After more than a decade of memorable trips into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with a traditional Duluth Pack, the time had come for reflection. It was heavy (especially when wet). Uncomfortable to carry over long portages. I had been eyeing Granite Gear canoe packs for a few years but angst and guilt shamed into closing out the browser. How could I even consider a replacement to the artisan-class pack made in Duluth, MN? (Side note: After Duluth Pack hosted Ivanka Trump, a representative of polarizing administration that is a proponent of the Twin Metals mining project proposed for the BWCA, at their facility, whose backyard IS the BWCA) it’s a little easier to justify my deception.

In July, a Granite Gear Quetico sample arrived just in time for a seven-day canoe trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Below is a story of angst, guilt, conflict and reconciliation.

Size

Granite Gear has four portage packs in their line-up. All accommodate torso sizes of 18 to 21 inches in length but vary in capacity size. To be transparent I’m 5’ 5” in height, weight 125lbs and on the small side.

The hulking Superior One, with 121 liters of capacity, was immediately nixed. I’m not an ultra-lighter. If I have 121 liters of space to fill, I’ll fill it. If the sheer cargo weight doesn’t sink the canoe it’ll destroy the cartilage in my knees and ankles as I plod laboriously over a long portage on my way to a double knee replacement.

Next in size is the Traditional #4 at 98 liters. In my opinion this was still too big for me. Next was the Quetico at 82 liters. The smallest pack in the lineup is the 57-liter Traditional #3.5. I chose the Quetico because it seemed more in line, capacity-wise, with my Osprey Xenia 85 multi-day pack. My Duluth pack is about 70 liters so the Quetico provided a little extra room.

It turned out to be the right size for me. Not only did it hold my sleeping bag, sleeping pad, stove, fuel, bowls and utensils for two people, headlamp, book, cleaning supplies, fire starting kit, toilet paper kit, ditty bag, water purifier, pack towel, hammock (no really!), solar charger, binoculars (for loon watching), sun shower, rain gear, wool pull-over, three clean shirts and one pair of long pants, I could carry it and portage the canoe.

Weight

I didn’t weigh the packed pack for two reasons:

1. The days leading up to departure were crazy and chaotic and I didn’t fully pack the Quetico until an hour before I hoisted it into the canoe at Sawbill Lake.
2. Why? I needed everything I had packed–even the hammock and the sun shower. And my longest portage was 180 rods (roughly half a mile). I could suck it up for that.

However, when the Quetico arrived, I noticed right away that it was lighter despite offering more volume. This wasn’t surprising because the Duluth Pack is made from a heavy-duty canvas and the Quetico is made from 420D Cordura Ripstop Nylon. Although now the Duluth Pack is heavier with the weight of hosting a proponent of mining in the BWCA.

In terms of packed weight to carry, it didn’t feel exceptionally heavy. I wasn’t moaning and grunting and on-my-god-how-much-longer-is-this-por-tahhhggg-because-I’m-dying?!

Harness

The Granite Gear Quetico’s harness is more in line with a multi-day backpack than that of a traditional portage pack with just standard shoulder straps. It has a padded back panel, contoured and padded shoulder straps, three sets of compression straps on each side, load stabilizer straps, and a comfortable waist belt. All told, it contributed to a more comfortable experience for both me and my back when portaging between lakes.

This is a big step up from my Duluth Pack’s harness system of just two leather shoulder straps—and that’s it. No hip belt to offset weight from my back to my hips and no back panel. I carried the weight of my burdens entirely on my back.

Having this upgraded harness made for faster portages. The ideal portage should be done in one trip but in my Duluth Pack days, I always made two trips. The first trip was carrying just the pack, which required both to help balance the load and offset some of the pack’s weight from my back. The second trip was to fetch the canoe paddles and food pack. I had never been able to carry both the canoe and the Duluth Pack because the combination of a heavy pack hanging entirely off my back and a canoe pressed uncomfortable on my spine and vertebrae.

With the Quetico, the harness absorbed all the manual effort of the Duluth Pack days. Portages only required one trip. On portages that I wasn’t carrying the canoe, I carried the food pack on my chest and the canoe paddles in both hands while the weight of the Quetico sat comfortably on my hips. When I did carry the canoe, I had no issues carrying both at the same time.  

