Thwart bag suggestions?

[Odyssey]

I'm assuming Turtle is going solo, like many of you, and so at a slight disadvantage. As half of a tandem team I can spread the love, the pain, the gear weight gain between us two. Space/weight and organization may be at a premium for solo trippers, whereas tandems can more easily compromise. It all evens out somehow, but without a partner it's a fine tuning thing to figure out.
If I were to solo my first choice might be to consider a thwart bag from CCS. I like their stuff.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Solo I wear a fanny pack with just the essentials for fire water gathering and shelter. I think a thwart bag is useless for a ditch kit. If it's not on you you can lose it and your life
Three people died because their emergency radio was in a deck bag and could not be reached My PLB is on me always

 

[Mnoutdoorfunguy]

Just found this Overboard Deck Bag that is waterproof and a good size.
http://www.overboardcanada.ca/waterproof-kayak-deck-bag-20ltr-yellow.html/

 

[Magnus919]

This one is selling for $35 at Sierra Trading Post now, if anyone is looking: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/gra...granitegear%2F

Wow... they have a #4 portage pack at a generous discount right now. https://www.sierratradingpost.com/g...ar~b~7120/specdataor~pack style!portage pack/

 

[Magnus919]

I ended up getting a good deal on the Granite Gear large thwart bag and the under-seat bag. I skipped the portage pack for now. The trick: sign up for an account, add the stuff to your cart, and go away. After some hours go by, you'll get an email offering free shipping if you buy the stuff in your abandoned cart. That saved me about $10 on top of all of the other discounts.

 

[dougd]

I've never been a fan of thwart bags so what I do is take some lobster netting and attach it to my seat where the gap is. If I have enough it is deep enough to hold multiple items like sunglasses, smokes and lighter, map, water bottle. Works for me and they all go in my sealed bucket when I get to camp.

 

[redoleary]

I use these SUSTAINMENT POUCHES and I'm quite happy with them. They're inexpensive have a nice capacity and the snaps on the back go right around a thwart and hold well... almost too good sometimes.

 

[Boatman53]

I like the netting idea, weighs almost nothing and is always there. I'll be adding that for sure.
Jim

 

[yaricoy]

I second Sweeper on the Mountainsmith butt/lumbar pack. They have enough straps to get it up off of the bottom of the canoe and makes a great front portage pack. I've used one for many years and they also have water bottle pockets on the side and a variety of storage pockets with large industrial zippers which allow one hand opening. I paddle easy water with the top open so I can grab binoculars, extra fishing gear and food. When I encounter more challenging conditions I zip it up so that I won't lose anything in case of a capsize. I strap mine to the thwart with those rubber coated wire ties and use the extra end of the ties for quick fly rod holder, etc. Waterproof it is not, so I keep camera and phone in a small lightweight dry bag in the bag and carry a small piece of leftover silnylon from a tarp project to drape over the bag if it rains like a mini poncho. The trick is to get one small enough so that the bottom doesn't sit on the floor of the canoe and soak up water. Each canoe is a different thwart height so it may not work for your boat. I find that at least once every week I'm sketching different ideas to modify mine to make it the perfect thwart bag. The never ending search continues. Although I'm in sea kayaking mode due to my location so now I'm trying to find the perfect waterproof deck bag.

 

[gumpus]

Just FYI I also settled on the Mountainsmith mega fanny pack. After using it a while I even got the optional shoulder straps...so I can stick a paddle in the webbing and still have my hands free to grab a solo boat or any other bulky stuff like a couple of kneeling pads for me and the dog. I've got the granite gear thwart bag and never use it, and I also have an older grade vi thwart bag which got quite a bit of use but overall the size and versatility of the Mountainsmith make it my go to day bag. Big enough to hold an extra layer in cold weather and plenty of liquids for hot weather...plus all your favorite other stuff.