Canoe Tripping Gear Guide
When Chase & I got the wild idea to get into canoe tripping, we certainly didn’t realize the gear that would be needed to make it happen. Aside from the obvious, canoe, paddles, and PFDs, there was a myriad of items we would learn would make life on the river a whole lot easier. We’ll outline some of our most helpful items as well as some favorites below.
Old Town Penobscot 174
Let’s start with the basics. Our boat - our home. No, it is not the lightest canoe, but we have put this thing through the ringer and come out relatively unscathed. It is incredibly comfortable to paddle. It can hold a massive amount of gear & is quite a looker. At 17’ 4”, it’s a perfect tandem canoe for long form tripping. It tracks well, and even in low water (something we run into quite a bit), it glides easily for an efficient ride. We’ve taken it down a multitude of rapids and find it to be incredibly stable and capable of taking some serious hits. It may not turn on a dime, but we’ve pulled some pretty tight maneuvers.
Eureka Canoe Pack 115
We can’t say enough about this dry bag. It has a padded waist belt & straps that make all the difference when portaging. The handles located on the top and bottom of the front of the bag are perfectly placed for easy pick up and loading into the canoe. We are able to store our tent, drone, sleeping bags, camp chairs, among other things. We’ve never had an issue with leaking or things getting wet inside. A solid design that is beyond rugged. The best dry bag we’ve found so far.
Harmony Dry Storage Barrel
The Harmony Dry Storage Barrel, or as we call it, the food barrel, was a critical piece for us. It keeps everything dry, loads easily into the canoe, and can also be used as a surface or chair around camp. Pair it with the Northwater Quick Haul Harness & a set of Tri Bags and you’re in business. Seriously, these items were a total game changer.
Sawyer Mini & One Gallon Gravity Filtration System
This thing is a lifesaver. Being able to access clean water quickly & easily is a must, and the Sawyer Gravity Filtration System never let us down. We love that you can hang it from a tree, or any other object, really, & leave it while it filters. We found it best to gather the water first thing when setting up camp. Once you’ve unloaded the canoe and set up your tent, the water is filtered and waiting for you to make dinner.
Backpackers Pantry
Do you need us to tell you how important a tasty, warm, easy to make meal is while out in the wilderness? Doubtful. But we’ve got some high praise for the folks over at Backpackers Pantry. We’ve tried a multitude of dehydrated fare, but these ones had us wanting to eat them on the regular, while at home with access to a stove & sink, so we think that says a lot. They’re also committed to environmental sustainability & giving back through relief efforts, conservation groups, and responsibly sourcing their ingredients. They’ve even got a recycling program in place for their packaging. We’ve certainly got our favorites, but aside from the ridiculously tasty options, we found them to be easy & reliable. We even brought along some desserts to celebrate a birthday in Labrador. They’re packed with quality ingredients, and everyone on the team was always excited to see what was for dinner.
A few of our favs:
Fettucine Alfredo with Chicken
Shepherds Potato Stew with Beef
One caveat, we split the package between two people and pour them into bowls. We find it easier to eat without the competition, but also - unless you’ve got their long spoon - your hands will get a little messy.
Northwater Custom Spray Deck
A Northwater spray deck is the best of the best. We had drooled over these things for a while before taking the plunge, but we are SO glad we did. I’ll do my best to put into words how instrumental this piece of gear has been. As adventure filmmakers and photographers, we carry a pretty hefty amount of camera gear with us in the canoe. The spray deck gives us piece of mind in the event we flip, most of our gear should stay within the boat - so we’re not chasing it down the river. In rapids, when waves are splashing and we need to be focused on the river, we know everything is secure. On cold, blustery days you can pull up the skirt and stay super cozy and warm. It also keeps any water from getting in the boat on those wild rapids. Oh, and last but not least - it cuts down on fuel costs while hauling it on top of our vehicles, since the canoe isn’t catching all that wind!
Garmin InReach Explorer +
Safety in the backcountry & wilderness is no joke. Having the Garmin InReach with us made it possible for us to communicate with our pilot (absolutely necessary) but also with our families & friends. It was an excellent way to track our own progress & navigate the river, but it also allowed folks to follow along on our journey via the MapShare app. I know my parents definitely appreciated an occasional text that we were safe and things were going well. There is a certain piece of mind that comes with knowing you can communicate in the wilderness in the event of an accident. The InReach is also capable of delivering weather reports, which, when you’re hunkered down in the tent in 50 mph winds & rains…a weather report can do a lot for moral. (as long as its good news!)
Northwater Quick Haul Harness
This thing is a life saver! Anyone who’s done a portage knows how valuable a harness for their food barrel can be. It frees up your hands & arms for carrying other gear, cutting down on the mileage of your portage. Heavy duty handles are located on the top and bottom for easy loading into the canoe as well as carrying around camp. The wide foam waistbelt makes carrying incredibly comfortable, as well as a sternum strap, to keep everything secure while you’re tromping through the bush. It also provides multiples anchor points for carabiners, water bottles, basically anything you might need to attach. Did we mention it can also be fitted to use with things like pelican cases and other large objects? Yeah, it’s pretty genius.
Northwater Tri Bag
Food organization in a food barrel can be a little tricky; everything you’re trying to find seems to have made its way to the very bottom. Insert the Northwater Tri Bag — A set of 3 zip bags, shaped to fit the food barrel perfectly. They’ve got clear label pockets which we essentially used to write a summary of items in each bag. We often organize things into different meals — breakfast, lunch, snacks, etc. If you want to save your sanity, get these bags.
Northwater Knee Pads
These knee pads have been great for both whitewater and times when we’re really looking to cover some ground. They save our knees and keep us stable. They’re a pretty basic piece of gear, but we were so happy we got them.
Miscellaneous Gear
We recommend loading up on some carabiners from your local hardware store. These come in handy in a multitude of ways - like attaching your nalgene to the food barrel, attaching pelican cases with camera gear to our boat rigging to assure that it doesn’t float down river and stays with the boat in case of a flip. They’re lightweight, easy to use, and incredibly handy.
An array of different size dry bags will always come in handy. We used these for easy access items, like a compass and emergency gear, etc. It never hurts to have your gear protected from getting wet, especially in the wilderness.
Duct tape, duct tape, duct tape. You can make just about anything from the stuff, and it’s strong enough to support hundreds of pounds. Because you never really know what you’ll need to fix something until it happens, its good to have a versatile material that can easily make straps or bags, patch clothing, canoes, broken glasses, tents, you name it. Get creative!
A must have — some snacks that fit it your PFD pocket. We like to stash some Sour Patch Watermelons in there for a little sugar boost when moral gets low or the paddling gets tough!