Sorry I couldn’t figure out how to search for a post.

Taking a trip with three of us in the spring and thinking about taking one canoe and one kayak. Anybody ever take a kayak up there?

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I just clicked on search and typed kayak in - do that and you'll get a lot.

It has been done. There are advantages (maybe) and disadvantages. Varies depending on kind of kayak, route, etc. Most of the concerns revolve around packing and portaging.

I did it in 2015 with a 10ft sit inside yak. As far as portages go, it's gonna always be easier in a canoe because of the way you can carry it. As far as packing, if your an ultra light or even semi ultra light camper, you are going to have no problems figuring out how to pack a kayak for kayak camping. The last time I was up there, I did no portages and planned my trip accordingly. I plan on doing at least one portage when I go back up there next year. And I will be taking an SOT yak. That portage will be a short one and it is going to be work, but, that's my burden to carry. Well, my burden and another group member's, LOL.

I have done it on a trip a few times. It is ok if you don't do long portages. Kayak is not the fast way to go, unless you are going light and have a long one for speed. We generally end up pulling the kayak and have all the gear for 3 people in the canoe. I would rent a 3 person canoe or get a single and a double canoe for any lengthy trip.

Lots of folks have done it, so I'd say try it and see what you think.

I have done a few trips by kayak, including some late October trips and I have mixed feelings about using a kayak in the BW. My primary dislike is on portages. All the gear has to be pulled out of the hatches and put in a pack at the start of the portage and then unpacked and put back in the hatches again at the end of the portage. I find this very cumbersome and annoying. If I'm doing a trip with frequent portages I prefer a canoe.

As for carrying the boat, it's not bad with a yoke designed for kayaks. As for comments about cold water, I think the yak has advantages during the shoulder seasons, since my spray skirt protects me from splashes and waves breaking over the boat.

Again, for most BW trips I very much prefer a canoe, but others clearly disagree with me. I love the kayaks on Superior or in Voyageurs, but not as much in the BW. But, like I mentioned earlier, give it a try and see what you think. If you have a trip without many portages you may find you like it.

My $.02:

I'm not sure how knowledgeable you are about kayaks, but there is a heck of a lot of variability in the different types and their capabilities. Probably even more so than canoes.

Do not attempt to do the border route in sketchy conditions with a 12 foot 'recreational' kayak that lacks bulkheads. Also do not attempt to do the 'Raven Lake in a day' trip in an 18'x22" sea kayak. In other words, the ideal kayak for one type of trip will be downright miserable, and/or potentially very dangerous on another.

Decide what type of trip you'll be doing, and what type of conditions and portages that you will encounter, then research what type of kayak hull fits your needs.

Just don't let your buddy bring whatever he already has, and assume that because he owns a $200 boat from Dicks that he knows what's what (by the same token, just because he owns a $3K valley aquanaut that he crossed the english channel with, doesn't mean he can use it effectively in the BW).

Very different horses for very different courses.

If you are going to bring a kayak I suggest packing it ultralight and do a two person carry across portage without unpacking it.
If all three are equal paddlers, more or less, you can rotate positions.
if the kayak cannot keep up with the canoe, you brought the wrong kayak

I have several trips in both kayak and canoe and for the BWCA the canoe is by far the preferred boat with one or two exceptions. And remember, many use a kayak paddle with the solo canoe with good results.
I am looking into a 16 foot or so kayak for bigger waters and when I finally get it it will be the boat I take for a Basswood only trip. I really want to explore the bigger lakes and the longer kayak would be the preferred boat. As BobDobbs says, different horses for different courses.

Can be done but I would not recommend it. If you are taking a tandem canoe, then use a solo canoe for the second boat. Use a straight blade paddle or a kayak paddle. So much better portaging a solo canoe than a kayak. You can fit your gear in a canoe much better also.

BobDobbs: "My $.02:

I'm not sure how knowledgeable you are about kayaks, but there is a heck of a lot of variability in the different types and their capabilities. Probably even more so than canoes.

Do not attempt to do the border route in sketchy conditions with a 12 foot 'recreational' kayak that lacks bulkheads. Also do not attempt to do the 'Raven Lake in a day' trip in an 18'x22" sea kayak. In other words, the ideal kayak for one type of trip will be downright miserable, and/or potentially very dangerous on another.

