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I have two Esquif touring canoes. This one looks like a fishing boat or a good boat for taking your lab out for a paddle. Not something I'd buy.

I try to look at several attributes and not focus on one thing, like speed. I've paddled semi-whitewater boats on class I rivers and it's pretty frustrating. If you stop paddling, they come to a stop pretty quickly. Very little glide. Less glide means more work. Load capacity is a big factor...

What ever one is on sale as long as it is comfortable, has decent floatation, a tab for attaching a knife, a good place to attach a whistle, and the zipper is easy to use and straps are easy for me to reach. I've bought most of my lifejackets on line. I don't really recommend that. You need to...

I've never been a fan of group meals. What you like to eat might not be what I like to eat. What you consider enough food might not be what I consider enough food. It could force me to bring a cooler that I wouldn't have brought if we weren't doing group meals. I do as little cooking as...

In 2018 I had my aortic valve replaced. I'm on Metoprolol, which slows the heart and Eliquis, which is a blood thinner. Last year I ended up in the hospital from something unrelated and caught pneumonia and now have reduced lung function. Luckily, paddling down a river isn't very aerobic...

Well, the obvious answer it the bow paddler needs leg room. There is probably an advantage to moving the weight aft, for trim, especially if it's an asymmetrical hull. Having the stern paddler well aft opens up the main cargo area. Let's you bring that 50 quart cooler.

I've thought about getting a newfoundland because I can't swim very well. A dog that would rescue me would be great.

I don't know if this is anything you'd consider, but any solo with lowish sides can be converted to a pack style canoe. I'm currently converting my North Wind solo. You can order all the parts necessary from Northstar. One of the advantages to doing it yourself is you can adjust the seat height...

A while back I entered 'best Boundary Waters routes', or something like that, into my search engine and found a list on some outfitter's website. I'd have to try and find it again, but it seemed like a really good list. My hips are pretty shot, so I've just about given up on ever doing another...

The only two negative things I'd say about the North Wind are: If you are used to a real speed demon, like the Advantage or, even, a Peregrine, the NW solo is going to seem sluggish. If you like to paddle sit n switch, the NW isn't the best boat. It turns too easily. I found that I could get...

If I had more room and money, I'd get an Advantage. Kind of looked at it before buying the North Wind. Still want one. If I lived in Ely, I would have bought something like the Advantage or Peregrine or, maybe, something even racier. When I bought the North Wind, I was remembering my first day...

I have a North Wind solo and I've been kind of debating if I should have bought something else. Northstar implies that the North Wind is the fastest seaworthy canoe or the most seaworthy fast canoe. Take your pick. If I had it to do over, rather than something like the Peregrine, I'd be more...

My advice, to most people, is to not buy a new canoe. At least until you really know what you like. Your canoe is going to get beat up pretty quickly anyway, so you might as well buy it a little beat up and save the money. Having said that, I've bought far more new canoes than used. I want...

I order internal skid plates, when I can. I'm not a fan of external skid plates. A better option, in my opinion, is applying a tough tape and replacing it when it gets beat up.

I've been using a Klymit air mattress, but I bought myself a light weight cot that I'm going to try next summer.

I've been using an inside ground sheet for years, after reading about it in one of Cliff Jacobson's books. I sometimes use heavy mill painter's ground "cloth". I have some kind of black plastic sheet, that came in a big roll. Don't remember what it was for, but I've been cutting ground sheets...

I took a cheap comforter, with fiber fill, on a trip last fall. I'd say night time temp got down to about 45 and I was a little chilly. This winter I ordered a couple Klymit blankets that I'll probably give a try next summer. On sale pretty cheap at Camp Saver. If I have room, I'll take both...

I've never worn my heartrate monitor while paddling. When the ice melts, I'll have to try it. Because of my age and the medication I'm on, since heart surgery, it would be impossible for me to get my heart rate that high. In fact, I'm not really supposed to push my heart rate too high. I was...

I've found that paddling requires far less cardio vascular fitness than my other sports. But I think that depends on how powerful a paddler you are and how hard you are trying. A strong paddler, going hard, is going to put a bigger demand on their heart and lungs than a guy like me just cruising...

. The B16 and B17 are fairly popular in my neck of the woods. They aren't BWCAW type boats. In IXP they are a good river canoe. Seems like the B19 would be something I'd look at if I was planning on Paddling the Yukon or Nahanni. Maybe a bit much for the lower 48.