Forward paddling seems easy, but there is room for improvement.

Forward paddling is probably the most under-appreciated and under-practiced kayaking move. However, as you might imagine, this is the most important move that you can learn. Depending on where you’re going to be kayaking, and how long of a kayak tour you intend to go on, good forward paddling may end up saving you a lot of time, effort, and muscle strain.

The most important thing to remember about your forward paddling, however is that you should only work on improving it if you feel that you can’t do everything that you want to be able to do while you’re in your kayak.

Good Posture Equals Good Stroke

First, you should make sure that you have good posture in your kayak. It’s important that you sit up in your kayak instead of leaning back. This way, you’ll be able to make all of your paddling strokes as powerful as possible. You should also make sure that your feet are right up against the footrest inside of your kayak. That way you’ll have a more powerful stroke than you would otherwise.

Paddle Placement Helps Forward Paddling

Next, you should pay attention to where the paddle goes into the water. It should enter near where your feet are in the kayak. You don’t have to be completely precise, however, as it is sometimes hard to figure out exactly where you want the paddle to enter the water – and you will lose power if you spend too much time second-guessing your strokes.

Too Tight Of a Grip is Hard

You should work on relaxing your grip on the kayak paddle, as well, as this will make it easier for you to sustain your paddling pace – and can prevent injuries.

It is also important to make sure that you are paddling close to the kayak, and that your strokes are going deep. That way, you’ll be making the most efficient paddling strokes that you can.

If you follow this advice, and work on strengthening the parts of your body that get tired fastest, then you’ll find that your forward paddling improves.

Please visit his complete kayaking guide for all skills and ages. About the author: Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.kayakhelp.com.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Forward Paddling in a Kayak

It doesn’t have to be that way though. Making decisions about how you anticipate using the canoe can make buying a canoe easy, and also by understanding a little about construction materials, canoe shapes, and the designer’s intentions the models can quickly be narrowed down to several canoes that will meet your needs.

How Will You Use the Canoe

The first step in deciding which canoe to buy is figuring out how you will ultimately use that canoe, because not all canoes are built to do all activities.

Solo Vs. Tandem Canoes

This is probably the easiest decision to make about buying a canoe. A solo canoe is one, which has only one seat at the center of the canoe and designed to be used by only one person. Most solo canoes do not perform and will not perform well with two people in them. A tandem canoe is one that has, at least, two seats and is meant for two canoeists. On larger boats, a third center seat is sometimes an option for a third canoeist called a duffer. Sometimes, you may want to use your canoe mainly for soloing, but want the option of bringing someone along with you. It’s important to decide how often you will be soloing vs. tandem paddling, because a tandem canoe will probably not paddle solo as well as a solo canoe. In many cases, buying two solo canoes may turn out to be a better option. In the opposite situation, you may want to occasionally paddle solo and in most canoes, this is no problem. In symmetrical canoes (see below), you can simply paddle the canoe backwards from the front seat, and in an asymmetrical canoe (see below), you can install a kneeling thwart or center seat to accommodate your desire to use your tandem solo. (Read more: How to Paddle a Tandem Solo.) Most first-time buyers will end up buying a tandem canoe.

Pick the Type of Canoe Trips

After deciding on tandem or solo, you need to look closely at the types of trips and the conditions you will be taking trips in. This following list is a good starting point to use to help you figure out what you want the canoe to do.

• day trips, overnight camping trips, week long camping trips
• streams, rivers, lakes, big lakes
• low distance trips, long distance trips
• fishing, bird watching, photography or simple paddling
• racing, touring, just messing about, family trips, picnics, for the kids
• whitewater, flat water

For example, as a buyer, you may want a canoe mainly for day trips, but will take week long camping trips once a year on lakes and some big lakes, most will be low distance trips, except for that one trip, and you’ll be fishing out of the canoe, your kids will come on day trips and you’ll probably never go on whitewater. That a few minutes and come up with a statement like this, so when you head to the store, you know exactly what your looking for your canoe to do.

Touring Canoes vs. Recreational Canoe

For the most part, you can narrow canoes into two main categories: Touring and Recreational. Both of these categories have crossovers and just because a canoe is considered a Touring Canoe doesn’t mean you can’t use it to fish. A Touring Canoe is one, which will perform best for camping trips and paddling long distances on big lakes. There are also Touring Canoes designed for touring on fast moving water, streams and rivers. Within the Touring category, you can also break down the designs into the number of days that the camper anticipates being out in the boat. Small Touring Canoes from 15′ to 16′ generally can carry enough gear for shorter three to four day trips. And because they are shorter, then can be slower and less efficient, which means that you’ll work hard for the distance traveled. A second category of Touring Boats, those in the 17′ and above range, also work fine for shorter trips, but they will carry enough gear for longer trips, and they generally will be more efficient. For the most part, Touring Canoes designed for flat-water travel also work perfectly well for family day trips, fishing, photography, etc”¦

Recreational canoes are those designed specifically towards daylong activities, like hunting, fishing, day trips, family play, picnics, or just messing around. These boats are generally perceived to be more stable (see below), and are willing to give up efficiency and positive performance aspects to cater more towards the activity they were designed for. Although they can be and have been used for camping, they are better for canoeists looking for a canoe to perform daylong activities. These are a good buy if you only plan on day trips in good conditions.

Solo Canoes

As Cliff Jacobson likes to say, “Solo canoes are different.” And they may very well be, but they still can be placed into the above categories, but because most of the available models are designed as River or Flat-Water Touring Canoes, there is a small choice of Recreational models.

