Camping using my H Revo - am I kidding myself?

Holt.. with you being in lacey...... try Wholesale Sports (old warehouse sports), Back Packers Supply in Tacoma, and Sportco in Fife,  of course REI and Cabellas,

SG

Right on SG, thank you for your response.
holt

I can't speak to the quality of this dry/stern bag, but I am considering ordering one today.  They are a closeout item at REI.com and at that price is worth a shot. http://www.rei.com/outlet/product/791279   It should easily fit in the tank well.
-Craig

Or this, similar size but a third the price:  http://www.rei.com/outlet/product/739202

That's a fine dry bag. Not sure if you noticed but it's designed as a deck bag, so it's flat on the bottom and arched to the top, like the top part of a circle, has plastic reinforcing the shape.

you might be better off getting regular old tube style.

There's allot of nice ones out there, but I've been using the cascade designs baja bag for years. Moderately priced, heavy duty material, laundry smells fresh when I open it up after a week in a hatch.

http://shop.aldercreek.com/Dry-Storage-Bags-Boxes/Dry-Bags/Baja-Bag-20-C55-i739880.html

I wouldn't go any bigger than 20L....if it doesn't fit in that bag, you shouldn't take it, although you do have option for bigger items on deck in a SOT vs. SIK. Nice thing about the soft/tube bags is you can squish them into whatever shape you need. I usually take 3 or 4 5-10L, 2x20L & 1x15L & 1xLateral opening bag for my sleeping bag and pillow, and that's overkill. I take way more stuff than I really need on most trips. Most of it is clothes. I also take a soft cooler for refrigerated items. I take all the food and break it into smaller packages and cram it into the little left over spaces around the dry bags. water bags I'll put right under the cockpit, as they're the heaviest. Honestly, you will be surprised what you can cram into a kayak if you get creative. think tetris. Every time we do a 6 day guided tour, it blows my mind how much crap we get in. Every single time, everything makes it in, nothing is ever left behind.

For the tent, I take it all apart and shove it into the little nooks & crannies up by the bow or stern....poles can go somewhere else. I put the heaviest items closest to the cockpit and try and keep things balanced....if you know about edging, you know that if a boat is heavier on one side it will continuously turn to the lighter side, and if it's bow heavy, you'll plow the bow and lift the stern and the boat wont track...if you load the stern it will be hard to turn.

I'd just practice a few times packing it up in the garage, and do a few overnight trips to shake those items you end up not needing.

Here's a pic of my entire kit for 8 days. waterbags were already in the boat. I use the mesh bag to throw my wet gear into. in the morning i just put it all back on and squish the empty bag into some nook.

Or this, similar size but a third the price:  http://www.rei.com/outlet/product/739202

I used one of those light nylon ones with the window on my last trip and tore it the first time I put it in the boat. The heavy pvc ones will last forever and probably wont puncture. the lighter nylon ones slide & cram easier as they're not as sticky, but they are more likely to puncture.

I do like the heavy seattle sports nylon latitude bag with window for food. I hate having to dig to the bottom of a tube style to find the tobasco or fire starter.

the lateral bags with the purge are nice for sleeping bags & pillows too, because you can squish all the air out and compress it nicely. purge valve dry bags are good for those fluffy items like fleece & down.

which reminds me.....getting the air out of the dry bag is the key to packing a kayak. on those without a purge, i fill the bag as loosely as possible, then fold the extra bag material over and squish it to get the air to come out. once it is as small as I can make it, I fold it up 3-4 times, careful to not let air in.

I don't roll it all the way to the bulk inside, just 3 or 4 times to keep it dry. The bag will fit & cram better if it's flexible. The looser it's contents are inside, and the less air left in the bag, the easier it fits in the boat. twisting and pushing if you're cramming it in helps too. If you roll it more than 3 or 4 times, you end up with the contents and air inside compressed and the bag is hard like an inflated beach ball rather than flexible.

On another note, we (Alder Creek) usually have a couple of clinics on packing boats for multi-day trips at our Spring Paddle Festival in April at Vancouver Lake in Vancouver, Wa in April. It's a free demo & clinic event.http://www.aldercreek.com

Great on going dry bag info!.  Regarding water supply, does anyone have or know of a yak friendly reverse osmosis package for turning salt water into fresh?  Or any other ideas for turning salt to fresh for drinking?    holt

super expensive and quite bulky. I've been hauling water with me for a long time now in msr dromedary bags. those filters are $1k+ as far as I know.

So, not so bulky any more if you have the coin.

http://www.nitro-pak.com/product_info.php?cPath=40_150_302&products_id=1096

solutions:

for $2k I'll haul the water for you:)

collect rainwater from a tarp, haul dromedary bags, plan your trip where you can refill water bags or pump from a creek.

  Hey water man!! Thanks for the hauling offer, however me thinks I can rationalize  myself into using some of the money I am saving by not buying the desalter and becoming a minimalist
Sure appricaite the feedback Nanook. Will look into the dromidary bags and camping where there is a water supply or at least fresh water that canbe safely filtered.  holt

Nanook, I looked at your link and saw the Cascade Designs Boundary Pack 115 (http://shop.aldercreek.com/Dry-Storage-Bags-Boxes/Dry-Bags/Boundary-Pack-115-C55-i521997.html) with shoulder straps.  I would not use it kayaking with my SIK, but I am interested in canoeing the  Bowron Lakes Provincial Park lake chain with the wife and kids as soon as the youngest can't be swallowed whole by a bear.  I figured it would be a good portage bag.  What do you think?  I figure it would probably be to big for a tank well fully loaded, but I guess one could use it partially packed on a SOT. Maybe the Boundary pack 70 would be better. 

- Craig

I was actually thinking of getting one. They're sweet. Perfect for your kind of trip. They're good for bank fishing/wading/swimming/rain etc. Not a bad thing for the stern tankwell of a SOT but no way could I get a 115 or even 70 into my sea kayak. If you have to haul gear a long way to camp in a very wet environment, it's your bag. Allot of rafters use them. I wish I had one instead of a traditional nylon pack in Alaska. I soaked my lunch every time I crossed the river, and the pack was soaked the whole time from rain.

Before I got obsessed with kayaking, I was into Arcteryx waterproof packs, but they are $500-600, and not as dry as a dry bag with shoulder straps for $100.

For sea kayak trips I use large mesh duffels to unload the boat and haul gear to camp back pack style. The mesh bags don't take up much space when empty as the heavy vinyl dry bags do. I've got it down to where I can get everything in one huge mesh bag and only make one trip to set up camp.