With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: The COUREUR 2-Part Canoe Pack
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: The COUREUR 2-Part Canoe Pack
Packing for a three-week canoe trip is not that much harder than packing for a three-night trip, with one exception: you need to bring more food… a lot more food! That realization hit me over the summer as I was planning a long trip to Wabakimi Provincial Park. It didn’t take me long to realize that a huge portion of the space in my existing canoe pack would be taken up by my food. On this trip, I wanted to bring a hammock and large tarp with me too, in addition to my tent. Clearly, I needed another pack!
Being a bit of a gearhead, I remembered seeing that Recreational Barrel Works had recently come out with a new and unique pack called the “COUREUR 2-Part Canoe Pack”. A heritage design, no doubt inspired by the voyageur, I watched Recreational Barrel Works demo video and was hooked: this was exactly the kind of pack I needed for my upcoming trip. Further, I could use it to consolidate several of the smaller/overflow bags I’ve often used on longer trips, making portaging less of a hassle. Being part of the Canadian Outdoor Equipment reviewing team, I quickly placed an order for the pack and eagerly waited for its arrival.
This pack is a feat of design ingenuity: it can be configured in more than one way, giving you huge flexibility in how you choose to make it work for you. In its basic configuration, the “pack” is actually two individual 52-litre packs stacked one on top of the other, strapped together, with a padded shoulder harness to carry the combined 104-litre set like any backpack.
But that’s just for starters; for shorter trips, you can leave one of the packs behind by unbuckling the lower pack from the upper one. Or, if you’re traveling with someone else, one of you can carry a pack with the shoulder harness, the other could carry the second pack using a tumpline strap (a load bearing forehead strap); each of the packs has specifically designed and reinforced tumpline attachment points, perfectly angled to work with that style of carry. And of course, if you need to carefully load balance you canoe, you can quickly separate the two packs, enabling you to put one in the front of your canoe, one in the back. A lot of thought went into the COUREUR 2-Part Canoe Pack!
For my big trip, I used both packs buckled together. I put twelve days of food in the top pack, together with a stove, pots, and other cookware. The bottom pack I filled with bulky items: my sleeping pad, sleeping bag, cold-weather clothes, a large tarp, and extra fuel for my stove. This highlights something I quickly learned about the COUREUR 2-Part Canoe Pack: if you’re not careful, you can easily stuff more gear into those two combined bags than you might be able to carry; they fit a ton of gear! Just something to be aware of; it’s a good “problem” to have.
Whomever designed these packs was obviously a canoeist: there are many “thoughtful touches” that make them ideal for canoeing. Both packs which make up the pair have three highly visible yellow “grab handle” loops for hauling the packs out of your canoe; that’s six total places to grab the pair when they’re strapped together, not even counting the shoulder harness! If you’ve ever found yourself balancing on wet, slippery, or sharp rocks, trying to unload your canoe for a portage, you’ll know how frustrating it can be if you can’t grab your pack easily and have to fight with it to find a grab handle. You’ll never have that problem with this pack; there are just so many grab points and they’re so easy to see.
The next thing I appreciated were the straps and buckles provided for tightening up and cinching down your packs. I usually paddle a solo canoe, so space is at a premium, especially on long trips. If you’ve ever used a compression bag with your sleeping bag, you know how much space can be gained by pulling things together. The same is true for the COUREUR 2-Part Canoe Pack. Each pack has seven (seven!) straps and buckles which enable you to pull together all the empty space and compress your load down to a minimum. There are three strap buckle pairs on the outside front of the bag, two which go across the top on the side of the bag, and two more which are on the outside top at both ends of the bag; that’s a lot of tightening points!
To be honest, I was a bit overwhelmed the first time I tried packing these bags; there are so many straps and buckles, attainment points and configuration options that it’s confusing. But I can be equally honest in saying, after packing and unpacking the bags just a couple of times, I had it all figured out. Each strap and buckle has its own purpose, and you quickly realize what they are and where they go. As the famous saying goes: “With great power comes great responsibility!” The responsibility in this case is to take the time to learn this system before you head out, and then you’ll be golden.
Drawstring cuffs on each pack
Two final points worth noting. Each of the two packs has a drawstring “cuff” at the top to fully enclose the contents of the bag, even before you use those straps I just mentioned. Pulling this drawstring tight kept rain from entering the packs while traveling and in camp; even during heavy downpours. I always use an inner, seam-sealed bag on the contents of my packs (in case of capsize or other mishap), but I always feel better when water is kept outside my packs.
Courier pack on winter toboggan
The second thing has nothing to do with canoeing. Many of you may know that I also enjoy winter camping, and when winter camping, you tend to bring an even more substantial amount of stuff with you, especially if a hot tent is involved. Well, when I saw on the Recreational Barrel Works website how perfectly the two packs which make up the COUREUR 2-Part Canoe Pack fit onto a toboggan, I was smitten! By laying these two packs end to end, they fit perfectly on a toboggan, giving you 104 litres of organized, protected storage; awesome! One more reason for pulling the trigger on this well-thought-out product.
Courier pack stowed - ready for paddling!
If you’re looking to outfit yourself for some significant, multi-day canoe trips, I encourage you to check out the COUREUR 2-Part Canoe Pack. I don’t know of any other product on the market that gives you so much flexibility in a canoe pack, and will probably last you decades of wilderness adventures!
Ron Breault
Ron spent most of his life in the Montreal-Toronto-Ottawa corridor, providing him with great access to some of Canada's finest paddling destinations. A lifelong photographer, Ron's favourite subjects are landscapes, wildlife, and anything involving paddling, camping, or backpacking. He recently purchased his second Swift Canoe, which resulted in his nickname, Swifty Paddler. In 2021, Ron stepped away from a senior management position in the software industry to pursue photography full time. He's now working at growing his practice. Ron is married to the love of his life, has two adult daughters, and resides in Ottawa, Ontario.