Racing, Whitewater, and Play Canoes

Canoes can also fit into several additional categories: racing, whitewater, and play canoes. These canoes are geared more towards experienced canoeists, but if in the quantification exercise above one of your picks was to use the boat in whitewater, for racing or for freestyle play make sure you pick a canoe geared specifically towards those activities, otherwise, you may find out that your compromise canoe doesn’t do what you wanted it to.

Simple Canoe Design For the First-Time Buyer

As a first-time buyer, you needn’t have an engineering degree to understand the basics of canoe design. John Winters, a famous canoe designer, writes in The Shape of the Canoe, that the primary characteristics of canoe design are:

• Aesthetics
• Construction
• Controllability
• Cost
• Displacement
• Durability
• Maintenance
• Seaworthiness
• Stability
• Speed

Most of these characteristics trade off between each other and there is no way to design a canoe with the maximum performance in each of these categories. Here is a quick breakdown of the characteristics of canoe designs.

Aesthetics

Aesthetics is the look of the canoe and although the look of a canoe can be tailored to achieve appearance of a type of performance, it has nothing to do with the actual performance of the canoe. Mainly, you will see two types of appearances: that of a modern canoe with low stems (the ends of a canoe), and those with high ends and recurved stems. The later is a more traditional styling that reflects the look of canvas and cedar canoes from the early twentieth century. High ends, like those found on traditional canoes, can affect the canoe in winds. The higher the ends, the more likely that wind will move the boat around.

Construction, Cost, Durability, and Maintenance

These design criteria all seem to go hand in hand and stem directly to the type of material used to construct the craft. In modern canoe design these are the materials you will most likely encounter when shopping: cedar and canvas, wood and fiberglass, single layer polyethylene plastic (RamX â„¢), three layer plastic (Polylink 3 â„¢), seven layer plastic (Royalex â„¢), aluminum, fiberglass, aramid (Kevlar â„¢), carbon fiber

Cedar and Canvas Canoes

Cedar and Canvas Canoes are a direct descendant of the original birch bark canoes. Because birch bark is extremely hard to find in significant amounts and in high quality, canvas supplanted it as a waterproof covering. These canoes are built over a male mold on which the ribs are bent, planks nailed to the ribs, canvas is stretched over the planks, filled, painted, and the boat is trimmed out then with seats, etc”¦ This construction makes a beautiful traditional look boat, but requires plenty of maintenance to keep it going. They take damage from rocks and fast water much easier than other construction types. Although, with that in mind, properly cared for will last 100s of years.

Wood and Fiberglass

A wood and fiberglass canoe uses wood as a core and stiffener and covers that wood to make it waterproof, add strength and hold it together. These are some of the most beautiful canoes available and can be built very tough. The typically are heavy and are not as durable as plastic or composite canoes. These canoes often need to be re-varnished every year.

Single Layer Plastic Canoes

These canoes consist of a single layer of plastic and are built in a big oven that rotates as it melts plastic beads that come together into the final shape of the canoe. Generally, they will have a metal rod running down the center of the boat to stiffen it up and they often become misshapen after one season of use. They are cheapest out there, they are durable in the fact that it’s hard to punch a hole through them, but they are very flexible, fail to perform well, and have a limited life span. Plastic degrades in sun, so requires treatment with a UV spray monthly. Also, any damage is almost impossible to repair.

Three Layer Plastics

Using similar technology to manufacture as single layer canoes, these canoe address the main downfall of single layer plastic, the flexibility. By sandwiching a foam layer between two layers of plastic, this material stiffens and strengthens the canoe. The stiffer a canoe is the better it will hold its designed shape and the more efficient it will be. Still, it has a tendency to oil can when on the water, and the canoes tend to be heavy. Repair is also difficult on this material.

Seven Layer Royalex â„¢

The next step up and ultimate plastic used in canoes is called Royalex. Basically, it is a seven-layer sandwich with a foam core. By using seven thin layers, the material is much lighter than three or single layer plastics, and also these seven layers stiffen the canoe considerably. You may notice some oil canning on wide flat bottom Royalex boats, but on most models, it is slight or non-existent. Royalex is also very tough, easy to repair, and the best bang for the buck. Most Royalex canoes can be picked up for around $1000 and should give 10 to 20 years of good service. The only maintenance needed is treatment with UV spray, unless the canoe has wooden gunwales. If this is the case, the gunwale will need to be removed during the winter. It is interesting to note that these canoes are made by baking a sheet of the Royalex in a oven and then using a vacumn and female mold the hot and flexible plastic is sucked up into the mold and cooled, then fitted out with seats, decks, etc”¦

Aluminum Canoes

Since after World War II, aluminum canoes have been a strong contender in the marketplace, and, even though plastic now produce better canoes, you will still find many stores selling aluminum. Aluminum canoes tend to be heavy, slow, and cold to the touch, and also they are loud with any knock against the canoe echo through the water. They are durable, but dents are hard if not impossible to get out and holes need to be fixed by expert welders. The price is fairly consistent with Royalex.

