mastertangler wrote on Nov 18^th, 2010 at 11:13pm:

A good reason to wear a PFD all the time IMO. As for the ditch kit I can't imagine not having one if there was a reasonable possibility of being separated from my gear. River travel comes to mind as does remote travel. I would likely carry one in cold water as well. Just thoughts.

My motto is:  If the boat is moving (or likely to be), I'm in my PFD.

Since I took a couple of not-so-serious spills this season (moving water between lakes), I sometimes travel solo, paddle just after ice-out, and I'm planning on making a few more trips to Woodlands Caribou PP (or maybe Wabakimi), my thoughts are kind of similar to a line from the movie Contact.  When Jodie Foster asked why she was being issued a "suicide pill," the response was along the lines of "There are a thousand things that we can think of that might go wrong, but its mostly for the things that we CAN;T think of."

I can invision, traveling solo, and pulling up on shore to take care of a nature call and not properly securing my canoe.  A gust of wind grabs it and its gone.  No canoe and no gear!  If this scenario (or something similar) plays out in the wrong place at the wrong time, I could be there a while with only what I have on me.  So even a well thought-out ditch-bag secured to my canoe is not going to be of much use.

Just a few more cents worth of opinion.

dd