I didn't want to hijack the other thread, I just happened to have some questions of my own. I am looking to get a blue barrel setup for my future trips. Generally it will just be me (solo) or with one other person- what size barrel should I buy? Would the 30L be sufficient? Which harness system to carry this rig is recommended, I was thinking the CCS model, I like supporting local businesses in Ely;-). Where's the best place to get a blue barrel? Also what about the sealed 5 gallon barrels (cheaper option?) Links to those too? Thanks:-)!

I use a 30 L for my solo trips. Easily fits 5-6 days of food. If I pack right, I can also use it if I have a partner along. 60's are big. When I solo, the 30L goes on my back when I portage canoe. 2nd trip is my pack. I have a kondos sling and it has worked fine. The CCS is a nice one though with some extra pockets for more organization.

A 30 liter should be more than sufficient. I bought mine used from one of the outfitters and saved quite a bit, but I don't remember which one. I also bought the standard 30 liter barrel pack from CCS and really like it. The one change he made since I bought mine is there's now a pocket on the top (and I've found that to be very helpful on one of the 60 liter packs I ordered). While the Quad Pocket pack has the nice outside pockets, I was concerned that they might get in the way while loading and unloading the pack on portages, and again, it would tempt me to bring things I wouldn't need. The biggest thing is to make sure you get the right shaped barrel to fit these packs; it needs a tapered bottom. I bought a 60 liter barrel a few years ago that was more cylindrical and it didn't fit in the pack. Thankfully, I was able to sell it someone who had a different harness system.

I had the CCS pack and started out with a 6.5 gallon pail with a Gamma Seal lid. Works great, like the twist on lid, etc. The down side for me was the pail. The bottom is a sharp corner. When fully loaded it would ride on my lower back painfully. The blue barrel is tapered and rounded and did not hurt to carry.

The CCS barrel pack was great! I think 30L is plenty big for a couple people for 4-6 days.

My wife and I ca get 7-9 days of food in our 30 Liter barrel. Look for the barrels with the locking ring on them. I got ours off of eBay. As for the barrel pack we have the Granite Gear barrel pack which can be used on either 30 or 60 L barrels. We have found it to be very comfortable when portaging.

I plan "barrel meals" by the individual meal - so 42-44 individual meals fit in a 30L barrel. Some meals are more bulky than others - it all evens out.
I like the barrel packs best - I can slit a saw down the side or extra maps and that kind of thing. I usually just alter a standard Kondos #3 by taking in the sides and sometimes adding pockets tot he outside. CCS and Kondos both make great barrel packs.
I don't like the buckets for the reasons stated above - cut into your back.
If I do the pack alterations well, I can put a closed cell foam outside the pack to pad the back and give me a foam to use in camp. Only adds a tiny amount of weight and volume.

i have an olive barrel i got from the local food coop. i believe it is probably a 30 liter, don't know, don't care, but it is larger than my bv 500's. i may start using it again, and sell the bv 500's, i have 2.
stash it in the woods, and have never had a problem. it's got a screw in top.

If you do go with a barrel I suggest you use stuff sacks to organize meals. We have one for breakfasts lunches, dinners and snack foods.

Great insights here, thanks! Definitely leaning towards the 30L...I have the tendency to pack more than I need sometimes, haha. Is the 30L about the size of a 5 gallon bucket? I had another recommendation for the gamma lid buckets....but I can see where those would be problematic with the edges. THanks!

30 liters is about 7.9 US gallons, so the barrel would give you extra room over the bucket. I too am an overpacker and I'm happy with my 30 liter barrel. It holds my bulky foods and a box of wine for my solo trips for 8-9 days, plus 10 lbs of dog food. A moderately disciplined person could pack food for 2 people for a week or so no problem.

They are a bit taller than a five gallon bucket.

I love the capacity/weight/size ratio of the 30L.
Also tucks behind the stern seat of my SR17.

cowdoc: "I use a 30L for my solo trips. Easily fits 5-6 days of food. If I pack right, I can also use it if I have a partner along. 60's are big. When I solo, the 30L goes on my back when I portage canoe. 2nd trip is my pack. The CCS is a nice one though with some extra pockets for more organization."

I use the same system as cowdoc. That is, I portage my solo canoe with the 30L CCS Quad Pack and double back for the larger portage pack.

I currently don't have a 60L Barrel or the 60L CCS Quad Pocket Pack, but I'm seriously considering getting the 60L set-up for tripping with a partner in my tandem. The 30L set-up has worked well for two of us during a canoe trip of a week or less, but it gets pretty tight for two people when tripping for more than a week.

Hans Solo

To add some storage space besides using a 30 liter barrel we use a large Bear Vault BV500. That goes in the day pack and has our meals and snacks for the day in it. Plus it carries a couple of additional meals in case a bear gets into the blue barrel. As we are really at about 45 liters of food so in between a39 and 60 liter barrel for 10 days use.

Besides Granite Gear, who else makes a 30l/60l harness, one that works with both sizes?

I have a 30 liter barrel and a 60 liter barrel the 60 is too tall to carry with my canoe, hits on the back of the yoke pushing the front end of the canoe down, I don't know if any one else has had this problem but a 60 liter barrel doesn't work for me when carrying my canoes. FRED

campnfish: "Besides Granite Gear, who else makes a 30l/60l harness, one that works with both sizes?


"

I have this one from Amazon. It's held up well on two trips so far and is relatively comfortable. I use a 60L barrel, but it says it adjusts to 30. I'm not expecting it to last forever or be as quality as the other harness options, but I wanted to give barrels (found a cheap one) a try, and didn't want to invest a ton upfront in case I didn't like it. I've since become a convert to barrels over hanging.

I have this one . I bought it to go with a 30L blue barrel I found online for 25 bucks. I've also used the 5-gal-pail-gamma-lid seal system for other trips. Both can make it a week to 10 days depending on how much dehydrated food and weight I'm willing to carry.