Composite Canoes – Fiberglass, Kevlar, Carbon Fiber

Composite canoes are made from the combination of two materials. A fabric material and a two-part liquid that solidifies when mixed together. To build these canoes, a female model is sprayed with a gel coat or release agent, and then the fabric (fiberglass, Kevlar, or carbon fiber) is laid into the mold. The two-part liquid is mixed and is then painted or injected into the fabric. After the liquid sets up the canoe is pulled from the mold and outfitted. Composites are stiff, strong, and light. Generally, fiberglass is the weakest out of these three material, pound for strength, Kevlar is the best, but doesn’t do well in compression and tends to fuzz up with wear and tear, so often you will see Kevlar used with fiberglass and carbon fiber to make up for its weaknesses. Still an all Kevlar canoe will be strong, durable and light. Kevlar and carbon fiber is an expensive material and in times of war, both their prices can sky rocket, so be prepared to pay anywhere from $600 to $2000 US more for a Kevlar or carbon canoe then Royalex. These canoes are repairable, although it is nowhere near as easy as Royalex, and they require treatment with a UV spray.

Displacement – Capacity

A canoe displaces an equal amount of water to its weight, including load. So, if you load 500 pounds into a 50-pound canoe, the canoe’s displacement will be 550 pounds, and while interesting, it doesn’t tell us much about the canoe. What is more important when selecting a canoe is to pick one with six inches or nine inches of freeboard at the maximum amount of weight you’ll be carrying in the canoe. Freeboard is the amount of the hull sticking out of the water from the water to the sheer at the lowest point on the sheerline. So, figure out the average weight of the paddlers, and a estimate of the maximum weight of the gear you will carry and compare it to the capacity given for the canoe at six and nine inches of freeboard. For example, for a tandem canoe one canoeist may weigh 160 and the other 220 and they carry 60 pound of camping gear and food between them, plus their paddles, vest and fishing gear for another 30 pounds and the boat weighs 70, then it must, at least, be able to 540 pounds at six inches of freeboard. As an exercise hold up your hand and typically, from the base of your palm to the tip of you middle finger will be close to six inches. This is all of the canoe that will be above water when at this load. Nine inches is a safer depth to shoot for, but keep in mind that the higher the canoe sits in the water, the more wind will affect it. In whitewater, though nine inches should be the minimum.

Bell Magic in the BWCA

Controllability

Controllability is how the boat handles on the water. There are two aspects of controllability that most paddlers are interested in and those are maneuverability and tracking, which is how well the boat goes straight. Generally, the more maneuverable a canoe is the less well it will track. There are several aspects of canoe design that you can look at to determine how a canoe will perform: Symmetry, Rocker. Below these are discussed further, but for boats used on lakes, tracking is generally more desirable than maneuverability and for rivers and streams, the opposite is true.

Asymmetrical vs. Symmetrical Canoes

Most modern canoes are designed with Asymmetrical hulls, which means that when looking down on the canoe from above, the back half of the canoe will be a different shape than the front half of the canoe. In a symmetrical canoe, the back and front halves of the canoe will be exactly the same. Both designs have an advantage, but asymmetrical hulls tend to be able to combine several positive characteristics. These are that even though they track very well, they also are able to maneuver well. They general have finer bows (fronts), and wider sterns (back), which allow them to slice through the waves, but still ride high. They also tend to be faster. Symmetrical canoes paddle the same forward and backwards, so they perform better when paddle solo from the bow seat, and some people say that their hulls are more predictable in whitewater.

Rocker

The rocker of a canoe is how much curve it has along the bottom of the hull. The amount of rocker is indicated in inches and is the measurement of the distance from the lowest part of the canoe to some point (there is no standard among canoe designers) before the stem. The less rocker a canoe has the better it will track and the more rocker it has the better it will turn. Some Asymmetrical canoes also have Asymmetrical rocker with more in front than the back. This helps the canoe turn easier and also helps the canoe track.

Seaworthiness

This aspect of canoe design is how well the boat does in rough conditions. Often more seaworthy designs will have more flare which is an outward spreading of the hull as the hull goes from the keel (bottom) to the sheer (top) of the canoe. And although flared hulls will provide plenty of seaworthiness, they are harder to paddle because the sides of the hull are wider. In situations, where extreme seaworthiness is not required, canoes will have straight up and down sides or often tumblehome sides. Tumblehome is the inward narrowing of the hull at the gunwales or sheer. With a narrow sheer, it is easier to reach over the side of the canoe with a paddle, making it easier to paddle. Also, to a certain extent the volume of the canoe affects seaworthiness. The more volume and capacity the more freeboard a boat will have and the more that freeboard will resist shipping water. Generally speaking, for day trips you can sacrifice seaworthiness for comfort and efficiency, but even when flat-water touring, some seaworthiness will be desired for wind day. If rivers and large lakes, seaworthiness is paramount.

Stability

The first-time buyer will often think that they just want a canoe that is stable, and while an admirable desire, it should be understood that a stable canoe on flat water might not be stable at all when waves kick up. There are two types of stability to be concerned with: primary and secondary. The primary stability is how stable the canoe feels with you are sitting upright in the canoe, and the secondary stability is how stable the canoe feels as it is leaned on its side or as waves act against it sides.

A flat bottom canoe will have more primary stability than a round bottom canoe, but when leaned the flat bottom canoe will often be less stable than the round-bottom canoe. Depending on the expected condition, a canoe with high primary stability may not work the best in waves. Also, generally, flatter bottom canoes will be slower than rounded bottom canoes. Often, a new canoeist will find most canoes stable after his or her first season of canoeing.

There are many recreational canoes with completely flat bottoms, but most Touring canoe designs incorporate some secondary stability.

