a under rated Bushcraft skill

[Metis Man]

I was just going though my gear i have 2 120l Dry packs, 35l dry pack, 70l pack, 30l pack for my 24hour SAR kit summer, 80l German rucksack is my 72 hour Sar pack for winter. I use a dry bag to hold my sleeping bag and other stuff i need to keep dry in the winter or in the canoe. It gets down to -40 here in the winter and that can kill you if you are not prepared. when i canoe i use the one dry bag as mentioned plus the 35l bag for my food and cooking stuff. you never want to mix food and clothing/sleeping gear as we have bears and wolverines. And a small day bag with personal stuff i need during the day. my food bag in the summer weights about 50 lbs in the summer. I can hold a month of food longer if i fish and hunt along the way. the whole winter kit for a week is about 140 lbs but i use a sled and dogs in the winter. summer it is about 100 lbs but generally i canoe and don't hike much as this is not country you want to hike in thick bush and swamp with a lot of rivers and lakes. I have a nice 4 season tent but don't use it much. In the winter i use a tarp attached to my sled and sleep there or a quinzee AKA snow house. in summer i use a hammock or my tent if the bugs are bad we have lots of biting insects in the summer. i just heard it is -42c with the wind chill today
If any one wants to know what to pack for cold camping in Manitoba drop me a note. I have a few years at this and don't bring too many gadgets just a GPS and a head light.

 

[mrmike]

Having mentioned dry bags, another tip is to use 2 bin bags instead, one inside the other. They're cheaper and lighter than dry bags and work just as well unless you happen to be using your pack as a float in order to swim a river. Even then, you could just tie a knot in the end.

I use rubble bags from B&Q/Homebase or similar. Heavy duty and cheap at a couple of quid for a roll of 20

 

[big_swede]

Try to stick to the same packing scheme from outing to outing, after a while when you've nailed what you need and how to pack it you will find that packing and unpacking goes very quick and intuitively.

I basically use the same as I did in my army days, although it's much much lighter nowadays. My suggestion which might differ from the above is to keep reinforcement clothing in the top of the bag, 'cos I use it at every break. (I walk 60 mins, and pause 5-10, and I'm a sweaty guy so if I don't put on clothing during breaks I will get chilly, even in woolen thermals). Usually this pose no problem to the idiome to keep the heavy stuff high and close to the back as the top of the pack is a bit away from the back anyway.

I also use rubble bags for garden waste instead of waterproof bags. Lighter and just as good. My sleeping bags lives in a drybag tho.