Ok, So I was planning to head down to the MEC this weekend and pick up a 30L food barrel and harness. I checked online first (good thing) and they are on back order till June.

I noticed that LeBaron sells one made by Eureka. Does anyone use this one or another type other than the ones MEC sells?


Thanks.

Sean (of Ajax)

I love the Eureka barrel harness. I have a 60 litre barrel and harness that I've used the last couple of years. The harness is very solid and the most comfortable barrel harness that I've tried.

MEC, Trailhead, Bushtukah (Ottawa) and Lebarons all produce more or less the same barrel - different colours but the same product (and probably made in the same plant in China!).

Get the harness that fits all three sizes in case you buy more of 'em.

Cheers

I shopped around and tried on many harness' last year and settled on the ureka 60l and ureka harness. I found it to be the best value.The only harness that was more comfortable was the top line Ostrom which was very expensive. Lebaron was the cheapest I found in my area.

Hi Sean I picked up the 30L Eureka food barrel & harness for $60.00 at Sojourn's a couple of years ago.The harness is very comfortable.

Cheers: Dave

The ones on the MEC website look similar to the Eureka ones.

Not much difference between brands, I would guess. Eurekas are yellow with grey lids. The 60L ones we got were recycled from another industry, and they are blue with black lids.

We also have the Eureka harness. Much better padding than the one we rented a few years ago. LOL

I would just go with whoever is more convenient to you and has the better price. (I think that LeBaron was one of the more reasonable prices, for both barrel and harness.)



Barbara

I personally like the Hooligan Harnesses.. I'd also look into a 60L Barrel, 30's just limit so much what you can bring and take up valuable back space. You can always fill a 60L half way but it's not all that easy to carry 2 30's.

Randy Mitson
Paddle Sport Manager
Marketing Director
Algonquin Outfitters
Huntsville

Thanks for the input folks. I think I will head up to LeBaron and pick up the harness. As for the barrel, I found this place in Whitby:


http://www.envirosponsible.com/new_website/blue_barrels.html

They look exactly like the ones the MEC is selling. Dimensions are the same and everything. For $15, I will be picking one of these bad boys up.

Sean (of Ajax)

I checked out the 30 liter barrels form Envirosponsible and they are a good deal, but I didn't buy one because they previously contained chemicals for the pharmaceutical industry. I'm sure they have been cleaned and such, but I didn't want to take any chance with the health of my family to save a few dollars. Thought you would want to know.

As for the harness, I would agree with others that have suggested buying the larger 60 liter barrel. I think Randy put's it best when he describes a 30 L as "wasting valuable back space". Very true.

I just purchased my first barrel/harness. I bought the 60 L one from Headstrong. It's not the cheapest one, but it's also not your average harness either.
http://www.headstrongpacks.com/
I'm a science nerd at heart and liked the way ergonomics and engineering were used in the design. You can check it out here...
http://www.headstrongpacks.com/harness_details.htm

I was like you though and only wanted a 30 L, but ultimately went with the larger one for the same reasons others have already stated.



Jim

http://www.algonquintrips.blogspot.com

Hey Jim,


I have looked at the 60L, but the reason I am not getting it is exactly why Randy says I should. I really try to limit what I can bring on my trips (esp. when solo). If I have the 60, I know I will try to put as much as possible into it. With the 30, I am limited as to what I can take which makes me pack smarter and lighter.

Every year my gear gets lighter and lighter and leas and less. Pretty soon it is just gonna be me in a pair of shorts and sneakers paddling through the park. No gear... hahahahaha...



Sean (of Ajax)

60 litres is enough room to pack everything for a solo trip if you are careful. This includes food, gear and clothing. A tent can be strapped on the outside of most barrels. I don't think you can pack this way with a 30 litre barrel.

How much of the load is your head supposed to carry?

I don't think I could handle that for 2km+ portages. Even 400m with bouncing due to terrain would drive me crazy!

Our 60l barrels were also recycled from the pharmaceutical industry. No prob.

We bought the 30l Eureka...excellent for the two of us for day-trips, and the two-night stays in the Park.