Speed

The common thought when thinking of speed is that the canoeist doesn’t care about making it to camp any faster, but when thinking of speed, it is easier to think of it as efficiency. How efficient a canoe is tells you how much energy is going to be required to move you from point A to point B. Sea Kayaker Magazine suggests that the typical paddler can perform well at 3 pounds of drag, and if this is true, a boat that travels at 4.5 knots at 3 pounds of drag will be easier to paddle than one that travels at 4 knots with 3 pounds of drag. Racing canoeist will want a canoe that paddles fasted at higher speeds and in order to reach these highest speeds, the paddler will often have to expend much more energy in terms of pounds of drag to reach them, but touring and recreational canoeist will want a boat that performs best at their average paddling force. This means that the canoe should be designed to perform best at lower speeds, which result in less work for the same distance. One other note about speed is often called Hull Speed. The longer a canoe the higher its Hull Speed will be, so it is often suggested that if you want a faster canoe get a longer boat. And although in a certain extent this is true, it is more important when looking for speed to look at the efficiency of the canoe at the speeds you think you will typically be traveling. A canoe with a higher top end speed may be harder to paddle at slower speeds. Unfortunately, most canoe manufacturers do not readily provide resistance numbers for comparison, so this is perhaps the hardest feature to compare when shopping.

Combining Design and Usage To Buy a Canoe

With so much information, buying comes back to the basics. In the first part of the article, it was suggest that you determine how you want to use a canoe, and in the second part designs characteristics were discussed. So, with this information, it’s time to pull the two parts together. So, make the main decision based on your list on whether or not you need a Touring or Recreational Canoe. Then you need to decide the amount of money, you’d like to spend understanding that if lightweight and better performance is desired, you will pay for it. Also, using cost, consider the materials. What materials fall into your cost range and do those materials address your needs? For example, if you have $3000 to spend, but most of your paddling is going to be touring fast rivers, you probably need a Royalex canoe for durability, so you can save the cash. But if you’re going to be travel on flat water for long distances with long portages, the lightweight and extra stiffness of the Kevlar will be worth every penny.

After narrowing down the material selection, look for canoes with enough capacity to handle your anticipated maximum load, and look for canoes with the desired maneuverability and tracking keeping in mind how seaworthy you purchase needs to be based on usage, and then consider the stability and speed. Here’s a quick list to help you organize your thoughts.

1. How will you use the canoe?
2. Touring or Recreational?
3. Maximum amount of money to spend
4. What type of material?
5. Maximum needed displacement
6. Tracking or Turing?
7. Seaworthiness needed?
8. Desired stability?
9. How efficient do you need it?
10. Do you want a classic looking canoe?

After doing this, head to your local store with you list in hand and ask questions. If possible paddle a couple of canoes and then load one up, tie it down and bring it home.

Note: You are welcome to print this article for purposes of purchasing a canoe for yourself. Retailers contact Bryan for permissions.

References for How to Choose a Canoe

• Canoe and Kayak Magazine, December 2005, p. 43-59
• Winters, John, The Shape of the Canoe, Self Published, 1998
• Jacobson, Cliff, Expedition Canoeing: A Guide to Canoeing Wild Rivers in North America, Guilford, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, 2001

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: How to Choose A Canoe

Tents and a tarp on the beach. Lake Nipigon, ON.

Tent Type

Tents come in many flavors. The trick is to figure out which tent is best for your needs. The first step is to figure out how you are going use the tent. The use of the tent determines the tents type.

Recreational Tents

These tents offer a good price option for campers who will use their tents only occasionally during summer months. These tents are made with fiberglass poles, and often have floors made from tarp materials.

Family Tents

Call it car camping or family camping or anything you want, but pulling up to a campsite with a car allows you to bring a bigger tent. These tents are designed to be big enough for the whole family or just for two and a picnic table. The biggest of these tents allow you to stand completely upright inside or store all you gear for the weekend. The newer modern designs are lighter than your typical family tent and make great canoeing tents also.

Three Season Backpacking Tents

Three season backpacking tents are designed to be lightweight and sturdy. They have good ventilation and easy to set up designs. Look for designs that are around 3 pounds per person or less. With the new Ultralight movement many tents are starting to weigh under 4 and a half pounds.

Convertible, Four-Season, and Mountaineering Tents

These tents are built with more poles than a typical tent and offer the camper a chance to use a tent all year long. Convertible tents are often more comfortable because they have panels that can be zipped open for ventilation. The penalty of the versatility of these tents is paid in extra weight.

Tarps, and Tarp Style Tents

The lightest class of tents, and used by Ultralight backpacker’s who are paring down the weight of their packs. A tarp is draped over a string line and staked out to become a triangle shaped peaked tent. Other styles of tarp tents use trekking poles as their main supports. If you are a backpack, these are worth looking into.

Capacity

A tents capacity is an estimate of how many people will fit comfortably inside. Many campers like to have extra space and if you are one of them, consider buying a tent rated one person higher than you need. It will be heavier, but you may get a better nights rest. Backpackers should expect tight but comfortable quarter to save weight and car campers could buy the biggest tent available if they want all kinds of room.

Weight

Tent manufacturers often supply two weights: a minimum and packed weight. The minimum weight is only including the fly, canopy, and poles. The packed weight includes everything that comes with the tent. When comparing weights make sure you compare their minimum weight. You can always change stakes and stuff sacks after you buy for lighter ones if those that are included aren’t up to par.

