Raincoat

Staying dry in heavy rains can be a difficult challenge in which synthetic materials have found excellent application for.

However plastics have been proven to leach harmful chemicals with acute toxicity in water in very short periods of 24-72 hrs, (Lithner D, 2011). The lifespan and decomposition of plastic has created extreme ecological global problems. Plastic does not bio-degrade but instead degrades into micro-plastics resulting from environmental degradation, like UV radiation, and abrasion, the same way boulders become sand, (Dris, 2015). This rogue plastic is known to entangle wildlife or be consumed by wildlife, who confuse it for food often leading to starvation, (Mendoza, 2015).  These degraded forms of plastic have been found in such small sizes that scanning electron microscopes were used to view them, (Mendoza, 2015). A single wash of synthetic material can produce 1900 fiber which directly enters the wastewater, (Dris, 2015).

Waxed canvas, Wool and rubber are three alternative options, as are woven plant fibers like grasses, palm leaves, cedar bark strips, and spruce roots.

Woven plant fibers like straw and cedar bark were both used traditionally in areas of high rain fall, along the coasts of Asia and Pacific Coat of British Columbia, as well as in other cultures around the word. Another example of Nature providing the essentials around you for what is needed.

These fibers when woven together are highly water resistant causing raindrops to flows across the fibers of the mat.

Mino (straw cape) Japan.

Portugal

Pacific Coast Haida

Kwakwaka’wakw woman with cedar bark hat and cloak. Photo: Edward S.

Haida, spruce root hat.

Dris, R., Imhof, H., Sanchez, W., Gasperi, J., Galgani, F., Tassin, B., & Laforsch, C. (2015). Beyond the ocean: Contamination of freshwater ecosystems with (micro-)plastic particles. Environ. Chem. Environmental Chemistry, 12(5), 539.

Lithner, D., Nordensvan, I., & Dave, G. (2011). Comparative acute toxicity of leachates from plastic products made of polypropylene, polyethylene, PVC, acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene, and epoxy to Daphnia magna. Environmental Science and Pollution Research Environ Sci Pollut Res, 19(5), 1763-1772.

Mendoza, L. M., & Jones, P. R. (2015). Characterisation of microplastics and toxic chemicals extracted from microplastic samples from the North Pacific Gyre. Environ. Chem. Environmental Chemistry, 12(5), 611.

The Birch Bark Canoe

I cannot think of a vessel in the world as beautiful as the Birch Bark Canoe. Extremely lightweight, durable, and limber. Utilizing handcraft skills, steamed cedar, and stitched with spruce roots. The creation of a canoe would take one family an entire summer to build, the women incorporating their fine handwork to stitch together the bark to the frame, using spruce roots like the largest thread through the biggest clothing.

The Birch Bark Canoe was the perfect engineering relationship between resource and landscape. The rivers of “Upper Canada” ran along a sloping shield of granite, and rapids within helped make travel with any other boat impossible. The Birch Bark Canoe could take an astounding amount of weight, and when necessary traversing the rocky landscape easily unloaded and carried to portage. Mending of the Canoe was easily accomplished by melting a mixture of Balsam Pitch and rendered bear fat(Bear Grease) onto open seam’s.

The Birch Bark Canoe was a crucial part of an already existing trade on the continent (which many called Turtle Island), between the vast and large population of tribes. Long before any Europeans arrived and utilized the Canoe for their own trade. Without the help, intellect and knowledge of the First People’s, and their ingeniously crafted & engineered Canoe, The Fur Trade, Settlement, and History would be very different.

 

Birch Bark Canoe building is becoming a fading skill as large enough trees are becoming more and more rare, however there are people who still make them and I have found some great film’s.

WOOL LOVE

The utilization of animal skins, fur, and hair allowed Humans to inhabit all corners of the globe.

Wool a luxurious hair harvested from grazing sheep, was the driving economy behind Medieval Tudor England, and the cloth of nobility for the Inca’s of South America.

A 3,000 year old Tartan was found on a Mummy in Ürümchi. Inca mummies have been found wrapped in Alpaca wool more luxurious in micron then available today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_dyes_of_the_Scottish_Highlands

Many people continue the process of natural dyeing today. Harris Tweed of Scotland uses Lichens and Vegetables to acquire a vast array of rich natural tones. As do the Alpaca weavers dye their fiber with a jungle of plants and insects.

Wool was once the ultimate outdoor fabric, which has recently gone to the wayside of cheaper to produce yet costly trends of “space age” fabrics. However take an outdoor survival course, or hunting, and they will tell you to choose wool.

