Packing Style

[Alan Gage]

OK, I'm getting prepped for a BWCA trip, the first of October.

How many pairs of socks ? How many pants ? And How many underwear, do you guys recommend ? And Memm ! Don't tell me to go " Commando" !

Jim

3 pairs of socks, one pair of pants, no underwear (you said Mem, not me )

In addition to regular pants I'd have a couple pairs of long underwear at that time of year.

I am interested to read what folks do clothing wise.

Again you'll find a lot of variation. I personally take very little. Generally only one pair of day pants (no matter how long the trip). Depending on time of year I'll take one or two pairs of long underwear to wear in camp or sleeping. If I have two pairs of long underwear I might wear one pair under my regular pants during the day but if I only have one pair it will always be stored in a dry bag during the day in case I end up soaked and need to put on dry clothes in camp.

Usually two t-shirts, one button up light weight long sleeve shirt (still cool but helps with bugs), one thermal/long underwear shirt, maybe a heavier long sleeve shirt/fleece if I expect cold weather, and my rain jacket. All these will be sized to layer on top of each other so that during the coldest expected weather I can be wearing them all in camp and be warm. I never wear them all when on the water because I'm warmer when I'm working and I always want dry warm clothes in the bag in case I get soaked in cold weather.

One pair of socks to wear during the day that I expect to stay wet most of the trip, one pair of dry socks for camp use (and probably a pair of dry camp shoes), and one pair of thick socks for sleeping if I expect cold weather. Maybe one extra pair of socks in case the pair that's used during the day wear out (which I've never had happen).

An extra pair of lightweight pants isn't a bad idea. One trip I spent a lot of time rain/wind bound with my daily pants being wet and not drying out. Wearing long underwear around camp was fine but I couldn't really go for a walk through the wet woods because I needed to keep them dry. But, as you know from backpacking, there are always trade offs. One pair of pants seems like a trivial matter but when that one pair of pants is in addition to 9 other things that were cut from the pack the total weight/volume loss is significant.

Alan

 

[PaddlingPitt]

The canoe trips that Kathleen and I go on are generally between two to four weeks. I take the same amount of clothes every time. We paddle in actual or MEC style rad pants. They dry very quickly. I take one extra pair. Like Alan, I take one or two pairs of long underwear for warmth around camp on cold days. We wear neoprene socks/wetsuit booties for paddling. To protect them from abuse, we have worn either oversized, inexpensive tennis shoes or sandals. We change into wool socks and boots at camp or for hikes or portaging. I usually take three pairs of socks.

I only wear one pair of underwear at a time. We usually wash our clothes about every seven days, at which time I change into fresh underwear. As a backup, I usually take three pair. They don’t take up much room, and you never know what might happen over the course of a month. A pair might become damaged or lost.

We always paddle with a spray deck, so we and our gear stay reasonably dry when paddling in the rain, when we also put on a waterproof paddling jacket.

 

[PeteStaehling]

Most of my canoe tripping was pretty early in my outdoor career so I really don't have a set routine, but for other stuff like bike touring and backpacking I generally have pretty much the same minimal packing list regardless of trip length. So if it is a short bike tour or coast to coast I have pretty much the same stuff. Same for backpacking. I expect it will be like that for canoe tripping too other than consumables obviously.

Things may vary some with trip type to some degree, but probably not trip length.

 

[stripperguy]

My clothing varies by season and trip type, but my Gore Tex rain jacket and rain pants are always in the pack.
Warm weather trips...all synthetic T-shirt, underwear, long sleeve shirt, zip off pants, all on my back, no change of clothes but wool socks (it's all I ever wear) in the pack.
Cold weather trips...same as above plus synthetic longs (upper and lower) as well as one full change of clothing in case of a dunking. Also a wool hat and a down vest or down jacket (depends on temps).
Footwear varies by trip type and season...easy trips (established carry trails) and warm weather is sandals only. Harder trips (no established carries) and warm weather is hiking boots.
Trips with lots of beaver dams and mud call for neoprene wading boots in addition to whichever other footwear is suitable. Cool weather trips typically see LL Bean duck boots.