We don't have what I would consider a good enough system to put clothes and food in the same barrel. So one barrel is dedicated "kitchen"...all food, utensils, pots, etc. The other is tent, sleeping mats, clothes, etc. We never mix the two of them up...the kitchen one has "food" written in marker on the inside. LOL

And we're not dehydrators, so our food can get bulky.



Barbara

Barbara: are you pack-less, then? With clothes and equipment in one barrel and kitchen stuff in the other, I tend to this understanding. How long have you been doing that? I never really thought of doing it (barrels only), but it might be advantageous. I've always had the clothing bag and kitchen barrel.

See, I would never think of putting my clothes, etc in with the food. That goes against what I have always been taught. To me, that would almost be the same as bringing food into your tent because the food smell is sure to get on your gear / clothes if they are stored together, is it not?

I can see doing it the way Barbara is, w/ 2 different barrels, but would be a bit hesitant to put my sleeping bag against food.


Sean (of Ajax)

Yup, we try very hard to be "pack-less", hoping to achieve the one-trip portage. Doesn't always work. So the old pack gets used to carry the bug tent, and other things I don't remember. LOL

I'm just not comfortable with clothes and food in the same "container". I'm way too paranoid for that.

Before the barrels, we had two packs. The smaller one was crammed full of ziplocked foodstuffs and as many kitchen doodads as would fit.

In the bad old days, I used to carry the tent in my hand. Argh. Most uncomfortable thing to do ever.

In the old, old days....we took a huge cooler filled with ice and food. Fun thing to hang in the trees.

So...we are making progress. It's just sloooow progress.

Barrels are great, except that they don't squish down, and there's no fiddling with their placement in the canoe. They go "there" and that's it.

Pros and cons and stuff to experiment with...



Barbara

Interesting topic Sean.

I still think a strong case can be made for the larger barrel.

Let's say you only "need" the extra space the 60 L would provide for one or two trips a year. By having it available it gives you the flexibility that would be lacking in a 30 L.
I try to get the most out of my gear and I travel light. I single carry all ports when going solo or tandem, so I understand the need for shaving weight. But the extra weight that comes with the 60 L can easily be traded off for the flexibility it provides.

As for mixing food and clothes/gear, I have always put all my food in a large scent proof bag when using a backpack, so I plan to use the same system with the barrel. I have never had a problem.





Jim

http://www.algonquintrips.blogspot.com

Interesting way of doing things. Re-reading my earlier message, I'm not sure I was clear -- I put all clothes in one backpack, shared between two people. The barrel holds food and equipment, and any scented matter.

I like the backpack for clothes only because of the hip straps (it's a hiking pack). If the portager wears this pack it makes for an easy way of relieving stress from the shoulders caused by the yoke over long portages: tilt the canoe slightly backward so that it rests on the top of the hiking pack, which is typically tall as you can imagine.

Barbara: Did you switch to barrels for clothes solely for the waterproofing? I was thinking about ditching the barrel for food and opting for the old foodpack system. Hangs just the same and I'd imagine it easier to portage, but I've only ever jimmied together a barrel harness. I'm sure portaging with a "real" barrel harness would be more efficient than our nightmare riggings.

I can see both sides of the coin. But as I think about it, when I solo trip I bring my Eureka Spitfire Solo tent. There is no room for anything other than me and tomorrow's clothing. I bring a small tarp to put over my backpack to keep it dry outside. The 60L barrel would eliminate the tarp and I could use a scent free bag for food, which would come out of the barrel once I got to camp.

Hmmmm..... decisions, decisions...


Sean (of Ajax)

I had a long reply started this morning, then clicked on a link, that I thought would open in a new window. Eeeps...lost my reply. Got discouraged. Moved onto other things. Forgot. Remembered.

Take II:

Interesting way of doing things. Re-reading my earlier message, I'm not sure I was clear -- I put all clothes in one backpack, shared between two people. The barrel holds food and equipment, and any scented matter.

Yup. One barrel has our two drybags with clothes. We've gotten a lot better about reducing the amount of clothes, at least.

The "kitchen" barrel is where we put anything sniffy. Toothpaste, any garbage like the coffee filters/grounds, etc. I can really cram a lot of stuff in that 60L barrel. It always surprises me just how much can fit in there.

