My men's group at church is planning a trip for September 2024. I am the one putting everything together. I was curious what size of pack would be recommended for a 4-night adventure?

One size does not fit all... there are many factors that affect pack size.

Base camp or traveling trip? Traveling light or traveling heavy?
Fishing or not? How much tackle?
Single portaging, or double, or more?
Age of each member?
What packs are already available? Canoe packs, backpacking packs, day packs?
Tents, hammocks, or other? Chairs? Luxury items?
Food plan... fresh, dehydrated, or other? Cooler?

Bottom line, most gear going across a portage should be in a pack. Use a big pack for everything, or multiple small packs sorted by some criteria.

As the one putting everything together, you likely have many more questions.

fishscramble: "My men's group at Church is planning a trip for September 2024. I am the one putting everything together. I was curious what size of pack would be recommended for a 4 night adventure?"

The smallest that can fit everything.

There are many variables here and the end result can vary greatly depending on your plans and what gear you have. Are you base camping or moving everyday? How big is the tent when packed? Are you carrying the tent? How are you packing group gear and personal gear? How big is your sleeping bag? Are you putting your fishing gear and/or day trip gear in you main pack or something that will be carried separately?

I would recommend putting all your gear in a pile or a duffle bag to see how big the pack would have to be to hold it all. Maybe you can downsize some of it or maybe you don't have everything yet, but this would at least give you a starting point.

This the pack I use, Pioneer size. It's big enough that you wouldn't want to carry it if you filled it all the way, but that does give you space to shift things around in there and then tighten down the straps. I have used it for years and have gone on trips much longer than 4 days. The length of the trip doesn't matter that much though, you really only carry more food.

We try to get our guys to just bring two packs. A larger one for their clothes and hammock gear, and a small one as a "day pack" to bring their lunch and personal stuff with them when exploring.

Our bigger challenge is to get the guys not to bring large tents, cots, big chairs, or way more clothes then they need.

I fi everything including the food bag into a #3 envelope pack or larger hiking pack.

I'll repeat it - "The smallest that can fit everything."

Yeah, it's a complicated problem as others have noted.

It will depend on what you are bringing and how bulky it is. One quick way to reduce bulk is to not bring things you don't need or too many/much of things you do need. It is typical on first trips to bring too much food, too many clothes, too many redundancies. Some things like sleeping bags and clothing can be reduced by using compression bags.

Instant potatoes are a lot less bulky than fresh potatoes.

Kanoes used to recommend that you find a typical pack, say from an outfitters website and build a cardboard box to the same dimensions. That might be a good place to start - build one, gather your basic gear, etc. and see how it goes.

Another consideration: if you're double portaging as a tandem, you'll need to carry 4 loads - 1 will be the canoe, 3 will be packs.

It also depends on how much you can carry.

Another set of options that might work are the Granite Gear traditional #4 or the Superior One, 98 and 121 liters respectively. It will as others mentioned above, depend on how much gear everyone decides to tote along and how bulky that stuff is. Good luck with your trip!

HighnDry: "Another set of options that might work are the Granite Gear traditional #4 or the Superior One, 98 and 121 liters respectively. It will as others mentioned above, depend on how much gear everyone decides to tote along and how bulky that stuff is. Good luck with your trip!"

Good comment from HighnDry. One thing to remember when bringing a larger pack of around 100 L or more; it is very easy to overpack these and then it becomes a 90+ pound nightmare. Much better to get buy two Granite Gear 3.5 packs (which are hard to overload) and even better to get anything from Cooke Custom Sewing (by Dan Cooke). I recommend the Hybrid Series; either the Pioneer or the smaller Explorer. You can absolutely not go wrong with anything made by Cooke Custom Sewing and it’s worth its weight in gold.

Good luck and please enjoy my horribly overpacked Granite Gear that weighed in at 98 lbs. Never again!!!!

I would think it would be directly correlated to the carrying capacity of the human shouldering it. My wife is good with a #15 ruck and I hump a well loaded pioneer.