Durability

I evaluate durability based on the potential failure points: Fabric, stitching, hardware and a reinforced bottom. Stitching is important because if the thread is too thin, and the seams are flimsy, they will degrade over time and rip, usually in critical places like the shoulder and compression straps. Hardware made from lightweight plastic provides opportunity for disasters and other malfunctions. And if the pack isn’t made from a high-quality fabric, it will won’t be resistant to abrasion and tears.

The Quetico was designed and built with all this in mind. Granite Gear anticipated canoers over-stuffing the pack and hoisting its hulking weight in and out of canoes and across portages and then slapping it down on rocks and gravel with heaving sighs of relief and gasps of air. So they constructed it with 420D Cordura nylon, which is pretty much the breed standard for higher-end packs. The seams, with are tight and neat, are sewn with heavy-duty thread that is reinforced in the high-stress areas that secure the shoulder straps, compression straps and at the two side handles.

In addition, all buckles and d-rings are all made from industrial-grade plastic. Webbing straps are heavy-duty and the pack’s bottom panel is reinforced with a layer of ballistic nylon to improve its resistance to tears and scuffs. It also protects the pack from the fluvial zoo of canoe paddle splash that pools in the bottom of a canoe from .

Features

Because canoe packs are designed to spend most of the time in the canoe rather than on your back, they don’t usually offer a wide range of features beyond straps and a cavernous main pocket. But Granite Gear added a few extras that you’ll appreciate as much as I did.

• Two side pockets: At eight inches deep and 9.5-inches wide they securely held the items I wanted quick access to like my knife, whiskey flask (no judgement!) and bug spray.

• Six d-rings: I used of them to attach a bug net, a visor and a small drybag with first aid kit.

• Large external flat pocket: I used this to stash the map, my book and rain gear.

• Interchangeable hip belt: A size medium unisex hip belt comes standard. If you need bigger, smaller or women’s-specific, you can purchase the Ultralight Belt for an additional $40. I knocked out seven days with the standard size medium unisex belt with positive results. My hip size of 33-inches at the point where the hip belt sits puts me within the span of the medium anyway.

Final Thoughts

And thus concludes my story of angst, guilt, conflict and reconciliation. It wasn’t an enjoyable task pitting the Granite Gear Quetico against my Duluth Pack. After all I did choose it all those years ago and we had many portages, many happy memories. But the Granite Gear Quetico has blown me away with its performance, comfort and functionality. 

I always strive to be objective when reviewing products. After all, my opinion is but one opinion in a sea of thousands. Still, I usually can find at least one point of contention. Maybe it’s overly complicated to operate or a cheap zipper was added to reduce weight. Sometimes a superfluous feature adds weight, or the price tag will feel like taking a bullet.

I can’t conjure any points of contention with the Granite Gear Quetico. I can’t think of a single reason not to buy this pack over Duluth Pack.

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A canoe trip means leaving behind all the ills of civilization. There are no roads or buildings. No city lights or sounds. No electricity or plumbing. With most of the lakes designated as paddle only, there are no motorized boats and no planes flying overhead. It’s just you and the natural wilderness. Which means you need to have the right gear. Below are the seven key items we recommend for your packing list to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Granite Gear Quetico Portage Pack

The Granite Gear Quetico, like most portage packs (properly pronounced, “por-tahhhhhgg”), is shaped and designed to fit superbly in the bottom of a canoe to maximize space. It holds 82 liters of gear in a single compartment and is made with a beefy 420 denier Cordura Ripstop Nylon fabric. But its supreme advantage over other portage packs (e.g. the other Minnesota-based brand) is its harness system. Specifically, it has the exact same harness system that Granite Gear puts on their higher-end multi-day backpacks: padded back panel, contoured shoulder straps and a comfortable interchangeable waist belt to help balance the load when portaging between lakes. $220 | granitegear.com

ENO Doublenest Hammock with Atlas Suspension System

If you think hauling and ENO Doublenest Hammock with Atlas Suspension System into the Boundary Waters in a canoe is an extravagant item that adds unnecessary weight in a portage pack, you’d be absolutely right. Still, there’s a concept in the Boundary Waters called, “Boundary Waters Time.” It means no cell phone service. No schedules. No motorized boats or vehicles. Remote campsites. Crystal clear water lapping on the shore. Loons calling. Wolves howling. Leaves rustling in the breeze. The sound of a crackling campfire at night. Maybe even a show of Northern Lights if I’m really lucky. I want to be swinging in a hammock taking this all in. Hence the reason I’m bringing the extravagant ENO Doublenest Hammock with Atlas Suspension System. $70/$30 | eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com