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

As said the portages or carry’s dictate the weight and amount of bags for me. I am usually solo, but shared items help with weight. Boys axe, stove type, cook set, tarps etc. I always keep it under 50 lbs for my back’s sake. I envy those with crazy low “base weights”, but just can’t seem to get there.

i have a few quick dry pants. I like- north face, LL Bean, fjallraven. The rest I stick to merino wool base layers and 50 year old Filson or Pendleton wool shirts. Lightweight or expedition style rain/dry suit depending on temps and if whitewater is involved. I have been using NRS boundary boots for getting to camp and sneakers when I’m there.

The kit is always evolving and that’s part of the fun and enjoyment of trip planning for me.

Bob

 

[TrailBlaser]

I have some standbys in my canoe trip clothing and some items change out depending on the season/trip/conditions:

• Pants: Keb Trousers (in-camp early spring, fall), Magcomsen light hiking pants (on water, spring/summer), EarthPak Latitude shell pants (on water, early spring/fall)=
• Shirts: Patagonia Snap Dry LS Shirt, Fjallraven Singi Sarek LS Trekking Shirt, NRS H2Core LS shirt, Fjallraven Keb wool shirt, 32 Cool t-shirt (also used as sleepwear), Merrell mesh t-shirt
• Base-layer: Ex Officio mesh briefs (also used as sleepwear), 32 Heat bottoms/LS tops (also used as sleepwear), Terramar merino wool LS top/bottoms (also used as sleepwear)
• Mid-layer: Patagonia Down Sweater, Patagonia Better Sweater fleece shirt jacket
• Outer-layer: Fjallraven Keb jacket, Fjallraven High Coast Wind Anorak, Patagonia Rainshadow jacket/Torrentshell pants (rainwear), Patagonia paddling jacket/pants (cold weather)
• Headwear: Tilley Airflo hat, OR Swift cap, Sealskinz beanie, Patagonia shelled fleece cap, Patagonia polypro balacava, Columbia Southwester rain hat, NRS Sea Hood, Blackrock down beanie
• Handwear: NRS fingerless boating gloves, OR Upsurge paddling gloves, Patagonia R1 gloves, Patagonia fleece gloves, Metolius sport gloves
• Footwear: NRS Workboot Wetshoe (if there are long carries), NRS Boundary boots, Crocs Swiftwater sandals, Offroad Crocs (in-camp), Sealskinz waterproof socks, Wigwam wool socks, Wigwam coolmax liners, 281Z fleece boot socks (cold weather sleepwear)
• Miscellaneous: Patagonia sun mask, Kingmore tactical belt

 

[flyingbison]

You guys convinced me that I should get an air pad for sleeping, so I picked up a Klymit Static V Lux (76x30x3). Now I just need to find time to try it out on a trip!

 

[DaveO]

Cheeseandbeans mentioned: "50 year old Filson or Pendleton wool shirts." I agree. Nothing beats a button down long sleeve wool shirt for temperature range versatility, comfort, and style. Somewhat worn ones are available cheap on ebay.

 

[Canotrouge]

Cheeseandbeans mentioned: "50 year old Filson or Pendleton wool shirts." I agree. Nothing beats a button down long sleeve wool shirt for temperature range versatility, comfort, and style. Somewhat worn ones are available cheap on ebay.

I use to have 2 real nice Filson wool shirt, they were really thin merino wool plaid shirt that I loved.... the wife shrunk them one day... both of them... she likes them lots too
I never been able to find other thin wool shirt since I bough these ones! Filson doesn’t carry them anymore and every other wool shirt are quite heavy and too warm for summer use!!
If some one on here know of a reliable source of thin wool shirt(preferably made in Canada/USA) please let me know!!