Decide what type of trip you'll be doing, and what type of conditions and portages that you will encounter, then research what type of kayak hull fits your needs.

Just don't let your buddy bring whatever he already has, and assume that because he owns a $200 boat from Dicks that he knows what's what (by the same token, just because he owns a $3K valley aquanaut that he crossed the english channel with, doesn't mean he can use it effectively in the BW).

Very different horses for very different courses."

Well put. Very well put. I sometimes chuckle a bit at the some of the things that are said about kayaks on this forum. An experienced kayaker that understands the aspects of UL camping as well as planning a trip can have a very good time in a place like the BWCA. I have kayaked camped in several places that require carrying and dragging a kayak in some areas- to include the BWCA.


There is only really one aspect of the BWCA where a canoe person is going to have an advantage every time over a yaker- and that's the portages with the ease of carrying the water craft. You can always plan your trip with minimal portages or very short ones. Packing a kayak vs. packing a canoe is not even an argument. Mostly because yak campers have already embraced the aspects of UL camping as well as bought the gear for UL camping. If you are trying to pack conventional non UL camoing gear in a yak, then you are probably going to lose every time.

BTW, when you sit below the water in a yak, there is thing called a skirt you can use. When you sit above the water in a kayak, you are sitting in an SOT yak, and you use proper outer dry clothing when you don't want to get wet.

Thank you for the advice. Thinking we’re going to ditch the kayak idea and go with two canoes.

Savage Voyageur: "Can be done but I would not recommend it. If you are taking a tandem canoe, then use a solo canoe for the second boat. Use a straight blade paddle or a kayak paddle. So much better portaging a solo canoe than a kayak. You can fit your gear in a canoe much better also. "

my vote as well, a buddy brought his a few years ago, it sucked on portages, otherwise it got around ok. stashing gear was tight. he commented next time i'll rent a solo canoe.

They call it canoe country for a reason. The disadvantages of kayaks vs canoes in the BWCA are endless. Rent a Souris River 18.5 or a NS Northwind 20 and have a much more enjoyable time...

Sure, it can be done, and it can be loads of fun too. Like others said, use the right kind of boat for the type of trip you'll be on. The main advantages to a kayak are that they much faster than canoes, and are WAAYYY easier to handle in high winds and big waves. They're also a helluva lot more comfortable to sit in all day. The main disadvantage, as mentioned above, is portaging. However, if you pack the boat right, and have a yoke, it's not as bad some would claim. You probably won't be able to single-trip portage with a kayak, but there are ways to make the unpacking/packing of your gear pretty smooth (i.e. have everything in several medium stuff sacks that can be quickly crammed into a Duluth pack, instead of a dozen loose items/bags in your hatches). Definitely bring a yoke for any real portaging (search for it on here, and you'll find some good examples), and definitely use a spray skirt.

With all the basic stuff said and done, where were you thinking of going, and what kayak do you have? Two years ago, my dad and I took a trip to SAK and Kekakabic from Seagull (via Ogi, Eddy, etc) with his solo canoe and my 14' yak, and we had an absolute blast. There were days when the wind was gusting to 25-30 mph and I was still able to go out and fish in the big waves, whereas the canoe was too much to handle. I made a few mods to the boat for fishing before that trip, and have since added a rudder for tracking in the wind, as well as sonar. I've taken it back to the BWCA twice since then, and love it. You can't beat two guys in canoe for the really long trips, but I highly recommend trying a kayak at least once

For the amusement of people like me (who sold more Pungos in a previous life than I will ever be able to cleanse my soul of), and possibly the benefit of those who will take to heart the wisdom offered above by folks who know what they’re talking about:

Circumnavigating Africa

HEED MY POST (or you'll wish you were dead).

One of my first trips to the BW, we brought fishing kayaks. Just my buddy and me, and we each had our one person kayak. His was about 60 lbs, mine was about 80. After four portages into Lac La Croix, our fingers were raw from the rope grips on the kayaks. They were unbelievably heavy. I don't care how you do it, there's no easy way to portage a kayak.

