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I love this bag. The bag has a sleeve that contains the sleeping pad, which I love; no more sliding off the pad at night! I never sleep on my back and the bag works just fine for me. I'm a big person, and I find the bag roomy enough for me and my 2 doxies. I love the big foot box too. This bag is roomy! I have yet to be cold, or hot, in this bag, and the temp ranges I've been in range from 80 F down to freezing. It compresses down to a reasonable size for what I do (i.e. canoe/camp). I've had the bag for about 5 years, and have yet to have any quality issues; it is well made.

I'm a big gal, and LOVE the extreme duty canoe seat that Ed's Canoe makes. Highly recommend. I have purchased two, and both work really well. Ed's also has excellent customer service. They will get my repeat business!

I purchased this boat used, but in near mint condition (it is about 25 years old). It is kevlar, set up tandem with a kneeling thwart. I love boats based on the "Prospector" design and this boat fits the bill. The specs for this boat can be found on Hemlock Canoe's Web site
http://www.hemlockcanoe.com/images/photo_album/curtis_canoe_catalog/northstar_1986.jpg

I am a large person, and no longer can kneel on my knees, so purchased this boat for my solo sitting boat. It is 32" wide, which gives me the narrowness I needed to paddle solo (vs the usual 36" for 16' boats). I replaced center yoke with a solo seat from Ed's Canoe, and the boat is exactly what I wanted for a solo river boat, which fits my size/weight, and allows me to relax (i.e. it isn't that tippy).

The construction of this boat is excellent. Absolutely no oil canning. I've been paddling upward of 40 years, and adding this boat to my fleet was a very wise decision for me. For a tandem boat, it was a bit tippy, but I blame that on my bow paddler! I will never use it as a tandem boat, so am pleased!

Stop your research right here. This filter is AWESOME. Have used others, and more time was spent cleaning the filters than pumping the water. There is nothing I do not like about this filter. After a week long trip for 3 people, it did not clog once. I do the 'reverse cleaning' recommended when I get home. Next trip, same thing, perfect performance for 3 people on a week long trip.
I highly recommend!!!

I bought my GG pack almost 10 years ago. It is similar to the Quetico model, but a heavier material than what is used in the pack today.

I have only had one strap start to rip out, and my local shoe guy stitched it up for me for $6. The external side pockets are great for all sorts of gear: poles, saws, axes, etc... I double line my pack with construction grade garbage bags rolling down the opening, and nothing has ever got wet.

I love this pack. It isn't huge, but all my personal gear fits in it well. The hip belt helps on the portages. All sorts of nice adjustments on the shoulder straps too. D-rings help in being able to clip on gear for hand-free portages. I have no complaints about this bag, and I will not hesitate to purchase another if the need arises.

Though I have only used one other water filter, the First Need by far exceeds performance of the other one I used (MSR). I have taken it on 3 week long trips of 3-4 people and the flow is just now starting to slow. With the MSR, we pumped 2 bottles, and had to disassemble it and clean it. What a pain the MSR was.

I've lost directions on cleaning my FN filter, so not sure if you just back flush or have to buy a new filter. Waiting to hear back from FN customer service. Nice that a bottle screws on to the unit, so you are not fumbling around wasting filtered water.

I bought the FN because I found excellent reviews on this filter (flow rate) and it took out all the small stuff one needs to be concerned about.
You won't be disappointed. Don't waste any more time reading reviews.... go buy it.
I highly recommend.