Bent Shaft and HIgh Angle

The student that bought the Cetus HV was of course also shopping for a paddle. When he went down to Charleston he was very focused on the boat, and thought very little about the paddle, though he did use a Werner Kalliste. He had been debating bent shaft versus straight shaft, but when he was talking with the people in Charleston they were telling him that he should be doing a high angle stroke in a boat like that. I should point out for clarity that this particular student is planning an expedition on the Yukon, which I am advising him on as well. But the Bent versus straight and High angle versus low are the two topics that I think confuse people the most. So that is todays topic.

First, high angle versus low angle:

This is from Werner Paddles site:

Low Angle

Low Angle is the most common paddling style. It is a more relaxed touring style and relaxed cadence. Our Low Angle designs have longer and narrower blades designed to pull through each stroke with the right amount of surface area for good power while maintaining a smooth forward stroke.  

High Angle

High Angle paddling is typically a more aggressive style of paddling with a faster cadence and a larger variety of strokes being used on each paddle outing. Our high angle designs have short wide blades for a powerful catch and stroke with a slight dihedral for smooth linking strokes.

When I read that some key phrases stick with me for Low angle: relaxed, relaxed, smooth. 

And here is what sticks with me for High angle: Aggressive, Faster, powerful. 

If you were paddling 600 miles of the yukon, or 350 miles of coast, which of those do you think would be better? I teach a low angle style, which is not to say that there aren't times that I work into a high angle style for a couple of strokes at a time. Breaking through an eddy for instance, or getting out of the surf zone. High angle style calls for a shorter paddle, low angle slightly longer. It is easier to use a low angle paddle length doing a couple of high angle strokes than the other way around. Low angle generally calls for a smaller blade, larger for high angle. Here is another way to think about the two. High angle equals fewer strokes and more effort for explosive speed. Low angle equals more strokes but easier work for a smoother, more continuous speed. High angle is a more whitewater/racing style of stroke. The blade will move down the side of the boat in a straighter line so you can focus all of your energy on speed. Low angle means the paddle is doing more of an arc, so you will be working less, but correcting direction more often. 

So here is how I break it down. Touring, or recreational paddling you probably want to or are, a low angle paddler. Whitewater, racing, rock gardening or playing in surf and you are probably, or should be a high angle paddler. As to why the people helping my student in Charleston thought he should be using a high angle style? I have no idea. 

Bent shaft vs Straight shaft

Back in the dark ages when I learned to paddle (okay, 1996 is when I got serious) I went to a kayak festival/symposium in New Jersey. I went to each manufacturer and said "I am a narrow hipped person who wants a boat for long distance touring, what do you have that will work" and each time I was shown a high end touring kayak, generally the top of that particular manufacturers line. I went to the Werner rep and said "long distance touring, fit me for a paddle" what I ended up with was a werner camano with carbon shaft and carbon blades at the 220 length. I asked - what? no bent shaft? and the rep said 'nope'. In 1996 bent shaft was strictly a white water paddle, and really only slalom racing. I guess in the early 2000's bent shaft paddles started sliding into touring. We were then told that the bend in the shaft would prevent injuries to wrists and elbows. 

In my opinion - and this is horribly negative of me - I think this is a way to sell a higher priced product to people that don't need it. I know a number of people who say the bent shaft is easier on pre-existing injuries in their wrists. So like I have said on many topics, if it works for you do it, but if you are paddling correctly there should be little or no movement of your wrists or elbows anyway. For me, these are the deal breakers on bent shaft. The bend makes the shaft weaker, so to get the same strength you need a heavier shaft. By adding a bend to get the same 220 length you have to make the shaft longer, which is also going to make it heavier. The Werner Kalliste bent shaft weighs 3 ounces more than the straight shaft. Three ounces doesn't sound like a lot, but over four hours of paddling that is about 3000 pounds you don't have to lift. At the end of the day weight wins over everything else. 

Werner does say that the bent shaft gives you more contact with the paddle, which can give you a more relaxed grip. they also say it is easier to tell the proper orientation of your paddle without looking. Both excellent points, and as I said before, if it works for you, go for it. 