I like the backpack for clothes only because of the hip straps (it's a hiking pack). If the portager wears this pack it makes for an easy way of relieving stress from the shoulders caused by the yoke over long portages: tilt the canoe slightly backward so that it rests on the top of the hiking pack, which is typically tall as you can imagine.

I like the Eureka harnesses for the barrels. Very comfortable.

One thing that did happen was that the barrel wouldn't fit under the canoe for portaging. So my husband turned the yoke around...problem fixed.

Barbara: Did you switch to barrels for clothes solely for the waterproofing? I was thinking about ditching the barrel for food and opting for the old foodpack system. Hangs just the same and I'd imagine it easier to portage, but I've only ever jimmied together a barrel harness. I'm sure portaging with a "real" barrel harness would be more efficient than our nightmare riggings.

We had been asking about barrels on CCR. Then a very nice person offered us 2 free ones.

Funny, I don't worry about clothes getting wet. They are in what I hope are fairly reliable drybags.

It's the sleeping bags I worry more about. So they are in a very reliable compression drybag. Takes a dunking no problem, for those days when my aim was off and it hit the water instead of landing in the canoe.

We don't hang the "kitchen" barrel. Just take it out back of the campsite and drop it on the ground. We also don't use it for a kitchen table, so it shouldn't have any food spills on the outside.

That's the main reason we wanted a barrel. But since then, I've read that lots of people do the same thing with packs. Just drop them on the ground. Some people like to have them nearby, so they can defend it should an animal come around. Not me, no thanks. Not just thinking of bears.... raccoons can get quite large and cranky.

My husband did perfect a good hanging system though. One rope, between two trees. A pulley in the centre, and the actual hanging rope through that. He could explain it better than I can. But there was no cutting of ropes, no friction on the trees, etc. Drives me crazy to get to a campsite and there's tons of rope bits hanging like spanish moss. And on one campsite....a sneaker that was used for a weight at the end of the rope. Geez.

I better not screw this up...I didn't save it in notepad. And I ain't going to type it all again. LOL


Barbara

One draw back that Barbara pointed out has been a problem for me and that is that the barrel(60l) does not clear the canoe gunnels when portaging.Turning the yoke around wont work for me as the canoe is assymetrical and narrower at the front half. My solution is to give my wife the joy of carrying the barrel while I carry the canoe and a 70L Sealline vinyl drybag/pack which is filled with clothes and sleeping gear. This allows us to single carry.

Good topic timing. I'm in the market to evaluate and maybe pick one up as well. I do have my concerns about barrels, namely the fact they can't collapse and their bulk in the canoe. We do double portages all the time, so that is not a concern. To this point I've carried my food in a vinyl, cinch-down style back-pack that holds about ~40L. Been dependable and solid with no animal tears piercings.

Anyway, I will view the harness and barrel sizings at various stores in my area this weekend. Not sure yet whether to go 30L, 50L or 60L - there are good/bad arguments supporting each.

I've also checked out the barrels from here:

http://www.back40canoe.com/barrels.html

as the Ostrom's come highly recommended (based on user feedback reviews/posts). Not sure if I can Ostrom's in Ottawa, but it would not be a used barrel I get as they are not recommended for food (health reasons).

How many back packs should two people take? It sounds like the norm is one person (person carrying the canoe) has the back pack and the second has the barrel? My fiancé and I haven’t really gone on routes that call for long portages but this year we want to try the North Opeongo, Merchant, Big Trout, La Muir, Hogan, Big Crow, Proulx loop and that has a few lengthy portages. Should we both be able to fit one weeks worth of gear into one back pack (clothes) and a 30L barrel(food)? By the way, should I do the 3750 from Hogan to Big Crow or should I take the cart trail?

Thanks
Tom

the answer would be yes -- particularly if you take dehydrated meals. you may want to invest in compression sacks for your sleeping bags because as you can imagine they can bulk up the bag, especially if they're of synthetic fill.

Tom,

The portage from Hogan to Big Crow starts with a steep uphill climb. The cart path avoids that. I prefer the short steep route because it gets the job done more quickly. If you're concerned about your fiance's satisfaction you may consider taking the cart path at least for the first half.