Wool Advantage’s

Water Repellant. Lanolin a natural oil in wool, acts as a water repellant, wicking away rain.

Breath-ability. Natural fibers unlike synthetics, allow air exchange, our skin needs to breathe. Synthetics can trap heat leading to sweating, that sweat can get trapped also, cooling your body down to hypothermia and death.

Absorbancy. Wool fibers naturally draw moisture away from the body and can absorb up to 30% of its weight in moisture without becoming clammy from perspiration, keeping you dry when sleeping. It is said even when wet Wool will keep you warm.

Temperature Regulating. Wool provides comfortable warmth. Wool fibers are fluffy with tiny air pockets. Their loftiness and cushiony insulation keep body heat in and cold out.

Flame-Resistant. A wool blanket will not melt or ignite into flames, the hairs will only singe, usually putting out an ember quickly; an excellent safety precaution when sleeping or lounging around the campfire. Unlike synthetics which can actually catch on fire and feed the flame. This is why all Welders wear specific clothing made of natural materials.

Wool is dirt and odor resistant. Wool’s microscopic scales hold dirt near the surface of the fabric, making it easy to remove at the same time preventing odors from being absorbed by the fibers.

Sustainability. Wool is renewable and decomposes. Where as recent science has proven that Synthetics when washed lose fuzz that become micro plastics which are finding their way into the food chain and causing all kinds of problems.

In conclusion. The answer should be simple. Wool is an intelligent fabric that cooperates with the body. And as an outdoor enthusiast, it would be helpful to protect the environment  by staying away from the so called “Hi Tech” Synthetic material’s.

Chagudax Bentwood Hunting Visor

Hunters of the Aleutian Island chain shielded their eyes from sun and spray with elegant bentwood visors. Some had short bills and others were extended to conceal the face from strangers and adversaries. This visor is ornamented with bands and dots of paints that were probably made from volcanic minerals, fish bile, blood, and other traditional ingredients. Sea lion whiskers are attached on the left side, where they would not interfere with the use of a throwing board or harpoon by a right-handed hunter.

The bentwood visor with its extra long bill is a beautifully decorated example of a practical hat worn for centuries by kayak hunters in search of sea mammals, birds and beluga whales along Alaska’s western coast. The shape of the hat helps the hunter see and hear better by shading the hunter’s eyes and cupping and the hunter’s ears. The hat is made from a driftwood board that is carved very thin and bent while it is hot and soaking wet in a steam bath. Hats are decorated with purple, blue, green, gold, red, black and white paints, long sea lion whiskers, feathers, beads, and carved ivory.

The hat is both functional and spiritual. Among the functions of the hat, there is a ridge along the midline of the hat that is used to line up a spear. The visor is also used to shield the eyes from the sun and sea spray. The whiskers with the beads on the back of the visor clacked together when the wind became rough prompting the removal of the visor and the return home.

Makuk ~ Birch Bark Baskets

Up in the northern climates the bark from the Birch tree was an extremely valuable material for survival used in many ways. Birch bark contains natural waxes that make it waterproof, remarkably rot resistant, and lightweight. Uses span from canoes for travel and transportation, to the walls of homes and for boiling water, cooking food and perfect for storage(being naturally antibacterial and rot resistant).

There were two methods of cooking in birch bark baskets. Often the bark was used as a temporary container made with the brown side of the bark turned outside. Water and food would be put into the basket to hang over the fire. The fire needed to be watched very carefully to ensure that the basket did not flame while the food was cooking. At other times, baskets were buried in the ground, filled with water and very hot rocks were dropped into the water to bring it to a boil. New rocks were continuously added to keep the water cooking the fish or meat. This way the container could be reused. Cooking pots were made by pressing clay mixed with dried grass against the sides and bottom.

Some were decorated with dyed porcupine quills, and others had designs scratched into the bark.

The Adirondack Basket (For Mushroom Picking)

Now that the use of basketry is less common, the wisdom of its uses have fallen into obscurity. Many a person, like myself has given mushroom hunting a try. The go-to plastic shopping bag is used to collect the foraged morsels. Only to get home and find that your mushrooms are becoming bruised, moist, broken.  A fresh mushroom must breathe and the synthetic plastic only suffocates, and lacks the structure needed for the fragile mushrooms. A plastic pale could be used but also would lack much area for air circulation.