Dimensions

If you plan on spending a lot of time in your tent, you may want a tall height, but remember a higher profile is more susceptible to wind. Tall people need to make sure that they will be able to lie down without hitting the walls, so check the dimensions. Set up any potential tents before you buy to make sure it will fit you.

Area

Area is a good indication of the amount of space inside the tent, but if the tent lacks near vertical walls, the usability of the floor space will be reduced. Vertical wall are more susceptible to winds, so you have to make a compromise between these.

Caring for Your Tent

Unless your tent is factory taped you will need to seam-seal before you use it in rain. At each seam apply an even amount of seam-sealer. Let it dry for 24 hours before use. Most tents will be seam-sealed, but check before you leave the store.

After you finish a trip clean out the dirt from the floor, wipe off any mud, and let it dry out completely. This will help prevent mold on the tent’s fabric. Store you tent out of the sun in a dry cool place. We recommend storing the tent out of the supplied stuff sack and in a cotton bag the size of a pillowcase.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: How to Choose a Tent

Temperature Range

The perfect temperature for your bag depends on where and when you will be using it. If you plan on taking a trip to Alaska in winter, you will need a different bag than one you would take on the RAGRAI bike ride in Iowa in summer. One bag can’t do it all. Also, you need to determine the type of sleeper you are; if you sleep with the window open in winter you can use a bag with a cold temperature rating. If you sleep with a down comforter in summer, you will need a warmer sleeping bag.

30°F and Up

Most sleepers use these temperature bags only in the summer. Although, the new style Ultralight Backpackers use these bags in colder temperatures, because of their main advantage – they can be lighter when built with the right material. If you are only going to camping in the summer and not in the mountains this temperature will be a perfect fit.

15°F to 25°F

This is the perfect all around temperature for a sleeping bag. It may be a little too hot in the summer compared to a 35°F bag and not warm enough in the middle of winter, but for ¾ of the year it is a good warm temperature. If you are going to buy only one sleeping bag, than this is the temperature to look at.

0°F and below

These bags are only for those who get very cold at night or for winter campers. They are sweltering hot in the summer, but toasty when the snow is falling.

Liners

Silk or Poly-cotton liners will add 5°F to 10°F to any bag that they are put inside. They are a great way to extend the temperature rating of any bag you buy.

Insulation Materials

There are countless types of materials that manufacturers use to fill their sleeping bags. Each of these materials has advantages and disadvantages. Regardless of these, all insulations do the same thing: They trap heated air, which in turn keeps you warm.

Goose Down

Goose is the gold standard for sleeping bag insulation. It is what all synthetics try to emulate. Being a natural material, it was has a greater temperature range. The feathers contract in the warm air thus holding less heat, and they expand in colder temperatures to trap more warmed air. Down also has the greatest expectancy of life out of any insulation. It packs smaller than any synthetic. The main perceived disadvantage of down is that when it gets wet it loses all of its ability to insulate. With modern sleeping bag fabrics it is incredibly hard to get a down bag wet, so don’t let this keep you away.

Synthetics

These man-made fibers come in many shapes, weights and costs. Their main claim to fame is that they insulate when wet. Their main disadvantage is that they weigh more than down, and they are bulkier than down when packed. Here are the names of a few going from the most technologically advanced to the least: Polarguard Delta, Polarguard 3D, Lite Loft, Quallofil, Hollofil. While down lasts a lifetime, you can expect 6 to 8 years out of synthetic bags before they lose their loft and thusly reduce their temperature rating. Synthetics give a great deal of value for their price.

Shape

Sleeping bags come in three different shapes: Mummy, Rectangular, and Tapered. Mummy bags are tighter to fit into, but are easier to keep warm. Rectangular bags give you a lot of room to toss and turn in, but are harder to keep warm. Tapered bags are a compromise. A good rule of thumb is that you use mummy bags when you want to save weight, like for backpacking or if you expect cold. Rectangular bags for summer or when you don’t have to carry it on your back, and Tapered if you just can’t stand a mummy and a rectangular is just too much.

Weight

For general all around car camping the weight of a sleeping bag isn’t that important, but when you’re backpacking every ounce counts — look for bags the weigh around 3 pounds or less. This usually means you need to consider down or one of the better synthetics.

Extra Features

Many bags offer extra features that can add to the comfort of your nights sleeping. A pillow pocket allows you to stuff a shirt or jacket into the hood of your bag for a make shift pillow. Pockets are nice to store a watch or contacts. Draft collars keep cold air from penetrating your zipper or from drifting down from the hood. The better bags give you several size and zipper options that allow you to fit your body perfectly or to mate two bags together. There are even women’s models that are built to fit women perfectly.

Don’t Forget Your Pad

Many first-time sleeping bag buyers often forget to purchase a pad to sleep on. Not only do these pads provide comfort, but they protect you from losing warmth to the cold ground below you. All sleeping bag temperature ratings assume you have a mattress under you.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: How to Choose a Sleeping Bag

About halfway up the mountain, she started to have the runs. It just so happened that there was a road and visitor center at the top of the mountain, so she kept on walking. About every ten minutes, she had to go. We feed her all our water, but by the top of the mountain, she was completely dehydrated.

These are two examples of situations that occurred on the Appalachian Trail because of foul water. The first happened after drinking from a spring that was reputed to be pure, and the second occurred probably because of cross contamination of a water filter. Both show the importance of having a good way to treat water and the second shows that even when doing everything right, a good system may have a serious weakness that should taken into account.