I should also point out that I only paddle with Werner paddles. I have used just about every other euro blade, and I don't think anything compares to both the quality, and feel of their paddles in the water. I also love that Werner is independently owned, and not part of a conglomeration of companies. I should also point out that I am not sponsored by Werner, but would be thrilled to talk to them on the subject if they were interested. Here are a couple of links that I used preparing this post:

Werner paddles offers a great fit guide on their website - that today would put me in a 215 cm paddle versus a 220 that the rep put me in 21 years ago! I think paddle lengths are like skirt lengths (women's skirts, not spray skirts) and they change with the times. 

Epic paddles offers the history of the bent shaft, which is a fascinating read. 

If you want to see how to do a high angle stroke, the lesson is here. 

P&H Cetus HV - Quick Test

It is a little odd, the number of different boats I have paddled in the past few weeks. It is mostly due to a student who was putting a lot of thought into the boat he wanted to buy. Really a lot of thought. Because of that I was making as many boats as possible available for him to paddle, and the by-product of that was I got to paddle them all as well. I really enjoyed the time I spent with the Valley Etain. Last week I paddled - but didn't review - the perception Essence in airelite. Really nice boat, and I got a photo of myself that I like, it now adorns my facebook page header. He paddled my Delta and a couple of other Delta's I have access to. This past weekend he drove down to Charleston to look at boats, and though he invited me, I couldn't make it.

He came home with one of these:

And he was nice enough to let me paddle it. I want to start with the things I didn't like. I felt like I was sitting very high in the water. This seems like a little thing I would probably get used to. At the back of the seat there was a small bump that was hitting me in a way that would be trouble if I was paddling for several hours. Despite the fact that this was the HV (High Volume, my friend is much taller than I am) it fit me pretty well, but when I edged the kayak my knees were hitting unpadded fiberglass. The hatches covers were basic rubber, that would concern me over the course of years I would expect to own a boat of this nature. It had four hatches. A bow and stern of course, a front day hatch which is becoming standard - this one was quite nice, and large, yet also up and out of the way inside the cockpit!) but it had a day hatch behind the cockpit. Of course bulkheaded. For the life of me I don't understand this! It is so hard to get things into the small hatch opening.... I just don't get it. These aft day hatches are becoming very popular, yet you can't really access them while paddling, they make the largest compartment in the boat harder to pack, the openings are so small you can't put anything of size into them. Someone explain this to me.

Okay, that's what I didn't like. You want to know what I liked? Everything else.

This was a gorgeous kayak. Beautifully made with amazing attention to detail. The finish was superb and on the inside the construction was solid, with no bare edges, or odd leftovers. Getting into the boat was easy - despite my short legs, and its high deck I had no problem getting in or out - though I am pretty flexible. The seat - with the exception of the piece in the back - was comfortable and held me snug, with out being obtrusive. Loved the hip pads on the sides, I will be adding something like this to my boat. It has a nice low back deck, and I am sure rolling it is a breeze.

                                                              It literally Sparkles

Performance wise, its rounded chines move onto edge easily, but it does take a little work to hold an edge. It tracks beautifully without the skeg down, and with just a little edge it turns well for a boat of its length, almost 18 feet long. I felt at home in this boat much faster than I did in the Valley Etain. With a little effort I got the boat moving and then was amazed at how fast it felt.

This is truly one of the most enjoyable paddling experiences I have ever had, and that is a bold statement. I have paddled a lot of boats. So could this replace my trusted and loved Delta?

In a word, no. Here is why. Despite its longer length, and HV name, it can't handle as much gear as my Delta. It would be hard to fit a months worth of food/fuel/gear inside her. She weighs right around 10 pounds heavier - we could have a long debate about strength/rigidity between the two very different boats - but here is the deal killer for me. If I had an extra $4000 lying about I would do it in a second. The cetus is almost double the price of my Delta. So, one of the nicest boats I have paddled, but way out of my price range. But this is a four star boat, and It was a joy to paddle.

Oddly, as we were packing up our boats to call it a day, something you don't normally see pulled up.

That is a hand made, skin on frame boat. The gentleman that built it didn't even build it from a kit. I think from what he said, he has two others and is working on a third. Total cost? Under $100 in materials. Quite the contrast, we had nearly $6000 in boats next to this one. Proving again it isn't the cost of the boat the determines its value. It is how much fun you have in it!