Many of the specialty portage packs can get quite expensive. If your group pushes back on the cost, another option is to use the OD green Army duffel bags. They're tough as nails and fit well sideways in a canoe at a fraction of the cost.

You can also rent them from outfitters. You will at least know they'll fit the gear they typically use to outfit people.

Woodtick: "...another option is to use the OD green Army duffel bags..."

UGH!! These are my worst nightmare to portage, IMO.

They are a bit too tall to lay flat across the width of the canoe, and then hang up under the gunwales when off-loading. The round shape does not ride well on your back as you walk the portage and the pack moves side to side. Being tall, they tend to hang low on your back. And one strap is attached with a hook and ring which is tricky to connect.

I have a friend who trips with 2 of these... I will do anything to not have to portage those bags.

bobbernumber3: "

Woodtick: "...another option is to use the OD green Army duffel bags..."

UGH!! These are my worst nightmare to portage, IMO.


They are a bit too tall to lay flat across the width of the canoe, and then hang up under the gunwales when off-loading. The round shape does not ride well on your back as you walk the portage and the pack moves side to side. Being tall, they tend to hang low on your back. And one strap is attached with a hook and ring which is tricky to connect.


I have a friend who trips with 2 of these... I will do anything to not have to portage those bags."

I honestly have never had any issues with them. Pack them right and they'll fit well in the canoe for the way I trip and can take an absolute beating on the portage. I could see how they may be a bit long to go sideways in a solo or narrow canoe. It's been my go-to pack for the last thirty years. It's a good thing there are a variety of packs out there. I'm sure there are better options, but they are at least an option for the budget minded canoeist.

boonie: "You can also rent them from outfitters. You will at least know they'll fit the gear they typically use to outfit people. "

+1
That way you can concentrate on your personal equipment only, knowing that the outfitter will have whatever kinds (#3, #4, food pack, etc.) and numbers of them you will need.

When I started working at a canoe tripping camp, most gear was very bulky and so large packs could be used without getting too heavy. Now my gear is so compact that A LOT of it can fit in a large pack and it ends up much too heavy.

If my son is along, we can stuff a 115L pack and he can carry it no problem (80+ lbs) but I can't carry it safely anymore. So I try to use 70-80L packs on group trips and cut down on a lot of gear for my solo and get by with a single 50L pack.

Are you still there, Fish Scramble...?

Imho in general, a small pack weighs just about as much as a big pack if they are packed with the same stuff though a larger pack offers more flexibility. Granite Gear & CCS both offer some pretty good packs, CCS probably being my preference as I own one myself & met some folks with some that have lasted over a decade with plenty of life to spare. Frost River also makes some great packs though they are fa bit heavier weight material. The 'Army standard issue duffle bag', the olive drab cylinder bags, also work pretty well for a much less expensive option. The latter have always been my go-to for the food pack as this bag can get more wear if it is being hung.
For your situation, I'd ask if everything for the four day trip is going in this bag or if this is your personal bag. If the former, I'd target something similar in size to the guide series CCS bag or the frost river portage pack. If the latter, I'd target something the size of a backpack or so.
Basic principle for canoe packs which differs from hiking is that the rigid frames & clips/straps can get hung up on stuff going in/out of the canoe, so simpler is usually better. Also, consider the way the pack will be loaded in the canoe - it is ideal to have the weight kept low, below the gunwales, & packing efficiency (how the bags be loaded in the canoe tetris style). Being water resistant is also useful/necessary. Pack materials which wick water will get heavier from rain/bilge water & wet or unnecessarily heavy gear is no fun. For this reason, I like waxed or oiled canvas. The CCS pack materials also seem to handle water well as well.

85L dry pack , you may not need the extra room but it's always there if needed.

Maybe I missed it somehow, but you omit the biggest factor of all: how many people in your group? If it is more than 2 you will obviously need more than one pack. With all due respect, methinks you need to hook up with an outfitter if you are asking such questions.