When traveling light and fast, a third factor that must be considered is the weight of the system. Ideally, a water purification system will create potable water, have few weaknesses, add little chemical taste and weigh very little.

Water Purification Systems

There are several types of water treatment systems for backcountry travelers. Those that are the most popular are simple pump filters and chemicals like iodine. Variants of pump filters include water bottles with built in filters, inline filters for hydration systems, and gravity feed filters. A relatively new category is an electronic system. Each has advantages and disadvantages.

Pump Filters

Pump filters are perhaps the most popular backcountry gadgets right after stoves with many different models on the market. But three models are by far the best sellers on the market: Katadyn Hiker, MSR MiniWorks EX, and the MSR SweetWater. Each of these filters provides approximately the same advantages. They make potable water very quickly, for small groups not a lot of work is involved, the taste of the water is either the same as the source or slightly better, or they filter out muck in the water. They also share the same disadvantages. You have to pump them to make water, so it’s one more thing you have to do in the morning, at lunch, or before dinner. They’re heavy. You have to watch for cross contamination, which is what happens when you contaminate the clean hose with the dirty one through contact when filtering or during storage.

Among these three filters, there are some variances that merit discussion. The Hiker and SweetWater each use a paper type filter and the MiniWorks uses a ceramic filter. The ceramic filter and the filter in the SweetWater can be cleaned when clogged, but the filter in the Hiker must be replaced when it clogs. All three will clog. The SweetWater tends to clog more often and quicker than the MiniWorks. And the Hiker seems to avoid clogging for a good amount of time, but when it does, that’s it.

Also, the MiniWorks is 4 ounces heavier, but it does include a nice system to screw a Nalgene bottle onto it. This will help avoid cross contamination, but to take advantage of this, you have to carry a heavy bottle or a bladder with an awkwardly large opening. The Hiker has two long tubes that can quickly become cross-contaminated, and require careful management when filtering and storing the filter.

All three filters also vary in speed of output. The Hiker is by far the fastest filter, and if you count the amount of cleaning, the SweetWater is the slowest. The MiniWorks is faster than the SweetWater, but still agonizingly slow compared to the Hiker.

Having used all three of these filters extensively, when I use a pump filter, I’ve settled into using a MiniWork EX. I like the ability to quickly clean the filter and the long life of the ceramic filter. I also like the less hassle with managing the filter hoses against cross contamination. I deal with its slow speed.

Filter Variants

A couple of filter systems don’t use a pump to force the water through the filter. The first and popular choice is a water bottle, like the Katadyn Exstream, that contains a filter. When the bottle is squeezed, the water is forced through the filter and down a straw to the awaiting mouth. These water bottles tend to be very light, but sometimes the water doesn’t flow fast enough. I know one sponsored hiker who removed the filter from the bottle and just used AquaMira to treat his water. Another option is the Katadyn Base Camp. With the Base Camp, you fill a bag and let gravity force the water through a filter. This is a great system for large groups if you have the time to let the filter run, usually overnight. Both of these systems can suffer from cross-contamination. And unless the tube is run correctly or run directly into a threaded bottle like a Platy, the Base Camp is very prone to cross-contamination. Another variation of this is filters that are spliced into the hose of a hydration system. Hydration system filters seldom have cross problems, and typically weigh much less than pumps or the Base Camp. If you use a hydration system, a spliced filter can be an outstanding filtering system choice, because it’s fast and light. A main disadvantage is that none of them are field maintainable. When they clog, you either change the filter or figure out some other way to make potable water.

Electronic Purifiers

A new category of water treatment systems is electronic. Two main devices dominate this category: SteriPen’s SteriPen and MSR’s Miox. Both of these require batteries, but they function differently. The SteriPen uses UV light to kill the bugs in the water. It’s main problem is in dirty water where it has a problem with getting everything. It’s second main problem is that it’s not hard to imagine that the bulb would be easy to break, so a solid storage container is a must, and with the container and unit, it’s heavy. It’s also expensive. The MSR Miox treats water by creating a chemical from sea salt, water, and electricity. The dosage is adjusted for the amount of water that is being treated. After the device does its thing, the chemical is dumped directly into a bottle. It’s allowed to mix, then the threads are treated and then the waiting starts. I’ve found that I’ve had to double to triple the dosages in the BWCA to make the testing strips that come with the unit turn the proper color. The Miox is lightweight, but uses CR123 batteries camera batteries, which are becoming increasingly harder to find as digital cameras are using their own proprietary batteries. Because both of these systems use batteries, there is a risk of failure when the batteries run out, so it’s a good idea to bring extra. The Miox does have an advantage that it can treat large amounts of water quickly, but if you’re worried about crypto, you have to wait six hours. This is good for large groups. Plus both of these systems don’t require any manual labor of pumping.

Chemical Water Treatment

The last category of water treatment systems is chemical water treatment. The main products that stand out are Mcnett’s Aquamira (same as Pristine), Katadyn’s Micropur Tablets, and various Iodine systems. First, Iodine. Some people have health problems with Iodine and particularly with using Iodine for extended periods of time, and Iodine tastes bad, and Iodine doesn’t kill everything. It really has been surplanted by these other chemicals. Micropur Tablets take awhile to dissolve, but weigh very little and work well. They are very expensive per quart, which is the main downfall. These make a great backup plan to pumps and filter or work well as something to throw into your ditch kit just in case something bad happens.