 

[PeteStaehling]

Cheeseandbeans mentioned: "50 year old Filson or Pendleton wool shirts." I agree. Nothing beats a button down long sleeve wool shirt for temperature range versatility, comfort, and style. Somewhat worn ones are available cheap on ebay.

I was so happy when synthetics got good enough to really replace wool for really wet conditions like whitewater applications. I carried over some of my whitewater clothing into my backpacking and bike touring lists and found them really comfortable. They absorbed very little moisture, dried quickly, and were warm and comfy even when wet to an even greater extent than wool in my estimation.

One kayaking sweater in particular is my go to warm shirt. The brand is Immersion Research, but I imagine this model shirt is long out of production. It was probably expensive when new, but I found it floating in some river, the Yough maybe? That sweater has run a ton of rivers with me, biked across the US a couple times as well as done other long tours and done some backpacking. It has been on me for probably a few thousand miles of trail running and quite a few thousand miles of mountain biking. It still is in great shape! (I just looked and it does look a little like the current one listed as "MEN'S LONG SLEEVE THICK SKIN" base layer top for wearing under a dry top for. $75)

Some folks worry about the synthetic stink, but I have not found that to be a problem with most of my tech garments other than the early ones and I just take the ones where it isn't a problem.

All that said I kind of like the idea of taking something more traditional on some trips

The mention of comfort while lounging in camp or while stuck due to bad weather in another post got me thinking. I guess I don't have the patience or good sense to do much of that. Even when the weather was horrendous I have usually been rolling by 10 am on bike tours or back packing trips and I guess I have never really had terrible weather on a canoe trip. Rain yes, once a thunderstorm to sit out, but nothing that required sitting in camp all day and certainly not multiple days. Of course I have only done a few trips of any length and none of those were really long like multiple weeks. The longest was probably the St John from 10 mile bridge to just below the Allagash. Since someone else handled the logistics, I don't recall how many days it was. Five maybe? It did rain a lot, but we didn't spend all that much time in camp other than making/breaking camp, preparing/eating meals, sleeping, and a little group socializing. All of the chores took multiple times as long as my usual routine since I was with a group and had to accommodate others and had "help". I probably did a similar number of days in the Adirondacks as well with perfect weather and some river trips that were a little shorter but that is about the sum total of my real multiday canoe tripping experience.

 

[Alan Gage]

The mention of comfort while lounging in camp or while stuck due to bad weather in another post got me thinking. I guess I don't have the patience or good sense to do much of that. Even when the weather was horrendous I have usually been rolling by 10 am on bike tours or back packing trips and I guess I have never really had terrible weather on a canoe trip.

I'm similar. I like to keep moving. I'm happiest in the canoe and easily get bored in camp. On my shorter trips I could always jockey the schedule around the weather a bit so I'd always had pretty easy trips. But as you start taking longer trips you just can't adjust your trip schedule around the weather. Sooner or later it will happen to you too. A big wind on big water can stop you dead in your tracks no matter how badly you want to keep moving. It can be very frustrating but there's not much you can do about it. Hiking and biking in the wind and rain are probably safer than canoeing. If you slip and fall in the canoe you might find yourself quickly becoming hypothermic as you struggle against the wind to regain the shoreline. And then, if you make shore, your canoe and gear probably didn't so now what are you going to do?

On smaller (and warmer) water wind days can actually be a somewhat enjoyable challenge studying the map and planning a route to avoid the wind and hop from shelter to shelter using islands and peninsulas as wind breaks.

Alan

 

[ppine]

I learned about Pendleton wool shirts chasing cattle in Arizona with people that cowboy for a living. Mornings in the fall are cold at 7,300 feet around 10 degrees. Guys start about with a jacket and a couple of wool shirts. They peel them off one at a time as the day warms up. Even guys that made $800 a month and all the jackrabbits they could eat, spent their money on quality shirts because they last.