First Aid Kits

If you follow me on facebook, you probably know that I am an instructor with the Wilderness Medical Institute (WMI). Because of that I spend a lot of time talking to people about first aid kits. If you read this blog regularly you know about my mishap last year and the fact that I didn't have a first aid kit in my boat when I needed it. Since then I have changed a few things, and with the addition of  mountain biking to my list of regular activities, I needed to add a couple of things.

I have always been a fan of the theory that the bigger your first aid kit, the less likely you are to need it. This is a theory that has worked well for me. I use a 15 liter dry bag as my first aid kit when paddling. It  lives in front of my feet in the cockpit, so it is easy to get too. Only when it was out of reach did I need it.

Many times people tell me they just want to buy an empty kit, and they will fill it themselves. This is a mistake. No matter which brand first aid kit you buy, the manufacturer can get the supplies for it much less expensively than you. So I recommend that people buy a first aid kit, then remove the things they wont ever use, and add things they will.

I really like this little REI kit, though there are many good options. I have yet to find one that comes in a  dry bag. I don't like the idea of moving the kit around with me as I change activities. So when I started mountain biking I bought another little rei kit, and added it to the hydration pack I was using for cycling. I have the identical kit in my deck/lap bag when I kayak. I then have my large 'expedition' kit in the trunk of my car, which comes with me on multi-day trips.

This is the kit that goes with me on day trips.

I have added to it two pairs of nitrile gloves. A WMI wound pack (which is the best 4 dollars you will ever spend) I got rid of the small roll of tape that comes with the kit and replaced it with a full size roll of athletic tape. I also added an irrigation syringe. In the yellow bag I have things like sunblock, and powerfood, chap stick. a light source, etc.

This is the exact same kit in my hydration pack. With the exact same additions and subtractions. I don't have to think about what is where, and what the kit contains. it is just ready to go.

and finally, my expedition bag. On the left, in a ziploc bag, a large ace bandage, a triangular bandage and two rolls of tape. Next to it - rolled up - is a large SAM splint. I think of this as 'musculoskeletal'. Gear for dealing with a sprain/strain or fracture. All the way to the right I have another ziploc, this is filled with roller gauze, an assortment of bandages 2x2, 4x4 and bigger, WMI wound packs, tincture of benzoine, band aids, irrigation syringe. Nitrile gloves, Trauma shears, and tweezers. I think of this as 'Trauma'. Materials for dealing with any sort of traumatic injury. Laceration, punctures, avulsions, burns. you name it. In the middle is a small black bag with a BP cuff and mini maglight. A Littman lightweight stethoscope. A CPR shield and an ALS field guide - the one I carried when I was a medic.

Before an expedition I will add medications to the big kit. Here are things I don't carry. No quick clot, or commercial tourniquet products. Unless you are in a war zone you won't need them, and I have heard very contradictory information of how well quick clot works. No sutures. First, you probably wont need them, second, in the back country sutures can cause more trouble than they are worth. Without a local anesthetic they are painful to use. If the wound gets infected you have to cut them out, clean the wound and re-suture. The WMI wound pack carries steri-strips that when paired with tincture of benzoine and a transparent semi-permeable dressing works better, and is more field maintainable.

I am fanatical about gloves. I buy expensive nitrile gloves that fit me really well. This way I can actually do things with them on. I don't care what people say, you can improvise a lot of things, but not gloves.

The most important piece of gear I carry however, isn't in any of these kits. It is what I have learned over many years. First as  WFR, then an EMT-BASIC. Then I worked as an EMT while I studied to get my Paramedic, but honestly after all of that training, and work, my wilderness medicine skills really got hammered home when I became a WMI instructor. WMI refined my skills and made me a better practitioner, and a better teacher. I highly recommend that you take a wilderness medicine course. Much like my theory on first aid kits, I think the better you are trained the less likely you are to need it. Or at least that is my hope.

The Garmin FDR (Fun Data Recorder)

This is something I think Garmin should start selling. Yet another new product idea from someone with no ability to make it real.