If you are serious about mushroom picking you might want to try a basket back pack like the Adirondack. Can be quickly slipped off the back and placed on the ground with its standing frame, while you collect from an area. The woven reed insures air circulation from all sides. Another interesting bit of information is that baskets have also been traditionally used for mushroom picking because the spaces allow for the spores to fall back to the forest floor to regenerate in new areas!

The TIKINAGAN & CRADLEBOARD

Information taken from http://www.nativebebe.com/cradleboards.php

 The Cradleboard or in the Ojibway language Tikkanaagan have been used for generations to carry infants while keeping babies safe and comfortable.  North American Indians indicate that it was common practice to cradleboard newborn children until they were able to walk, although many mothers continued to swaddle their children well past their first birthday.

Babies were wrapped in a moss bag and securely bound to a thin cushioned board for more longer content sleeps so they  wouldn’t jerk and wake themselves up. Cradleboards keep the child’s backbone and legs straight, further strengthen the neck muscles, and provide an opportunity for the infant to enhance their vision and hearing senses while being stimulated by his/her environment and family.

  Today many people across Canada still use a traditional cradle board to keep their babies safe and protected.  Usually made with pine or cedar wood and laced together with thin strips of leather.

   Natives believe the flat boards will give a baby a strong, straight back, and that a soft supporting pad will help the infant form a nice rounded head.  The Cradle board is smudged with prayers, songs and good thoughts for the baby. There are many native teachings on the cradle board that vary with nations across North America.

When babies are in a cradleboard they see the world as mom and dad see it, they listen to your conversations, or while being rocked to sleep they recognize the rhythm of your breathing, your walking and your touch. All this makes for increased awareness and stimulates speech and emotional development, and is known to  dramatically decreases crying.

Many people still hand make cradle boards, and tikinagan’s, in beautiful contemporary colors and designs.You can find some on the website in which I copied the information from.

http://www.nativebebe.com/cradleboards.php

Also, there is balance created within the woodwork. If travelling by canoe and the canoe tips, baby in tikinagan will naturally be flipped on its back in the tikinagan and float downriver. It would save their life. – Jean Marshal

The Creel ~ Fly Fishing

The Creel is a small wicker basket mainly used by anglers to hold fish or other prey. On an outing the creel would be lined with fresh moss, then the entire basket be dipped into the creek. This would keep the catch cool and wet, with the basketry allowing air to pass. The basket can be carried comfortably on your side and acts as a light weight  evaporative cooler. No need for heavy ice and plastic coolers, that do not allow air circulation. Caught fish are quickly inserted through a slot in the top which is held in place by a small leather strap.

PIMA or PAPAGO BURDEN BASKET c.1870

The burden basket of the Pima peoples of New Mexico called a kiaha is a great form of engineering, composed of a wood frame with supporting agave fibers.
Features a woven tumpline and the part I find most impressive in the design is the stretched woven mat across the back.

The kiaha was worn on the back and used to carry all manner of goods. “In its light but strong frame were carried fuel, food, and the materials for various manufacturers. One day it might be piled with firewood, the desert mesquite; another, with beans, squashes, and grains; and still a third, with grasses for baskets, reed for mattings, and fiber kiahas,” Kissell, Mary Lois, Basketry of the Papago and the Pima Indians, The Rio Grande Press, Inc., Glorieta, New Mexico, 1972, p. 228.

The Rucksack Review – The Canvas Rucksack

For the outdoor enthusiast, canoeist, or artists, canvas backpacks or rucksacks have been the staple carry-all accompaniment. Predating synthetics, canvas is a lightweight water-repellent material. Sonically, canvas makes a dull sound apposed to synthetics shrill sharpness, important for stealthiness in the forest from hunting to bird watching.
Aesthetically speaking I find canvas more handsome, the material is drab and gathers a rugged look with age, describing your personal adventures.
The natural drabness means it will match stylishly and not clash with your other natural materials, like a forest camouflage.
Environmentally speaking, canvas is a natural material, it has a relationship with the nature you are exploring, it had little impact in its processing compared to synthetics the by-product of crude. After its long life, (often long enough to be passed down), it can decompose back into the soil.
It is a fact that synthetics never get fully clean, you can see this more as the bags age, the fibers do not breath air, therefore your sweat gets trapped under shoulders and back, and oils stick to oil.
Canvas bags look better with age with only the care of the sun and rain, and maybe some leather conditioner, and have been known to last a lifetime.
That equally expensive space age material pack has a certain limited expiry date.

