We may earn commissions if you shop through the links below. This is all the miscellaneous gear that I hauled with me on my recent BWCAW canoe trip. After this post, I’ll cover the food that I brought with me — it was the best food that I’ve carried on a trip and I’ll be carrying similar in the future. For this post, I’ll just post the list and put my thoughts or future changes in the righthand column. I could have easily saves a pound or so if I had done this list before the trip. I would have probably saved near 18 ounces with a few changes. Navigation NatGeo BWCAW Waterproof Map 3.3 You get 1/2 of the BWCAW on one map. Read my National Geographic Boundary Waters map review. You can buy at Amazon. I sold my full set of McKenzie Maps and just use these now. Silva Starter Compass 0.9 You really don’t need anything fancier for the BWCAW. Thin Optics Keychain Glasses 0.8 Helps when reading small items on the map. You may not need this, but they are small cheaters that I can stash in my pocket or tie on my compass lanyard. 5 0 lb 5 oz Office/Den Princeton Tec EOS Headlight 3.6 Bought a Nitecore NU25. It will save 2.5 ounces. Have to make head strap. My old EOS has developed a crack in the plastic and doesn’t hold position anymore. This lasted a long time because I bought it or was given it at a tradeshow the first year it came out. Moleskine Classic Notebook, 3.5×5.5 ruled 4.1 I write a lot and filled over half of this book on the trip with notes and journaling, so it is worth the weight. I like these little books and am willing to carry them. On a shorter trip, I’ll use one of their smaller cashiers. G2 pen refill with tape where held 0.2 Glasses case 4 Switch to used Crystal Light container to save 3 ounces. Contact case 0.3 Contact solution 1.4 I just used a travel bottle that was 1/2 full. I’m sure I could find a lighter bottle. This weight includes the solution. Glasses 0.9 Seattle Sports Dry Doc™ ID 0.3 To carry $40 in cash, a credit card and id. I’m still using this as a wallet. Driver’s Lic, credit card, cash 0.4 Book 6 I didn’t read much of this. I could have left at home. Printed Winchell journal 4.1 This was trip specific. Extra maps 3 These were for areas outside the BWCAW. I actually know those areas well and could have left these at home. Outdoor Research Helium #1 dry sack 1.6 This is a bit heavy for what it carried. I could save around an ounce. 29.9 1 lb 14 oz (With changes I could have saved ~15 ounces) Bathroom Bag Contacts – Extra 0.2 Toothbrush w/cover 0.8 Small Wash Cloth 0.3 Granite Gear Air ZipDitty 0.8 I can put this in the same ditty bag with my food utensils. 2.1 0 lb 2 oz First Aid and Repair First Aid Kit 5.7 I carry this in a Adventure Medical Zip Pouch, but the selection of items is much different and based on my training. It was nice to have what I did on this trip to handle a small injury and a weird bug bite. It looked like a spider bit me in three different places on my ankle. Here’s an example of a lightweight first aid kit that I put together in the past. Repair/Emergency Kit Moki Knife – 1.5 I didn’t bring this because I had a rescue knife on my vest. Light My Fire Flint and Steel 1 Tinder-Quik™ Firestarter Tabs 0.1 Mini Bic Lighter 0.5 Probably didn’t need this with the other fire starters I had with me. Coghlan’s Waterproof Matches 0.3 Emergency LED light 0.4 I’ve never used this on a trip and probably didn’t need to bring it. Duct tape 0.4 I use this to treat blisters, which I got on the first day after 9 miles of portages. It also does repairs. One trip, we put a hole in a plastic canoe and duct tape kept it running the entire week. I can probably bring 1/2 of this. Sewing kit w/ tweezers 0.4 I’ve had to repair stuff on trips before, so this stays with me. Gear Aid Tape 0.2 I didn’t realize I still had tape in the bag when I added some. Gear Aid Tape 0.6 ACR Hotshot Signaling Mirror 1.8 With the InReach I brought, I probably didn’t need to carry this. Zippered Pouch 0.7 12.1 0 lb 12 oz Consumables Most of these weights include the bottle. Fuel doesn’t. Clear Eyes drops 0.3 I carry this but seldom use it. I probably don’t need to carry it. Hand Sanitizer 1.6 Toothpaste 0.5 I’ve been thinking about trying toothpaste pills. Anyone try these? Sunscreen 0.6 Bug Spray – DEET 4 I could have put this in a smaller container and carried only about 1 ounce of juice. Fuel Burt’s Bees Chapstick 0.4 There are lighter and smaller chapsticks. Sea to Summit Wilderness Wipes 4.6 10 0 lb 12 oz Subscribe to Blog via Email Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address Subscribe Join REI and Earn $30 towards your next gear purchase. After this, I have two more posts. The first will be food and the second will be electronic and paddling gear. The electronics might end up as a YouTube video. If anyone is interested — these posts have gotten limited engagement — I’ll post the full list in one post or just link it as a Google spreadsheet. Maybe I’ll make a spreadsheet with recommended gear items with an ideal weight as a benchmark. That way you could add your gear to the spreadsheet and compare what you have versus what I have and what weight we should be shooting for.