Preparing to order 480ex

[tsunamichuck]

Where in Tahoe are you headed? Dick Dale is at the Crystal Bay Club Friday night.

[larrybluhm]

Hi Chuck! I'll be at South Shore hiding out at Camp Richardson with a trip Sunday to Sand Harbor on my way down the hill. The goal of the journey is pleasant paddling in alpine splendor, while cleverly de-salting the Fujita, in equal measure with gluttony and sloth. Above all I'll be avoiding anything that looks like a theater, which is my day and often night gig - so I'll take a pass on Mr. Dale without the need to discuss artistic merits...

[tsunamichuck]

So I am heading to Kings Beach for some surfing Friday. If June and I hit Sand Harbor on Sunday we will be on the lookout. Have a white Toyota p/u. Be careful out there.

[krudave]

Where in Tahoe are you headed? Dick Dale is at the Crystal Bay Club Friday night.

Oh, man! Miserlou and all the rest? DD lives in my hometown: Encinitas, CA.

[tsunamichuck]

and I was blown away. June, who is into classical music, was impressed too. So, we may go after I spend the afternoon surfing the North Shore (of Tahoe)

[Byron Walter]

This has been a really crappy spring in Ohio. I have yet to roll out my 480ex. But in June I'm taking a short two day sea kayak program in Ontarion, Canada.

So I'm going to need dry bags to pack a sleeping bag & pad, clothes, stove & chow for trips later on. Since I have yet to carry more than day tripping stuff, can anyone here suggest the size/shape of bags I might need? My tent is about 21 x 5 inches fully packed. I plan to hop over to REI in Pittsburg and pick the stuff up but don't really want to drag my yak over and set the thing up in the parking lot and see what works. because I'm lazy.

BTW, I know that a two day program ain't enough to know squat. I will also get some training locally (rolling, etc).

Thankx

[Alm]

With drybags and packing it's hard to give an advice... Rather individual thing ... From FC Kahuna point of view (roughly same width as Fujita 480, and 1ft shorter), - in a narrow boat you can't go wrong with nylon Urethane-laminated long and narrow 14" wide oval-bottom 22 L bags (NOT round-bottom), one for sleeping bag and Thermarest, and one for clothes. These bags fit 2 side by side. You may call it "tapered", but they are not the same as those "tapered" cone-shaped bags where width at the bottom is less than at the opening. They are just not round-bottom, that's it. Here is a photo from MEC:



Food fares better in two PVC 8" diameter round-bottom 10L bags, they are sturdy enough for heavy items. Just don't put metal cans in there - firstly, they can cut any drybag through, and secondly, they don't need a drybag.

Clothes again could be in long and narrow bags like those 22L, but I keep them in one very wide very heavy-duty 17" wide Urethane-coated nylon 40L oval-bottom bag. Half or 3/4 capacity loaded, it fills all the width crosswise. Very versatile item, - it can also carry a sleeping bag or some food toghether with clothes, if long trip cargo leaves no other options.

Tent (without the fly, which can be wet after rain, and without aluminum poles and pegs, which DON'T need a drybag) goes either in clothes bag, or in Thermarest bag.

Kitchen... who packs the stove in drybag, I wonder... There could be some sense in packing the pots in a drybag, for more floatation of large volume with little weight, but my pots for solo trip are tiny, 5" *7", nested, and carry the propane stove inside (tank goes separately), so no drybag for pots either:

[Byron Walter]

Alm,

Thanks for your most excellent information. I'm gonna copy, paste, & print. I'll be either picking up some bags this weekend at REI or ordering them from NRS.

Hope the weather breaks this weekend in Ohio. Unlike some around here, I tend to favor ice-free boating

[Alm]

Oh, don't take it as a dogmat... Take your sleeping bag to REI and make sure it fits into one of 20L bags. Clothes and food you can distribute over few bags, but sleeping bag you can't split. I often carry sleeping bag in the "Big" 40-liter drybag with clothes, though.

NRS has surprisingly poor choice of drybags now, as I've just checked.
REI has only 10-liter PVC (vinyl) food bags from those familiar to me (SeallLine See Bag 10) - and for some reason only in honey and blue translucent, - not in normal clear. I don't see any narrow oval-bottom bags in REI, like those here in canadian MEC - except for expensive yellow Kodiak tapered bags, which I am not sure how useful - the folder's bow and stern should be filled with floatation bags (not drybags), and far from the boat ends that cone shape doesn't matter. In lieu of narrow 22L oval-bottom bag you can try Seattle Sports Explorer Dry Bag Medium (for Thermarest and sleeping bag), approximately 20L volume. I am not 100% sure if 2 of them will fit side by side in Fujita, but with some stomping dance before loading they should fit.

As to the "Big Bag" - I can see only one: Seattle Sports Explorer Dry Bag Large (40 L), made of vinyl-laminated nylon, heavy, and I like Urethane laminate better (more slippery, easer to fill), but don't see a heavy-duty Urethane-covered bags in REI, except for 35L yellow Kodiak tapered bag for $60, which size I am not sure of. This vinyl-covered Explorer Large Bag will often require a stomping dance to make it a pillow-shaped, as it is not oval-bottomed.
And, yes, there are also Urethane-covered Kodiak Window bags with purge valve in REI - they have somewhat flimsy looking fabric, which remains wrinkled after the very first use, may be it's not really flimsy, but I returned it the next day.

[Byron Walter]

Ah Ha!... Looks like I've found a good bet for a foldable:

http://www.pacoutdoor.com/2007/index.cf ... familyID=2

Backcountry.com has 'em. As I presently have a kinda large day bag, I'm leaning towards a couple of the mediums which should be enough for a starter set and short trips.

[Alm]

Yes, a couple of mediums (20 liters) looks like okay for clothes and sleeping bag. They don't say anything about material - unsupported vinyl, vinyl-coated nylon, or urethane-coated nylon. Anything coated is fine. You'll need round-bottom 10-liter transparent bags for food anyway. It is easier to use when standing on its bottom, and you can see through the bag what food pouch is where.

[Byron Walter]

Thanks for checking out the bags. I just discovered that they are coated nylon... precisely what I don't know. I'm gonna order them now so I can see how well my stuff fits. Already have a clear bag that looks to be about 10 liters or so plus a mini bag for car keys, etc.