I posted this question elsewhere - but it was suggested I start a new thread: For how many paddlers / length of time does one need a 60L barrel? I am scheming a one month solo trip - trying to squeeze one day of food per liter essentially and go with a 30L barrel - but it seems many are going larger. Would love to hear experiences of others...

For reference a buddy and I needed 2 - 60L barrels for a 21 day trip. We carried 22 days of food in the barrels which were completely full.

Disclaimer: I've never been camping for a month at a time so my advice is simpy extrapolating my experience...YMMV.

If you are trying to pack 30 days of food for one person into a 30-liter barrel, I think you can make that happen. Food won't be gourmet, but you certainly could make it work. I suggest making a "liter menu" - full days worth of food that fits into the Nalgene. Without knowing your preferences, here are a few suggestions:
1) Nuts are a good source of energy, even better if they are in butter form
2) Olive oil added to meals increases calories and is a low-volume item - so does Nido
3) Supplement meals with fish you catch - can save a lot of blue barrel space
4) Jerky, different kinds and flavors would be my preference
5) Tortillas provide a good vehicle for most meals and pack small
6) Most dehydrated/freeze-dried meals can be repackaged smaller (your comfort level with doing this for the last half of your trip is important)
7) Seeds are good - I like sunflower seed kernels
8) Stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pasta are among my favorite meals that go well with fish and they don't take up much space
9) Pre-made soups add variety to the usual dehydrated meals
10) A variety of meal bars are helpful

Chocolate and dehydrated fruits are both among what I would take as well.

If you find you can't make a 30-liter barrel work the way you'd like it, I suggest adding a 10-liter Ursack bear bag - once the food is gone it'll make a great trash bag.

Good luck planning. I hope you have an epic adventure!

I require about 1.6 liters of food storage space per day.

I used a 60 liter barrel for a 24 day solo last summer. It wasn't totally full, but I couldn't have gotten my food into a 30 liter barrel....

Converting 30 liters is about 8 gallons
Can you fit 14 days of food in a 5 gallon pail?
Can you fit 30 days of food in two pails?

I know I can't and most of my food is dry.
I think you need the 60 liter and you can toss some other essential into it if you have extra room. Jacket, pillow, sleeping bag.

You can only shrink food down so much.

Good luck.
Tom

tumblehome: "I know I can't and most of my food is dry.
I think you need the 60 liter and you can toss some other essential into it if you have extra room. Jacket, pillow, sleeping bag."

Yep, agreed with the alternative of putting your cook system and water filtration in any leftover space probably instead of the clothing items.

I suspect you will struggle to get it in a 30. The last few years we have tried to move towards packing more staple foods and and doing actual cooking vs. prepackaged meals like mountain house etc...We have noticed the size of our food bag has been reduced considerably although that was not the purpose for the change. I will admit that spending an hour preparing a meal after a long day of paddling/hiking isn't always awesome. Check out reddit. There are a ton of groups on there that will help you get the most nutrition for the least amount of weight/volume.

I can stuff 7-8 days of food for a solo trip into a 10L Ursack. So I think fitting everything into 30L for a 30 day trip would be tough. So as mentioned by others, either:

1) 60L barrel that also holds cook kit, etc.

2) 30L barrel plus a 10L Ursack for the first week of food. If carrying F.D. meals like Mountain House or others, I usually repackage them into something smaller because I don't cook in the bag, I cook in a soaking jar. Repackaging saves a lot of space. I vacuum pack some and leave others not vacuum packed so they can fit around the stiffer items.

kenpark23: "I suspect you will struggle to get it in a 30. The last few years we have tried to move towards packing more staple foods and and doing actual cooking vs. prepackaged meals like mountain house etc...We have noticed the size of our food bag has been reduced considerably although that was not the purpose for the change. I will admit that spending an hour preparing a meal after a long day of paddling/hiking isn't always awesome. Check out reddit. There are a ton of groups on there that will help you get the most nutrition for the least amount of weight/volume. "

This is impressive to me - I figured switching away from freeze-dried backpacking meals would take more space with the comparable full meals! I am into bannock, and most certainly into eating walleye and trout caught enroute, but I have not done a ton of scratch cooking while canoe camping. I will practice and reevaluate!

Thank you all for these ideas and experiences - this is very useful!

There are 50L barrels out there if you look around. I have one and it helps to keep me from overpacking food on a 15-day trip :)

When hiking out west I use a Bearikade Expedition (14-15L) for 9-10 days of food -packed tight. I’d say a 60 L barrel is more than adequate for 1 month solo - and you could put cooking gear and other stuff in with it. 30 L barrel would be pushing it. A 30 L barrel + a BV500 BearVault should cover it.

Oil = 250 cal/oz
Carbs = 100 cal/oz
Peanut butter = 190 cal/oz
Milk chocolate = 150 cal/oz
Dry pasta = 100 cal/oz
Oatmeal packet = 100 cal/oz
Dried fruit = 100 cal/oz

This year, and for the first time, my wife and I will not be cooking any meals. This allows a lot of space savings when it comes to food. We are taking 17 days of food for 2 people in one 60L barrel. That breaks down to:

32 breakfast servings
68 snack/lunch servings
32 dinner servings

Assuming no breakfast on the entry date and no dinner on the exit date.

The barrel will be almost completely full.

For me, part of the experience of being in the wilderness is the pleasure of eating a great meal.

I only take fresh food for the first day or two and after that it's all dried/dehydrated. But I eat well and I love to make delicious meals. Cooking and good food is part of the experience for me. I can't eat beans and rice for a week so my food pack has a little more in it than some.

Tom