Just got back from a two-night trip to Algonquin: Rain Lake for the first night, up to the Petawawa and over to Misty Lake for the second. Then it was the more direct path back to Rain Lake via Muslim, Jubilee, Sawyer, etc. I did single-carries the first full day and double-carries the second. So...how did the duffel perform?
For holding what I wanted it to hold, I give it a 9/10. I packed my tent, Helinox chair, z-seat sit pad, clothes, dry shoes, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, insulated jacket and rain shell plus some small ancillary stuff like my first aid kit, spares kit, and stuff for starting a fire. I knocked off one point because the extra space where the straps attach was just wasted weight and material.
For fitting in the canoe, 10/10. I found it fit perfectly athwarthship and snugged right up behind the canoe's seat. I don't know how to measure it, but I suspect the overall fore-and-aft balance of the canoe was better. Also, when pulling the canoe up a steeply banked take-out, I found the duffel would slide to the rear when placed in line, fore and aft. But it was much less likely to slide when placed athwartship because of the snugness of the fit.
For using it doing a single carry in Algonquin, I give the duffel a 3/10. I started off with the strap very long and quickly found it bounced around off my thigh as I stepped forward rather the riding at my side as I first hoped. The weight pushing just that bit against my leg when taking a step was enough to cause my knee to give off warning signs. I next shortened the strap so that the duffel was riding closely up under my arm and that solved the leg issue. So, why the low 3/10 rating? It was a bit of a challenge, especially late in the day when I was tired, to lift the canoe the way I usually do -- reach over and just pick it up. (It's important to note that my canoe, with paddles attached, probably only weighs about 30 pounds.) Even doing the two stage lift-to-thigh, then up and over was a bit more awkward with the duffel. The lifting issue subtracts about three points. The other four points were taken because I have not yet found a comfortable carry position where the strap wasn't digging into the side of my neck. Just hanging the duffel off one shoulder didn't work out because it would slide off if my arm wasn't raised so I found I always had to have the strap on the opposite side of my neck from where the duffel was riding.
Using the duffel for double carries earns it a 6/10. I found it was fine when carried with just a paddle, but my PFD (which I now realize I should have just attached to the canoe seat) was constantly getting pushed about by the duffel. I did find myself taking some of the weight off my neck by holding it up from underneath with my hand.
Overall, it was not the panacea I'd hoped for, but it is clear there are things I can change (such as carrying the PFD attached to the canoe) that will improve the situation.
FWIW
Jim