Ultra-Light Kayaking - One Large Ikea Bag
So my trip to Grand Manan provided me with a format for testing out my theories on going 'Ultra-Light'. I had been thinking of this for a while and was really pleased at my performance with such a light boat. It made the hole process of paddling easier, plus take down, set up, and boat un-loading was incredibly easy and efficient. The key to this type of kayaking is definitely to have a multi-use philosophy on the clothing side and a minimalist approach on the gear side. My kit included:
Camping:
- Bivvy Sack
- Stakes
- Tarp
- Rope Bag
- Mountain Hardwear Ultralamina sleeping bag
- Thermarest Neo-Air
- Headlamp
Cooking:
- Titanium Spoon
- Coffee mug
- MSR Reactor Stove w/1 fuel cannister
- Spice Kit with lighter
Clothing:
- Light weight wool underwear
- Light weight wool top
- Heavy weight wool top
- Fleece pants
- Storm Cag
- 2 pair wool socks
- Dry Suit
- Arc'teryx quick dry shorts
- Croc sandles
Food:
- Coffee
- Oats/Brown Sugar/Raisins
- Quinoa
- Pasta
- Spice Kit
- Peanut Butter
- Cliff Bars/Snacks
- Tortillas
- Small container of Olive Oil (I like to use a .5L Platypus bag for this)
Paddling Kit
- Emergency Kit (Parachute Flairs, Smoke Flares, Medical Kit, Survival Kit, Water Purifcation Drops)
- Small Repair Kit (Gore-Tex Patch Kit, Fiberglass, Resin, misc other items)
- Normal paddling gear (PFD/Spot/Knife/etc.)
Water was readily available, so I only carried 6 liters at a time which in conjunction with my PFD bladder was more than enough water. Certainly not having to carry much water helped with space management in the boat. Still, I had so much room left in the boat that I was often asking others if they needed me to carry anything extra. Unloading the boat, all my kit went into a single Ikea bag, which for me was the goal.
One challenge with this is definitely boat loading and weather conditions. For one leg of the trip, we had some good front quartering winds and I had the boat loaded as I normally do. However, with this bit of kit, the front was a little to light and it was more prone to being pushed around by the wind as the boat drove up and through waves. After lunch, I reorganized and shifted some weight to the front. This helped dramatically and all was well. Anytime you are paddling in changing conditions, it really pays to think through your loading and how the boat tracking will be affected by said conditions.
I am a convert, as this was jus a really joyous way to travel. You do give up some of the comforts, but if you are out for the paddle and looking to minimize your effort both on water and on land, you might think about giving a light weight trip a try. It is amazing how much we can do without if we just give it a try.