I teach a lot of people how to use GPS, and a fair percentage of people expect two things from a GPS device that they don't do, or don't do well. The first, people expect them to be accurate to within a couple of feet. They just don't work that way. The best accuracy I have ever seen from a handheld GPS unit is about 9 feet (keeping in mind that is a circle with a radius of 9 feet, so a diameter of 18 feet! An 18 foot wide circle!) The device I saw do 9 feet was using the US GPS satellites and the Russian GLONASS satellites. GPS's that can't use both generally have an accuracy of around 30 feet, and for most people that is enough. In GPS class I am find of saying "if you can't find your car from 30 feet away, you have bigger issues." The second is, they are dismayed to find out that if they turn off the GPS it doesn't continue to track where they are. People regularly state that they want to use a GPS 'To track my position" so after a day on the trail, or the bike, or the boat, they can see where they were. There are several apps that do this, but then you have to bring a relatively bulky and relatively fragile phone into the outdoors.

Most GPS devices will do this, but there is a problem. Most GPS units use a flat patch antenna, located at the top of the unit above the screen. This needs to be facing up so it can 'see' the satellites. Leaving it on all day long will also use a lot of batteries, as battery life is around 20 to 30 hours depending on device.

While my imaginary Garmin device the 'Fun Data Recorder' (or should it be flight data recorder?) can't fix the first problem, it can fix the second problem. Here is what it should do.

It should be small. Around 2 inches square, black plastic with no screen. The top of it will house a small GPS receiver, it will also have two small LED's and two buttons. The bottom has a water proof seal to at least IPX7, inside that seal is two AAA batteries, and a mini USB port. The bottom will also accommodate different mounting options. For instance, you should be able to mount it to the top of a pack, or a bike helmet, or the deck of a kayak, or maybe around your cats collar!

You depress the power button to turn it on. the led Flashes yellow until it receives enough satellite signals to get a location. When it has location information, the led turns green for one minute and then turns off. You press the second button when you want it to start operating. When it is operating, it flashes green for one minute and then turns off.

Here is what it does. It uses a high sensitivity GPS receiver and a pressure based altimeter to track your speed, location, and altitude. While you are moving it generates a track of your speed and movement in three dimensions - well four, with the fourth being time. With no screen, I would like to think that two AAA batteries could keep it running for a couple of hundred hours.

At the end of what ever activity you have chosen (or your cat has come home) you open up the bottom compartment and connect it to a computer via USB. you can download a GPX file with all your trip information, and use it either in Garmins Connect website to see where you went. Or you can upload the data to Google earth, or Strava, or whatever other app or software you are using.

It is only used to track, not for navigation, so it isn't eating into their core market. You can't access any of the information without a computer, but it should have a large memory so you could use it to track multiday trips. It is small and light weight, once it is attached and running you forget about it. But it gives people the ability to track their own movements and share the data with the world.

Garmin, if you could get to work on this I would appreciate it. Next summer I have a big trip planned.

Valley Etain - quick test

A couple of odd things happened yesterday. I had a lesson with a student I have worked with before who is prepping for a paddle trip on the Yukon. We were working on skills, but this time he also wanted to paddle my Delta and a Delta 15 that I had access too, he still needs a boat. At the same time a friend offered up his brand new Valley Etain (plastic) for a test paddle. I thought I would take the opportunity to give you feedback on it. I paddled it for about an hour and half. I used it during the lesson, and for a few minutes afterward.

My first impression is that it is a beautiful boat, with a gracefully upturned bow - it should ride over waves, instead of punch through them. Soft chines,  and very smooth lines. I couldn't find a sharp edge anywhere. It is rotomolded plastic, but looks to be multiple layers with an inner layer and an outer layer. A beautiful and simple finish. The boat I was paddling was outfitted with a skeg, a stern hatch, a rear day hatch (both bulkheaded) and smaller day hatch in front of the cockpit (as seen in the picture above) and a bow hatch. It also has a recessed compass point.

The handles on front and back are secured with bungies that have a lot of spring. If you use them to lift the boat, which you shouldn't, they will quickly wear and break. Sliding into the cockpit it has a very nice seat with a low profile seat back. just enough support in the seat back, but it stays well out of the way. For this paddler, 5'7" and 170, the rear deck height is a bit too tall for me to do a layback roll - the owner is a much bigger person than I am. The cockpit was incredibly comfortable, with all those smooth edges. the thigh braces were placed well, but were hard plastic with no padding. By the end of my hour my right knee was already sore.

The hatch covers are rubber, and pop over a lip, or coaming and do so easily enough - which concerns me that they leak, or will with wear when they are even looser - though the do have a very solid and secure feel. They are a much nicer cover in both design and use than the similar Wilderness systems covers, but not as nice as on my Delta Seventeen.