Aquamira and Pristine are two-part treatment systems. You mix a certain number of drops of chemical A with the same of chemical B. Wait for the reaction to occur and then dump it into your water and wait 30 minutes. Then you have drinking water. The big question that everyone has is why do the Pristine time frames differ from the Aquamira time frames. To find out I called both companies. Lindsey the customer service representative from Aquamira said that even in cold water down to 33 F, you only have to wait 30 minutes. She recommended doubling the dosage in low temperature conditions. She also said Aquamira works against crypto in the same time frame, which the MSR Miox does not do. One thing that she added was that the water should be clear backcountry water, not murky sludge like water which the EPA tests on. Aquamira is not EPA approved yet, but is currently going through the process.

Pristine’s customer service person told me was that the two brands are manufactured by two different companies, but that they could be considered sister products. They are pretty much the same thing. So, I asked her about the time frame difference between what I heard from AquaMira and what is listed on the Pristine website. I was concerned that the AquaMira is a stronger version of the chemical… For cold water, she said that it would work in the 30 min. and kill crypto, but they choose to be more conservative, because the lower temps slow down the molecules of the chemical. She also recommended a double dose in cold water.

The key when using AquaMira or Pristine is to treat clear water, so you should try to filter out as many particles as possible when filling up your water bottle. A good way to do this is with either a coffee filter (slow) over the opening or an old nylon pantyhose (faster). If you do this, not only do you remove floaters, but help the chemical along. In questionable water, you may want to increase dosages and wait time to give the chemical time to penetrate the floaters and get the bugs.

Both of these chemicals have the advantage of taking little work to treat water, they don’t change the taste of the water, they work quickly, and they weigh very little. Each weigh about one ounce for 200 gallons and less if you repackage them into smaller dropper bottles, which are sold in kits at some websites. The only disadvantage is if the water is sort of cloudy, you’ll be drinking cloudy water, and that you have to mix the chemicals.

Which to Choose

As a lightweight canoeist or kayaker, the choice seems clear (bad pun). AquaMira and Pristine are the lightest system on the market. It requires very little work. The water tastes good and not chemically. And it creates potable water in 30 minutes. In cloudy water, bring a pantyhose filter or fill a container and let the cloudiness settle out overnight.

If you’re going into an area with cloudy water, a pump filter should be considered to remove the cloudiness from the water. In this case, the choice isn’t so clear. The Hiker filter is the lightest, least hassle to use but has real cross-contamination possibilities. The MiniWorks is heavier, requires a heavier bottle, but is more reliable in the field. An ideal system would be the lighter inline filter for a hydration system.

If you want very little work in a cloudy water area and don’t want to mess with chemicals or pumps, then a gravity feed system is the way to go. These are lightweight, easy to use, work while you sleep, and make good tasting water. You do have to carry extra water at the start of the day, which is a big disadvantage though.

What Do I Use

On some trips, I bring a MSR MiniWork EX. These are usually shorter trips with other people. We generally share a filter and fill our own bottles. On longer trips or solo trips, I use AquaMira. It’s light, and the places I paddle have clear water.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Avoid the Beaver and Save the Weight: How to Choose a Water Filter

Bell Magic Kevlar canoe on Bald Eagle Lake in the BWCA.

For seven years, I worked for a sporting good chain that carried Bell. I remember the first few that we brought them into the store. The wood work, the lay-ups, the unique color of the Kevlar, and their signature shouldered tumblehome all beckoned to the paddlers in the store to take me to the nearest lake and paddle me. Of course, it was winter when the first canoes arrived, and I didn’t have a chance to paddle them until the ice melted, and it was a treat. I bought a Wildfire solo canoe.

As more friends paddled my canoe, they ended up buying a Bell also. By the end of the summer, one friend had a Merlin 2, one had a Magic, and one had a Northwind. We definitely had the Bell bug. And last year, I bought a Magic, too. These last few years, I’ve had the opportunity to paddle almost all of the Bell canoes, but I absolutely love their solos. In my opinion, there isn’t a solo out there that paddles better than a Bell. And that opinion is echoed by the majority of Bell canoe owners, which in turns sends their friends out looking for a Bell solo canoe. But most people still have one main question, which Bell solo is for me?

The Canoes

Bell makes several solo canoes: the Magic, the Merlin II, the Wildfire, the Yellowstone Solo, the Flashfire, the Rob Roy, and the Bucktail. (I’m leaving out the whitewater kayaks.) The Rob Roy is a decked canoe paddled with a kayak paddle, and it will not be covered in this article. The Bucktail is a small Adirondack pack boat, which is also paddled with a kayak paddle, and it will not be covered here. The Magic is a fast 16-foot touring solo that doubles as a recreational racer. The Wildfire is an all-around touring solo that works well on lakes and rivers. It also happens to be Cliff Jacobson’s favorite solo canoe, and mine also. The Merlin II fits inbetween the Wildfire and the Magic, it makes a good all-around canoe, but sacrifices slight river handling for added speed and efficancy for lake touring. The Yellowstone Solo is a plastic slightly modified version of the Wildfire, and the Flashfire is the Wildfire’s little sister.

Huh?

Those above descriptions are usually what you can gleam from the catalogue and reviews on the web, but really it still doesn’t answer, which Bell solo is for me? In order to find your fit, we need to answer several questions. This is one of those fun quizzes that you’ll add up the results after your finished.