Royal Robbins Bug Barrier Tech Travel Long Sleeve

There are many reasons I like the Royal Robbins Bug Barrier Tech Travel Long Sleeve—great fit for layering, long length that doesn’t bunch up under backpack waist belts, decent body temperature regulation. But the biggest and most important is that the fabric is made with InsectSheild bug barrier protection. Mosquitoes are everywhere in Minnesota in the summer but it’s the ticks I fear the most. Crawling on the ground on which I set my pack. Lurking on the bush during a bio break. Waiting in the tree branches to launch themselves onto me so they can burrow into my skin until they’re bloated and happy from the feast of my blood. InsectShield fuses and binds a formula of permethrin into fabric fibers that repels mosquitoes, ticks, ants, flies, chiggers, and midges. Per InsectShield, the repellency is “EPA-registered to last through 70 launderings—the expected lifetime of a garment.” $60 | royalrobbins.com

GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Bacpacker Stove Set

The GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Backpacker ($95) is an integrated kit comprised of a two-liter pot and strainer lid, skillet, two 14-ounce insulated mugs, two 14-ounce bowls and a wash basin to feed two campers. While this stove takes up a bit more space in a pack than other backpacking stove kits, it’s ideal for the BWCA for two reasons: 1) When traveling by canoe I have the luxury of traveling for miles without having to actually carry it on my back. Yes, I will be portaging between lakes but my longest portage will be 180 rods (roughly half a mile). And 2) the skillet will be critical to cooking the fresh Walleye I hope to catch. Altogether, the GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Backpacker provides the opportunity to eat more than ramen noodles and instant oatmeal for eight days. And the bag that doubles as a wash basin? How did I ever live without one? Not only is it priceless for cleaning up dishes, it’s good for general basic bathing, washing one’s face or a good deep-clean of a newly-acquired wound before applying ointment and a bandage. $100 | GSI Outdoors

Teva Original Universal Sandals

A summer BWCA canoe trip destination requires a pair of Teva Original Universal sandals. Who wants to step out a canoe into lake water to pull it onto the shore while wearing hiking boots? And who wants to wade into the lake to swim and touch the slimy, muddy bottom? Not too much has changed from the original-original Teva sandal of 35 years ago (that’s a good thing) beyond new colors and designs. But it’s the straps that are a big stand out. Teva has made a substantial and impressive commitment to sustainability to reduce its environmental impact. As of 2020, 100 percent of Teva’s iconic straps are now made from traceable, verifiable, plastic using REPREVE® yarn, which is made from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles and other recycled content. Either way, they’re a fantastic amphibious shoe to wear in and out of the canoe and into the lakes when swimming. $50 | teva.com

Natrapel Insect Repellent

Because the Royal Robbins Bug Barrier Tech Travel Long Sleeve can only cover so much skin and the mosquitoes and ticks are hungry and waiting to latch onto any body part that isn’t covered by cloth. Enter Natrapel Tick and Insect Repellent to keep me free from bug bites all day. Picaridin, a synthetic ingredient that “mimics” piperine (a compound found in black pepper) is the key ingredient. I’ve been using this brand for about five years and it’s the only one I will use. It is DEET-free, non-greasy, sprays on easy, dries fast, does not leave a sticky film on my skin and doesn’t smell like the Union Carbide Bhopal disaster. $7 | natrapel.com

Icemule Drybag Cooler

I’ll be in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for seven days and the IceMule Classic Cooler will break up the monotony of a week consuming non-perishable instant oatmeal, tuna fish, ramen noodles and mac n cheese every day. When I used this cooler on a sea kayaking trip to Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands, I added brats, fresh eggs, a wedge of Gouda cheese and a bag of shredded cheddar cheese to the menu. Why? Because this portable, soft-sided cooler holds ice for two days and fit into the dry hatch of my sea kayak. I’ll be in a canoe this trip, but I still need to pack light as I’ll be doing a number of portages. Bonus that this comes with a shoulder strap. $70 | icemule.com

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