Paddling this boat was a joy. It wasn't the fastest seventeen foot (17.7 in fact) boat I have paddled but even with the skeg up it tracks better than most. The soft, rounded chines make it roll onto edge very easily, but those round chines make it a little harder to hold there. On edge it turns readily enough, if just a little bit slow.

The water was still a bit cold, and I chose to paddle without my drysuit, so I didn't roll the Etain, but I am sure it rolls easily with those rounded chines. It had slightly lower initial stability compared to my Delta but I got used to it very quickly. I had no problem spending the hour in it for the lesson I was doing, and didn't feel hampered in the normal movements that I would do in my familiar boat with this now unfamiliar boat around me.

We had a fairly heavy wind on the small lake we were paddling, which made for great teaching opportunities, and the boat performed well. Just once I put the skeg down during a particularly bad cross wind that was causing a weathercock, but it was no more than I would have to do in any other boat.

Speaking of the skeg, it is a solid feeling mechanism that both deployed and retracted with ease. I generally don't like skegs for the single reason that I do long trips and need every cubic inch of space in my stern hatch. I don't like giving up space to the skeg box, this one, thankfully is very small, with the cable pretty much completely out of the way.

All in all, this is a great boat. Fun to paddle, and I am sure awesome on short trips. It doesn't offer enough dry storage for my long distance needs, but still an awesome paddling kayak. If I were looking for a second, 'just for fun' kayak this would be a good option.

Optimum, not maximum.

Recently I began mountain biking. In part because a lot of my friends were making it look like too much fun, and in part, because this past year was a rough one in terms of weight gain. For years I was an avid bike commuter, unfortunately my bike had to be retired a couple of years ago. So I made a purchase a couple of months ago and immediately started bike commuting again. Then I ventured out onto trails.

Trail riding immediately struck me as very much like whitewater kayaking. You have to been very in tune with your bike, and very alert to the terrain around you, just like in whitewater, you have to be in tune with your boat, and aware of the water around you, and what it is doing. I am enjoying it a lot, and have a number of friends who are skilled mountain bikers who are guiding me along a new path, and recently one of them sent me a link to a video.



Now, I'll be honest with you, I have no idea who Fabien Barel or Steve Jones are. By the way they are talking however they are clearly very big in the world of mountain biking. But listen to what Fabien is saying. I don't think he is saying anything I haven't said before, but here is someone else illustrating it, and illustrating it in a different venue, with different tools. If you Change out the word bike for kayak he is speaking about what I have been teaching since the start of this blog.

Fabien says "the main mistake of the average rider is that they believe to go fast you mast peddle to accelerate"

If you change the nouns and verbs to fit paddling. It goes like this:

PO and Fabien say "the main mistake of the average paddler is that they believe to go fast you must paddle hard to accelerate. If you have been visiting me here for a while you know that I teach that to go fast requires the right technique, not working really hard with a paddle in your hand. He goes on to talk about a couple of things I really like, and that resonate with my teaching style. Listen to what he says about 'maximum effort' versus 'optimum effort', and flow. It all fits very well into the Enlightened Kayaking dogma.

I used to spend a fair amount of my time in a dojo. In a dojo you learn static movements. A punch, A block, a kick. Or for comparison to us in a kayak, a forward stroke, a sweep stroke, a brace. The skill lies not in being able to do a block, and then a kick, or doing a forward stroke, and a sweep stroke, it comes from sliding fluidly from one to the next. Flowing from one to the next. Not because you practiced it a hundred, or a thousand times, but because at that moment it is the right thing to do.

While I am new to mountain biking I think Fabien is talking about flowing from one turn to the next, one obstacle to the next without losing energy. You don't go faster by peddling faster, you go faster by peddling when advantageous, and using momentum to carry you through. You don't go faster in a kayak by paddling harder - if you think you do, click the big button on the right that says 'start here' - you go faster in kayak by paddling in an optimal way, and flowing up and down waves, and into and out of turns. Taken to the ultimate expression of things people struggle with in a kayak, rolling is not achieved by big muscles, it is achieved by flowing from one position to the next. from rolling the boat over, while your head is still under water. As he says, you need to understand it (it's four steps, it's not that hard) you need to apply it, you need to feel it. If you think about it - meaning if you think your head is underwater, and life would be much better is it wasn't! - your done.

