Overview of River Gear

This is a new blog I am adding in to cover a lot of questions we get on equipment, gear, etc. 

This initial post will be a quick overview of what you need on the river along with some other suggested equipment for both pleasure and safety!

When I leave for a river trip I always run this phrase through my mind "paddle, jacket, helmet, skirt"  The boat should be a given, if it is not on your roof you don't need the other stuff! LOL!  You'd be surprised how many of us have shown up at the river without one of those 4 essential items for running down the river.  Of course the helmet part and perhaps skirt too are items I only wear when in my whitewater boat. (I do wear a skirt in my rec boat a lot though)  I suggest a skirt for recreational kayakers on cool days to keep the water splashes off your legs and to help shed water when going through Rochester Rapid/Bulldozer.

If you are a whitewater paddler then the above is the basic equipment you need for the river. Other things include booties, water bottle, throw rope.  The throw rope is something you can get online or at REI in Troy, it is a nylon bag usually with mesh for drainage and it is filled with 50 to 75 feet of rope made for water and with a high breaking point.  They run around $50 and if you paddle with friends they may some day appreciate you having one.

I carry a dry bag with other dry bags inside of it.  Those other bags include a green one for toilet paper and a plastic trowel along with paper towel and anything else you might want for an emergency trip to the woods.  Another bag is red and has first aid stuff in it.  The additional bags serve two purposes, one they offer extra waterproof protection (bags do fail) and second they keep stuff together and handy and easy to see because they are color coded. (i.e. tell someone to get the red bag out of your yellow bag)  Other things I throw in the main bag are bug spray and sunscreen.  I carry an extra t-shirt or rash guard shirt and sometimes a light splash shirt or dry top.  (more on that stuff later)

You can get some big carabiners at Home Depot or Lowes to clip your stuff into something in your kayak. If you don't have good points to anchor things onto, you can make some loops of rope onto various places.  If you do swim it is nice to have all your equipment stay with the boat. 

If you have the luxury of space or are paddling a scow, I mean canoe, then you can take a bag chair for when you stop on the riverbank or a sandbar for lunch, etc.  Small coolers are good for kayaks, larger ones for canoes but please NO Styrofoam coolers!  If you lose them they break up all over the river and are hard to clean up! 

A garbage bag is a good thing to have, if you bring it in, bring it out, your trash that is.  A mesh bag is nice for empty beverage cans, keeps them from rolling around etc.

What about cell phones?  I only bring mine if it is double bagged!  I have an Otter dry box that would probably be enough, they are great boxes - Pelican's too, but to be safe I also put my expensive Smart Phone into a vinyl dry bag made for phones and then put that into the dry box.  The other good thing about doing this is that the phone bag keeps moisture off the phone when I need to use it with wet hands and you can actually make calls with it.  Some people with iPhone's use the Life Proof cases which are great and do not require a dry box, but I would!  Cell phones can come in handy in an emergency, or to order pizza/take out while on the river! ;) 

I'll post something separate about what to wear in greater detail, but things to keep in mind are that what you wear can make or break your day on the river.  If it looks like it could rain, a poncho or rain jacket is nice.  If you can afford a dry top then those are great but can cost $150 - $250+!  A dry top is a waterproof top with latex at the neck and arms/wrists.  These are more for whitewater since the neoprene skirt will seal with the top and then the skirt seals to the boat so you stay dry.  With Rec boats the nylon skirts don't seal you in but a dry top will still help.  An alternative to dry tops are splash jackets which are water resistant or sometimes made from waterproof material but do not have the seals at the neck and arms/wrists.  They are great for rain and splashes and work well even with Rec boat skirts.

Footwear is important too.  Sandals like Teva's seem like a good idea, but if you are walking in the river the sand and gravel get between them and the soles of your feet!  You can get some cheap water shoes at department stores or Meijers, they work well.  Old tennis shoes or old boots were the choices I used for canoeing.  Essentially you want to wear something that can get wet, is comfortable and will not get hung up if you exit your boat.  You can get neoprene river booties at REI or online at places like NRS (Northwest River Supply - www.nrsweb.com)  They will run around $50 or more per pair but can offer good protection, coverage and are made to stay on if you happen to swim! 

That is all for now, check back some time soon and I'll be posting info about paddles, boats (both whitewater & rec, even sea kayaks), first aid kits and whatever else I can think of "gear" related.