I have two Chief Joseph Pendleton blankets given to me by different women. One is 40 years old and one is about 15 years old. I am never cold when I sleep with Chief Joseph.

 

[Otto Syracuse]

If some one on here know of a reliable source of thin wool shirt(preferably made in Canada/USA) please let me know!!

They do not have a button up shirt, but First Lite (firstlite.com) has really nice merino wool sweaters in a light weight that are very well made and durable. They have solid colors as well as camo designs. I use a lot of their product hunting and it is all top notch.

 

[Drake]

This year, I subtracted "the cooler" from my canoe camping packing list. It turns out I don't need ice cold drinks and there are plenty of food choices that do not need refrigeration. The space saving is enormous! That said, I bring a big filled cooler for solo day trips to be able to equalize the load.

 

[DaveO]

Canotrouge: I too have found it takes work to find thin, tight-weave wool shirts suitable for summer use. I want a shirt, not a jacket, gol dern it.

I had a Woolrich 70/30 wool/nylon shirt that was perfect. I left it on the back of a chair at a rest stop on the NY State Thruway last year. I'm still pissed at myself. Woolrich is not that great as a rule but that one was great. If I come across another blend like that, I would jump on it. The nylon seemed to make the weave tighter and less wrinkly and scratchy.

I read some reviews complaining that a certain Sir Pendleton Airloom shirt, on sale at the Pendleton online store, was too thin. Bingo. I ponied up the money, but they responded that it was backordered. I was happy to cancel the backorder because I realized that, for what I was planning to pay, I can get three maybe four lightly used ones on ebay, and thorn rips and campfire holes won't much matter. I recently had success by asking the ebay seller about the weave and thinkness.

The labels usually say dry clean only but I've had no issues hand washing wool shirts in woolite.

 

[memaquay]

That's a 20 foot canoe, lol. Mind you, we were moose hunting, had a snowtrekker tent with stove and pipes, cots, guns, beer. I've never been a gram weenie, and don't mind making an extra trip on a port if I'm not roughing it in camp.

 

[Alan Gage]

That's a 20 foot canoe, lol. Mind you, we were moose hunting, had a snowtrekker tent with stove and pipes, cots, guns, beer. I've never been a gram weenie, and don't mind making an extra trip on a port if I'm not roughing it in camp.

Aren't you supposed to leave room for the moose just in case you actually get one?

Alan

 

[Jim Dodd]

That's a 20 foot canoe, lol. Mind you, we were moose hunting, had a snowtrekker tent with stove and pipes, cots, guns, beer. I've never been a gram weenie, and don't mind making an extra trip on a port if I'm not roughing it in camp.

Gotta be a Kitchen Sink in there somewhere ! Just as well leave the gun at Home ! You couldn't fit a Moose in there anyway !

 

[Paddlinhal]

It definitely depends in the trip. Last trip I did was to bring the family down a local river for an overnight on a sandy beach. Coolers mandatory, plenty of the steel framed folding chairs, a roll-a-table and other luxuries. We still cooked over the fire, because it's part of the fun. When I'm going on what I call a death-march trip, involving at least several miles of cartless portaging, I carry my canoe, canoe poles, bailer, pfd, etc. in one trip and the other trip is all the rest. A week long trip will start out at 15 lb. of food. I do have to start paring down my gear, as last time I really struggled to get my fully loaded propack with paddles lashed to the back onto my back. Once on, I could bend over far enough to pick up the canoe cart that was currently being useless in one hand and my 5 gal. bucket in the other hand. For a 2 mile portage, and leapfrogging the loads every 400 paces, that's a 6 mile walk with picking up the canoe and the pack about a dozen times each. Three trips would be 10 miles and 36 lifts total, so you begin to question whether you really need that extra pint of stove fuel.

 

[memaquay]

To all you nay-sayers...this is the year the moose comes home with me. My wife is writing her hunters Ed exam tonight, they don't stand a chance, lol.