The same person that sent me this video, also asked me a question this week. He said, if you had to turn a kayak really sharply, how would you do it. I explained that I do most of my turning with edging. Changing the shape of the hull, and the pressures on the hull to make the boat go where I want it to. A long kayak wants to go straight, so I am going to put the boat on an edge to make it not so long. He asked if I would then drag a paddle to turn the boat, and I said I wouldn't. Dragging a paddle is very common in canoes, and I hate doing it in my kayak for one very big reason. I don't want to bleed off all that momentum into the water when I want to turn. I then have to work harder to get the boat moving again. Dragging a paddle works against optimum effort. But if after edging the boat, and maybe adding a sweep to get the boat moving where I want it to go, If I still needed more turn, I would use a cross bow rudder. That is, with my boat edged to the right, with my left knee raised, I would reach the paddle across the boat, so my chest is facing left, and plant the blade vertically in the water. This then acts as a rudder, turning the boat sharply, and it doesn't bleed off as much energy as dragging it.

When I get the boat moving, I want to keep it moving. Particularly when it has 300 pounds of gear in it.  Fabien is right. Optimum is much better than maximum. Every time.

Clean thy water.

A lot of people worry about water. I guess that makes sense as you can't live more than a few days without it, but we really shouldn't worry. When I am doing trips this is how I deal with water.

The things we are worried about contaminating our water are primarily Giardia, and Cryptosporidium. Both cause intestinal distress. There is no real data on how much of the free running water is contaminated in the United States, but it is always best to treat your water*. Some people worry about viruses in the water, but short of 'Katrina-esque' situations, we generally don't see viruses in the water in the US. All the major commercially available filters will get Giardia and Crypto though, so no worries there.

I usually have the ability to carry a lot of water in my boat. On long trips I have the capacity for close to five gallons of water. Three liters in a reservoir for drinking while paddling. A gallon in an MSR dromlite. 2.5 Gallons in an MSR dromedary. I find the 'droms' easy to deal with in the boat and easy to work with around camp, and I like the platypus big zip for my personal drinking water when I am paddling. But how do I treat it? I use a couple of different methods.

I own a sawyer two bag, gravity fed system. It is fast and easy, and I never have to replace the filter cartridge. Guaranteed for a million gallons. I like this because there is no pumping. I was once on a backpacking trip when someone said "I will wash every dish, but I am not pumping anymore water!" So with big groups I like gravity systems.

Sarah and I also used Aqua Mira in Alaska - which is what NOLS uses and how I learned about it. A great chemical system. Mix seven drops of "A" with seven drops of "B". When it turns yellow add it to your water. 30 minutes later you are good to go. It was great when we were paddling past water, and didn't want to get out of the boats to hang a filter bag. Do it all in the cockpit.

For my uses, I don't like steripens. Primarily because they use batteries (or charge via USB) and are an electronic device that can break. They also don't work if the water isn't clear - though you can pre-filter the water and then use the device. They are very light, and very convenient. if you can work around their short comings they are awesome.

I have used the sawyer squeeze, and it is a great product, but it is surprisingly hard to fill the bags. I am a big fan of the MSR sweetwater. Fast, reliable. light. Great option for shorter trips with smaller groups. It is really about finding what works for you.


*unless you are in a life threatening situation. It is always better to treat untreated water, than to die of dehydration.

This month in 'The Leader'

I am extremely excited, and honored that the NOLS alumni magazine - The Leader - decided to review  my book. Particularly excited that this blog is referred to as 'influential'. Coming from the world leaders in outdoor education I am flattered. 

You can read the entire issue of the leader here, and if you haven't already taken a NOLS course, maybe it's time.

My food bag problem.

I have a food bag problem, that I am struggling to solve, and I want your help with it. But first some background. I learned how to pack a kayak as a NOLS student in 2000. If you have ever done a NOLS course - and if you haven't I highly recommend it - you know that there is a lot of gear involved. Because of the volume of students NOLS puts into the field, the expense of high end gear, and the relatively low budget of a not for profit school, they have made some decisions on gear.

