I "wonder" for the hiders, if a couple of 5 gal orange Home Depot Pails with those snap-on/screw down lids wouldn't make good a viable alternative for those small blue barrels?
Smaller volume but might work for solo paddler.
You could remove the metal handles so they lay better in a pack.

If they truly make bucket waterproof, you could add a rope/rock anchor and drop offshore in hole if you thought Yogi might be dropping bye.

knafelc wrote on Jan 31^st, 2013 at 6:13pm:


I have mentioned this before but it bears repeating........I detest the snap on, hard to get off typical plastic lid. Home Depot has a lid system for 5 gal buckets that is very slick indeed. The "receiver part" (for lack of a better word) snaps onto the bucket and remains more or less permanently.........the "top" is a screw on lid which is a breeze to remove. I think it was about $8 but for a one time purchase that eliminates some hassle at the end of a long day it's a no brainer IMO.

I'm glad I asked. I too,bring a( shorter )bucket with lid (2.5-3.0gal.)and fill it with water sensitive or breakable stuff like my camera,stove etc.. It makes a nice table between my knees while paddiing, to place my map cace (tethered and weighted) and a compass.  Your idea to keep your kitchen and lunch in an oder /critter /waterproof stool/ container seems very logical .

Next summer I will make a 2 minute video showing my kit. It shows up at 3:35 minutes in the gathering video. I paddle a Wenonah Prism solo canoe. The internal frame backpacking packs allow their tapered tops to be pushed into the narrow ends of the canoe. Laying these packs flat puts everything below the gunnels, a big advantage in rough water and high winds. Another video idea is "101 uses for a bucket on a canoe trip." Number 99 is using them as pontoons when you are sinking into a boggy portage.

Marten wrote on Jan 31^st, 2013 at 2:47am:


I'd love to see a picture of your packs/bucket!  Seriously.

prouboy

The bucket I carry is so controversial  that I did not want to go there, you have forced my hand. The bucket holds my complete kitchen plus the noon lunch so it is the only item I need to open for my noon meal. Most of my trips are about 30 days so the bucket is carried along with still another pack that completes my kit for 30 days. The big Gregory with food, duluth with bulky stuff and  another internal frame with more food and everything else. I carry the medium pack and bucket on the first pass across a portage. The saw is also in my hand on that first trip. By setting the bucket down I can cut any small trees and not worry about throwing them off the trail until the return pass across the portage.

Marten,what's in the bucket I see in your videos?  Stove,coffee,etc.? When/where does that get transported in some of those bushwacks you make?

A lot of great ideas so far. Keep in mind the canoe that those packs have to fit into. I hate it when a pack has to be forcibly tucked into a canoe because going in is the "easy part." I choose from among my packs each trip so that the packs fit the jobs they have to do. I use a big Gregory internal frame backpacking pack for food on most trips. It is a top loader so I separate my food into different garbage bags. Each bag is for x number of days. No need to go deep in the pack until the previous bag is used up. The two big pouches on the back are great for getting at things during a portage. Rain gear is in the top pouch. I buckle the waist strap before pulling it out of the canoe. It makes for a good hand grip, the other hand is on the top hanging strap. This pack usually starts out at a dense 75 pounds. An important choice for me is the pack that I will tote when portaging the canoe. This is often times a Duluth style pack filled with lighter and bulkier items so my total load remains around 75 pounds at the start of a trip. After a week the items are shuffled around to keep the poundage equal on each trip across the portage. I do a lot of planning so I can still be smiling after a morning of portaging.

I've been using a GG Quetico pack for quite a few years now, it has been the perfect size pack (5000 ci) for my tripping style. This bombproof pack allows me to carry comfortably the essentials plus some extras for up to a two week trip. The GG pack shows very little wear except for some scratches on the buckles. I would certainly recommend this pack to a friend.

I received a Frost River Isle Royale Bushcraft Pack this past Christmas (approx 2900 ci which can be expanded to approx 5000). I love the look and feel of this old school pack, with it's modern upgrades, of a sternum strap and hip belt. I'm so looking forward to carrying this as my sole pack this year which may require a equipment adjustment, but that could be a good thing. I'll post a review after carrying it on our summer trip.

I have several portage packs - A very old duluth style pack I bought used at an outfitter, a Sealine pro with hipbelt, a granite gear- quetico I think, CCS Pioneer Hybrid (this one is my favorite) and a blue barrel with harness.   

I most often take my CCS (cookescustomsewing) pack because it does everything I need it to.