in our group also carries a smaller individual backpack for specific items... example mine had the cook stoves, fuel, saw, axe, bungees.. etc. My fiance's had the rain suits, camera's, video camera, etc... Worker out well, even on portages...
Bruce

Bruce,
On a typical trip, let's say 4 people, how many trips across each portage for each person?

Most of the time we double portage, or we let the women single portage and the guys double portage. I have found that unless you are going extremely light weight, it is just easier to do it that way. Generally, I would put on a small backpack, and a fanny pack and carry the canoe with the rods strapped in, while my fiance would carry the gear pack and the paddles. Then I would go back and get the food pack and what ever was left from our canoe... no problems... and the other couple that went with us did the same. Last June we went from Snowbank to Thomas in one day, 10 or 11 portages longest was 140 rods, and 14.5 miles of paddling in one day according to GPS... A good days work with strong winds blowing. On some of the portages we were able to pull through the streams...

Bruce

What about compression bags? Are they necessary?

We're heading up to BWCA next week and I'm doing some final shopping this weekend. I've got a pretty big drybag that someone gave me (folds over on the top and then straps on the sides), but I was wondering if a compression bag is necessary. We're packing light (washing clothes as needed) for a week-long trip, so there won't be too much clothing. Just bought a sleeping bag that came with a stuff sack (measuring about 9" by 18") so that's not too big either.

Everything else that would be in the drybag wouldn't compact much (personal hygeine products, fishing tackle, etc.)

Just wondering if many people use compression sacks. I haven't seen anyone write about them on the board. Thanks
-fishnfly

I use compression sacks for my clothes all the time. Saves me room (less packs to carry) and wrinkled clothes don't bother me! :-)

We are supposed to get some rain in a short time here, so don't count totally on being able to dry those cleaned, washed clothes too well!

As far as clothes go i tried compression sacks but didn't like it.
I travel with one set of clothes on and one complete set packed in
an eagle creek "folder" it makes a great base for my Sealline Propack
as the folder is the same size as the bottom of my pack.

I do however use a compression sack for my sleeping bag. With a 2 lb.
down bag it will pull to the size of a volleyball. I just saw recently you can now get compression sacks in ultralight.

Yes, I saw one of those ultralight compression bags yesterday. It was on display in what looked like a large tobacco canister. Pulled it out, and it looked like paper mashae. Pretty cool. I did opt, however, for a medium size compression sack yesterday. Looks like it will fit great into my drybag. Being my first time in the BWCA, I don't have much ultra-light and ultra-condensed gear. (I'll get more each year). This year, I'll probably need all the help I can get to my stuff down to manageable size. Thanks for the input guys.
-Bill

What didn't you like about a compression sack for your clothes?

I use a Internal Frame pack since I backpacked before
I found the beauty of floating. I use compression sacks for
clothing, sleeping bags, and my tent. I need to use them because my pack doesn't fit that well in the canoe when it gets too tall, also fairly water-proof, durable, colors for organization, and makes atleast for me faster packing. My internal frame is nice to carry
but it seems like I am beating on it having it sit in bilge water.
I have heard variety is sometimes the best bet, a canoe pack, a
internal framed, and a barrel.
MTM

Well, what makes this sport so cool is that everybody does things different and none of us are doing right or wrong. At least as far as this subject goes.
Okay I admit, I am a gear junky. There now i've said it. I'm one of those guys who likes it like i like it. I will go out and spend 200.00 on a down sleeping bag to save (2)lbs and then turn right around and pack a pair of heavy Carhartt Tool pants as my extras.
Why?? Because i like wearing my Carharts in the northwoods.
My clothes packed in a 7 x 17 compression turns out like a ball.
The same clothes in an eagle creek folder turns out nice and flat about 12 x 18 which is almost exactly the dimensions of my SealLine Pro Pack.
By starting with one item that fills out the bottom of the pack and is flat gets me started on using the pack the way it was intended- short and stout not long and tall.
ps. please note, we have been on trips where we broke the ice off the pfds as the outfitter handed them to us at 6:30 am preparing for a motor tow to our entry point. Being from the south where it is usually in the 90's when we leave home, we sometime have a tendency to overpack on clothes.

"not all who wander are lost..."