It should be noted when considering a pack, consider also what you are carrying, and lifestyle, what are your needs from the pack.
Are you using it for school, heavy books, laptops. Hiking in the summer, winter?Portaging by canoe?
The reviewing of these packs is determined by my packing style. I use them all year round, I do plenty of walking, hiking, and biking. And what I like to call bike to hike, in which I bike out to the forest then hike in.
I will pack them with a grocery store baskets worth of food cans eggs and bike home with it on my back.
Negative 30 weather opening it to grab a camera, accessibility is important.
And everyday I would have with me, book, extra layer, sketchpad, pencils, snack, canteen.
Thus for my packing style has few “hard” items, textbooks, laptops, machetes, beer bottles, etc.

FROST RIVER “Summit Expedition Pack”

Size / Volume: Main pack body: 20″h x 11″w x 9″d. 1980 c.i. (Approx.) Side pockets measure 10″h x 5.5′w x 2″d. Front pocket measures 6″h x 9″w x 2″d.
Weight: 3.30 lbs.
Pockets: 1 zip on bottom of flap. 3 external, (2 side with flap and buckle (2 in 1), 1 gusseted zip on front.)
Closure: Para cord cinch, flap over main compartment.
Shoulder Straps: Waxed canvas, 1.5″ cotton web, foam pad, harness leather attachment, attached to yoke ring.
Grab Handle 1″ cotton web.
Lash Points 4 lash squares on flap.
Base: Double canvas.
Materials: 18 oz. waxed canvas, premium leather, solid brass hardware.

MADE IN AMERICA

$190

I give this pack a high recommendation compared against the other rucksacks featured in this post. All of which fall under similar size capacity.

Why am I so pleased with this pack? Made in America, solid quality, waxed canvas, outstanding price point for the value. Compare this with a 100 dollar bag made in China, it wouldn’t have genuine leather, sturdy zips and hardware, and the people making it would would not be paid fairly for their work and time.

Frost River also has bags of all sizes and price points, ones more simple and cheaper then this particular model. For example they have a large bike seat bag called The Gunflint Trail Seat Bag that attaches to the back of a bike seat, and then turns into a duffle, that I would love to try out.

This pack has many added features that make it great. Best features; bucket design, with doubled canvas bottom (why I chose this pack). This makes sure it keeps a sturdier shape, up and off your back, and keeps those items protected. Padded straps that meet at metal loop, this means it fits people of any size, extra clothing, and for quick removal.

Plenty of pockets, including interior zipper pocket. Side pockets perfectly fit Field Guide Books. Nifty quick pockets (possible best feature)great for water bottle, sunglasses, camera, etc.(see picture). Four lash points to attach bike light, or straps for a bed roll! I in fact use these seemingly decorative squares on my bike rides while heading out for a picnic in the woods.

Waxed Canvas at no extra cost, means ultimate water repel-lance, important for me and my sketchbooks.

This pack beats out its competitors, I replaced my Duluth Pack(reviewed below) with this one, (sorry Duluth Pack).

Take a look at their website, and support your fellow citizens that make great hand made products that last, help keep everyone working and off the bread line. Down with outsourcing!

https://www.frostriver.com/

quick pocket

SWISS or “SALT & PEPPER” CANVAS RUCKSACK
Dimensions:
Width: 17 ”
Depth: 6″
Height: 21″
Weight: 5 lbs (2kg)
(one exterior pocket)

The Swiss Rucksack is a serious piece of outdoor luggage. A miilitary bag made throughout a number of decades, until eventually switching over to a rubber. This pack has a date stamped into the leather 1958!
Features many ingenious designs. The bag has an internal frame, quick release strap, extendable collar, full grain hide bottom, sturdy leather straps, flecked green canvas. But most importantly is the stretched cotton lumbar suspension, across the lower bottom.

This suspended double strap takes load weight off shoulders and cushions it in one area. Space is formed between your back and the pack which allows air heat and sweat to pass. The full grain leather straps have an extra or double strap up top that allows further customization to body type, bringing the lumbar up higher or lower on the back.


One of the best features on this pack is that on one strap a metal grommet is hinged that allows a swivel to the strap, this swivelling makes the strap elbow in a way. If you have ever had to have one strap of your pack longer then the other so that you could take your pack of comfortably this fixes that. You can have both straps set very tightly where they should be and this swivel allows you to throw off your strap freely.

The downside is this pack is natural weighty do to all the thick leather, it is most comfortable when fully loaded, the lumbar then curves to your back under pressure. However if you have very little, you still feel like you are carrying weight.
This is a structural pack, if you are mostly carrying soft items, the structure of this pack is not necessary, and the weight of this pack comes from its structure(leather bottom, metal).
I tried this bag for biking, and found it worked quite well, but sold it due to my soft packing style and wanting simply a sack. This pack excelled when carrying very heavy loads, but when empty it seemed heavy and not as comfortable.
Unless you are on a very serious adventure, I would not suggest this for day hikes, or city travel(takes up much space).