The first big decision they made was that paddling students don't dress for submersion. Which means no drysuits - actually a couple of drysuits and a couple of wetsuits go on most kayaking courses, at least the ones I worked, for days when you are teaching students wet exits and self  rescues - so students work to stay dry and if a student ends up in the water the group works together to assist the rescue of a student and then getting the student dry. This teaches the valuable lesson of, you don't need to spend a lot of money on paddle gear, but you do have to be prepared for eventualities. I like this lesson because it means that you aren't limiting what you can do in the outdoors by the gear you can afford. Currently my favorite paddling jacket is a piece of non-paddling REI outerwear. When I finally decided to buy a drysuit it was more to keep my feet dry, but having a drysuit did change the way I viewed paddling in cold/bad weather.

The second decision they made was, as a student, unless you brought dry bags with you, you weren't going to use them. This sounds crazy right? It's not. Dry bags are expensive, and if you think you are hard on gear, try putting a piece of gear through one season at NOLS Alaska. (The summer of 2006 I did right around 70 days in the field with NOLS and I destroyed a pristine TNF sleeping bag.) So think about how much the school would spend on dry bags for students that would need to be thrown away at the end of the year. So what do they do? They do this, they take a normal nylon stuff sack, and line it with two contractor grade garbage bags. White ones work really well. You squeeze the air out of the inner bag, and then just twist the top closed - you don't knot it - stuffing the twisted top down the side of the bag - the pressure of the outer bag holds it in place - then twist the outer bag and stuff it down into the stuff sack. Seal the stuff sack with the draw cord and you are ready to go. It works amazingly well. At the end of the trip you toss the liner bags.

Which brings us to my food bag problem. NOLS taught me to package food in small plastic bags with all packaging removed with the top of the bag gently knotted. Here is what my rations for the inside passage looked like. These would go into a small non-waterproof duffel bag with two liners keeping your food dry. This is what I have done for over a decade on my own trips. (NOLS would have four of these duffels for a cook group of 3 or 4 people. One would have the stove and all the pots and pans and fuel and bear spray. the other three would have your rations for the first 7 to 10 days. Then you would have "bullet bags" (called so because they are shaped like bullets) packed with your next set of rations. Okay, so here is the problem. See that bag on the left. That is my primary ration bag. It is just a regular gym duffel bag lined with hefty big bag XXL ziplock bags. A duffel bag is nice because it opens big and you can find the food you are looking for easily, as opposed to working through the opening at the top of a narrow dry bag. The problem is, it has gotten really hard to find the really big hefty bags that I use as liners.

The other problem is that the bag itself is the kind of nylon that absorbs a little water each day, so by the end of a trip it is pretty wet and gross. It has also been chewed on by a number of animals, and I really feel that it is time to move onto something waterproof. (I have already moved away from the bullet bags and - as you can see in the picture use sea to summit dry bags for my rations) So how hard could it be to find a waterproof duffel that fits in my kayak? Well, in fact, its really hard. I can't find one small enough. There are plenty of dry bags on the market, there are even a  handful of waterproof duffels, but they are all huge gear duffels. The bag in the picture is maybe 12 by 16.

I have been looking for a long time, I finally found this which looked like it would work perfectly. It seemed a little big measurement wise, but I thought it would still fit. It doesn't. So I am putting it out to the power of internet. It needs to be 20 to 25 liters. In the past a reader solved my deck bag problem, so I am hoping to have good luck this time. Let me know what you think?

Google Glass?

In November of 2011 I posted this video:



Gear Concept from Paddling Otaku on Vimeo.

It was an idea for a gear concept. A heads up display inside a pair of sport sunglasses. It arose out of the idea that I wanted more information readily available while I was expeditioning. I could easily get all of this information on a watch, the Garmin Fenix for example, or the Suunto Ambit - but I wanted the information portrayed visually and presented in front of my normal view. I think something like this is not that far off.

By now all of you know about the Google Glass project. As people create apps for this concept I am sure that something like this will be soon be available. I wonder if Google Glass is waterproof?

It brings to mind the conversation about technology and the outdoors. I do go to the outdoors to get away from the overload of information - I am sure this app would also tell me when I have an email or text message! - and I probably wouldn't use it on day paddles, but I would on longer trips.

Imagine mountain biking with the route on the trail overlayed on what you were seeing. It would add a layer - no pun intended - of safety when it comes to navigation.