1. Where will I use the canoe?
a. River only b. Some River and Lake c. Lakes only

2. How often will I use the canoe to flat-water tour out of it?
a. Never b. Once or twice a year c. That’s all I do.

3. Will I use the canoe for mild whitewater?
a.Yes, often b. Only now and then c. Moving water? No way.

4. Do I want to use the canoe for Canadian style or freestyle paddling?
a. Yes, in competition b. I like to now and then c. Huh? What’s that.

5. Will I race with the canoe?
a. Never. b. Once a year. c. Yes, and often.

6. Does this statement describe you? I just want a canoe to explore the small local lake.
a. Yes, exactly b. Now and then. c. No, big lakes only.

7. Do you like to go straight or like a canoe that turns?
a. A canoe must turn! b. I like to turn easily, but go straight also. c. I like to go straight and fast.

8. Do I kneel when paddling?
a. Yes, all the time b. When the water gets rough c. No.

9. Does this statement describe you? I like to have the fastest canoe when I’m out with my friends.
a. Not at all b. I like to be able to keep up c. I love to be first and fastest

10. How many Bell Canoes would you like to own?
a. Two b. Just one c. At least three

Now the fun starts. You get a chance to score yourself. For each question add up the points that corresponds to your answer. (1)a.1 b.2 c.3 (2) a.1 b.2 c.3 (3) a.1 b.2 c.3 (4) a.1 b.2 c.3 (5) a.0 b.1 c.3 (6) a.0 b.1 c.2 (7) a.0 b.1 c.3 (8) a.0 b.1 c.3 (9) a.0 b.1 c.3 (10) a.1 b.2 c.3

How’d you score?

Canoeing down Clear Creek in Iowa.

So, How Do I Know This Works?

Well, you don’t know for sure, but chances are that if you race or tour only on big lakes and want to go fast, then the Magic is going to be for you. If you like to paddle rivers or want a canoe that can do it all and are will to sacrifice tracking, then the Wildfire is for you. If you want an all-around canoe then the Merlin will be the canoe for you. The above questions are geared to get you to think about how you will actually use the canoe, and now that you’ve answered them, I bet you have a better idea of which boat you want.

Hold On a Second?

What about the Flashfire or the Yellowstone Solo? This is a great question. You may want to consider these canoes for two reasons. For a Flashfire, you qualified for a Wildfire in the quiz above, but you don’t weigh a lot or you may never want to use the boat for touring. This boat is built for a smaller person or freestyle play. Consider the Yellowstone Solo if you plan on beating your boat up on long trips down rocky rivers or if you are on a budget. It is built from Royalex, which is one tough material. Out of all the people I’ve canoed with, I’ve only known one person to put a hole through it, and it was me. Royalex is also less expensive than other materials, so it makes the boat less expensive. If you qualified for a Merlin II, but can’t afford it, the Yellowstone Solo is your next best bet.

But Shouldn’t I Paddle Them All

Yes, but paddle them with a grain of salt. If you’ve never been in, or haven’t spent much time in a solo canoe, be ready to be surprised. Most people are used to canoes that are 34 to 38 inches wide, but solo canoes drop down to 30 inches wide, which means that the boat will feel tippier. This isn’t unusual to feel in a solo canoe. The feeling will actually disappear after spending a couple of days in the boat. When I first started paddling Bell solos, I thought the Magic was the most stable, the Wildfire next and then the Merlin II was the least stable. But now that I’ve paddled them all, they all feel stable to me. If you’re just starting out, you may want to make sure that you’re solo has the longest seat drops installed in them. A longer seat drop will lower your center of gravity, which will make the boat feel more stable. Overtime, you may want to raise the drops. I have the shortest drops in my Wildfire and love it, but most people would find that high of a seat a little tippy.

Other than feeling tippy, most people find solos hard to control. This is because you sit on the pivot point of the canoe. By sitting on this pivot, your strokes tend to have more turning force on the canoe, so it seems that solo canoes turn a lot and don’” t go straight. If you learn, the C-Stroke going straight is easy. (Read this article for more info.) Still, if you don’t want to learn the C-Stroke, the Magic is like paddling a solo on cruise control. It goes straight as an arrow.

The third thing to concern yourself with when trying these boats is the conditions that you’re paddling in. Most places that allow demos only allow those demos on flat water under sunny skies. So, if you mostly paddle rivers, you may not experience the conditions you are likely to paddle in. Out of all the canoe and kayak manufacture’s reps that I’ve worked with in the Upper Midwest, they say there are really only two moving water demos that they go to. The first is in Fargo, ND of all places, and the second is an event put on only for employees of one chain of stores. So, if you paddle rivers, don’t expect to demo a canoe on one.

Really, spending a half hour in a canoe isn’t going to tell you much, especially if you aren’t used to solo canoes or in the typical conditions, you will be paddling that boat in.

Dan eating an apple in a Bell Yellowstone Solo. In Iowa.

That’s All Folks

That sums it up for picking a Bell solo canoe. This quiz is still no substitute for paddling all three and picking which one you like best, but it should narrow you down to only two of the three models. With this knowledge head to your local store and find a sales person, who actually asks you a ton of questions about where you will be using the canoe and your canoeing style. Get their recommendations, and then spring the results of this quiz on him or her. My guess is that they will be the same. Then buy your new Bell solo, ZRE carbon fiber paddle and head off into the sunset. Or if you’re like me, just buy two, a Wildfire or Yellowstone Solo and a Magic, then you’ll know for sure that you’ll have a Bell solo canoe for your every need.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: How to Pick a Bell Solo Canoe