We ended up 7-8x portaging, it was miserable. The only good part was actually being on the water, but it was NOT worth it. Have never even remotely considered bringing one to the BW since that trip. The BW is meant for ultralight canoes, end of discussion. Float a river with your kayak, leave it at home for a BW trip. If you do bring it, PLEASE post on here how it went so I can laugh at your disdain.

I've done all my solo trips with kayaks in the BWCA. First time was with a 16'8" kevlar QCC 600x (46lbs). Covered about 75 miles in 6 days. Double portaged and wasn't bad as I made a custom portage yoke. It was a pain pulling gear in and out of the hatches at portages.

After that trip, the rest have been in my 12" Perception Tribute (40lbs). I leave about 10lbs of gear in the rear hatch to balance it when i portage it with a custom portage yoke. The rest of the gear it packed into my Exos 48 with anything needing to be dry is packed in smaller drybags in the pack. The pack gets strapped to the rear deck of the kayak and the boat is quite stable in this configuration.

I still double portage mostly as I like to carry my camera and saw on the first hike across the portage to capture pictures of wildlife and clear any blowdown across the trail that would be problematic with the boat over my head. Plus it's safer carrying less weight as I would rather not twist and ankle when going solo.

I love fishing out of my kayak and it handles wind much better than a canoe. Granted, I wouldn't turn down a solo canoe, but with four kayaks in the garage, I don't have room for another boat, so I work with what I have. Logistics are basically the same as what I do now anyway.

If you're not going solo, I strongly suggest to ditch the kayak idea and get a canoe. You lose all benefits of a kayak when you have another person in your group. Only exception is if you have no portages on your trip, then by all means, take a yak.

Did it this year on the bear trap river (sundail Pma). It’s very doable. There was 3 of us all in kayaks. I recommend getting a good portage rack. I’ll find the company I got it from later and post a link. Expect to be a little slower and possibly a little more worn out. You are doing all the paddling by yourself after all, but honestly I really enjoyed it. I will likely continue to use a kayak in the future on most trips. 2 of us have field and stream eagle run 12’ and an old town tandem. With the tandem we had a little more room because it was canoe like. The eagle runs have a removeable dry hatch in the stern so we took that out and strap the bags to the back. If you are going to fill hatches and not just have a pack things will be much more difficult but still can be done. Many people on this forum thought we wouldn’t make it to Mudro without regreting our decision and that simply was not the case. Portages do take a little bit longer but aren’t any worse with the right approach to packing your gear and a good “yoke”

They are from spring creek. A bit pricey but worth it imo

I hadn’t seen that variant on the Spring Creek canoe seat/yoke. We have one on an aluminum canoe and it is very comfortable. Another option, which could be slightly quicker on and off and is a bit more compact is the Universal Kayak Yoke from Hidden River. I’ve got the canoe version of that one on my Sawyer solo. It does well with odd gunwale shapes and is comfortable enough. Both have good elevation for good visibility.

I used a SR Tranquility on a two week solo and it was great for speed, packing, and portaging. I own two yaks and wouldn't consider bringing either on a BWCA or Q trip. I did bring my ZRE bent shaft and a Kayak paddle as a backup. Did not use the yak paddle once, and had to deal with some rough weather.

I have done three trips with my kayak, and love it. I solo, and pack like a backpacker so that helps. I have a yoke that clamps on to my coaming so I can portage like a canoe, and I don't remove anything when portaging. I have a dry bag in front of my feet, and the rear hatch is filled with my must stay dry items. When I get to the portage, I put my paddle up where my feet are, put on the yoke and go. I am not out for speed when paddling so I don't mind that my kayak is slower than a canoe. Long story short, go for it, and see if it works for you.

This guy kayaks in Algonquin, and has some great videos on building a diy portage yoke, portaging, packing, etc. Honestly, if you had a dialed setup, you could be way more stable than a solo canoe because your center of gravity is lower, but this is at the expense of a little more time at portage landings. Like anything, it can definitely work, you just need the right equipment and proper planning. Like anything, i would try it out locally before you commit to it! Watch some of his vids, hes really lighthearted and a joy to watch. Kayak Camper