All of these bags are vintage, you can find them on average $150 – $250, depending on market and condition.
Some packs have different hardware or no lumbar, do your research when buying to make sure you have the parts you want.

Aesthetically speaking the pack structure makes sure it is more furniture, it sticks out even when empty and stands upright on a floor like a piece of furniture, for me this was a negative aspect because it was always taking up space.
Otherwise the leather straps are handsome and the rugged thick canvas has a peaceful speckling of forest greens.

THE SWEDISH (THREE CROWN) CANVAS RUCKSACK
40 Litre capacity
(one internal pocket)
extra buckles underneath for blanket?
and on side for ax, shovel, or rifle

*Note* I found mine at a thriftstore, it is an unusual version, has different straps then usually found and no frame.
The Swedes produced a large military sack, more reminiscent to a canoe bag.
What I love about this bag is that, empty it takes up no space, but can be filled HUGE, I have fit a few blankets in it, and even a large hand drum. Reminds me of Santa Claus’ sack.
The canvas is sturdy thick soft and a very subdued natural shade, thumbs up on the canvas.
Access is quick, a chord tightens around the opening and exits out a hard leather patch in the back where you make a slip knot. Since the lid is not attached to the straps you can just close the drawstring in a pinch with little loss of structural support.
This has been very handy when bush exploring when I need to just “zip” up and get to another area.

The full pack has leather straps an external frame and leather lumbar.
I have not gotten to try the pack with these features, I am curious how the extra weight will be and lumbar system. The external frame would certainly make the bag bigger(cumbersome possibly), and less aesthetically satisfying.
But I believe the leather lumbar would be a great asset for this pack.
The canvas is doubled on the bottom which is great for structure and comfort.

DULUTH PACK “Wanderer” (Duluth, MN)

16H x 15W x 6D + pockets
un-waxed version 2.7 lbs. $220
waxed canvas 3.2 lbs ++
(3 exterior pockets)

Recently I decided to invest in a new pack and since Duluth is so close by, I decided to try a Duluth Pack, “Wanderer”.
Makers of canvas canoe packs since 1880s, and still made by hand locally in Duluth, Mn.
The pack can be found in waxed and un-waxed, this “review” is for the UN-waxed version.
I have many good things to say about this pack, however my initial criticism of the pack would be that I wish the canvas was thicker, it is comparatively thinner then my other packs, which makes it lose structure of hard items, which can poke into your back. I believe doubling of the canvas on the underside would have been a great idea.
The pack has three pockets on the exterior, using leather belts to close. The straps are a cotton webbing which are actually quite comfortable as they form well to your body.
I have not tried many leather straps to compare them against.
All the pockets on the outside are nice, however I do wish there was one on the inside. But that is always the case isn’t it, more pockets! I may be being greedy, for this pack does already have more pockets then many of the other packs out there. Comparing to my Three Crowns I found one open pocket inside the sack is so very handy, because once you have the bag open you have already opened a pocket for stuff that could be lost inside also.
The long leather lid straps allow you to roll a picnic blanket, sweater, or harvested birch bark secured under the lid. And with the lid over the back straps, the drawstring can be closed in a pinch, when you need to move a few feet and not worry about securing the leather lid straps, a handy feature with little lack of structure.

I did found it to be very comfortable loaded, possibly more comfortable then when just partially full. As with all the rucksacks, being properly packed makes it lift up and off the lower back.
Recently I had it fully packed with books, and clothing, and groceries, I was surprised at just how much was inside and that it was still manageable.
I would suggest this particular Duluth Pack, (they make many types of bags), best suited to day hikes with mixed contents. This pack would not be best for students with many textbooks, they do make a student/laptop backpack.
This is a very handsome pack, in rich colors that will mellow in age, copper hammered leather belts, and a contrast leather chord for the closure, and all hand made in the USA.

*Duluth Pack offers a lifetime warranty on repairs for their packs.*
“We stand behind our work and are proud to offer a lifetime warranty covering all craftsmanship and hardware we use in the construction of our products.”
http://duluthpack.com/

THE FILSON (Seattle)

15″ W x 17″ H x 5″ D
3 lbs, 11 oz
$290

I currently do not own a Filson, and so havent field tested it. Am only offering you the the specs for comparison.