On 11 May 2005 16:57:44 -0700, Bill Tuthill wrote:

In rec.boats.paddle wrote:

I'm sure you could hook it to Paragon Pack, available from
NRSweb.com for $50.

Thanks for the recommendation, but unfortunately I need 60" in
circumference and the PP does only 50! =(

Baloney, you can hook anything to a Paragon Pack. It's open.
Don't use the Pelican box attachment, just buy some long straps
of your own. A friend of mine carries his Sotak kayak sideways,
and that's about 100" in circumference, the way he carries it.

If the OP is taking this through the airline travel process, it would
be important to have an enclosed bag to prevent damage from the
luggage handling equipment.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
--
At the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

You might try contacting Mark at Long Haul Folding Kayaks
http://longhaulfoldingkayaks.com/
there is a phone number on the web site .

I don't think he makes anything that large as a standard offering but I
think he does do custom work . It can't hurt to give him a call and find
out if it is doable at price you can accept . His standard bags get good
reports .

David

wrote:

Does anyone know of a giant backpack for my inflatable Sea Eagle
PaddleSki 435 catamaran-kayak?

It has to be 35" tall and 60" in circumference (don't know how that
translates into cubic whatever).

Thanks!!

Bill Tuthill wrote:


Baloney, you can hook anything to a Paragon Pack. It's open.
Don't use the Pelican box attachment, just buy some long straps
of your own. A friend of mine carries his Sotak kayak sideways,
and that's about 100" in circumference, the way he carries it.


Well I'm going by Paragon's own specs, but thanks for the first-hand
confirmation! I even called up NRS but the rep didn't mention that the
attachment-thinggy was more or less optional (though he knew of my
predicament).

Paragon Pack it is! Thanks for the ref, and thanks to all who've
helped me with this. You guys are great! I tried every term I could
think of to google this -- "portage," "bag," "pack," "backpack,"
"inflatable," "kayak"...you get the idea -- and I just couldn't find
anything that seemed right.


Thanks again you guys!!!!

Bill Tuthill wrote:
In rec.boats.paddle wrote:

I'm sure you could hook it to Paragon Pack, available from
NRSweb.com for $50.

Thanks for the recommendation, but unfortunately I need 60" in
circumference and the PP does only 50! =(

Baloney, you can hook anything to a Paragon Pack. It's open.
Don't use the Pelican box attachment, just buy some long straps
of your own. A friend of mine carries his Sotak kayak sideways,
and that's about 100" in circumference, the way he carries it.


Can you tell me how he jury-rigged it? That "Pelican box attachment"
is stitched into the Paragon Pack....

In rec.boats.paddle wrote:

Thanks for the recommendation, but unfortunately I need 60" in
circumference and the PP does only 50! =(

Baloney, you can hook anything to a Paragon Pack. It's open.
Don't use the Pelican box attachment, just buy some long straps
of your own. A friend of mine carries his Sotak kayak sideways,
and that's about 100" in circumference, the way he carries it.

Can you tell me how he jury-rigged it? That "Pelican box attachment"
is stitched into the Paragon Pack....

Sorry I was away on Deep Creek / East Fork Owyhee / Upper Owyhee.

My friend just left the "Pelican box attachment" on his Paragon Pack
in case he needs it. He attaches his rolled-up inflatable kayak
outside the "Pelican box attachment". No problemo.

Bill Tuthill wrote:


Sorry I was away on Deep Creek / East Fork Owyhee / Upper Owyhee.

My friend just left the "Pelican box attachment" on his Paragon Pack
in case he needs it. He attaches his rolled-up inflatable kayak
outside the "Pelican box attachment". No problemo.


Muy gracias! =) But have you seen the construction of the Paragon
Pack up-close and in-depth? My friend and I could get extra-length
straps, but we can't figure out how to integrate them seamlessly with
the Paragon Pack.

Did your friend just tie his own straps around his Paragon Pack, or did
he somehow work with the Pack's inherent features?

I hope you don't find me a bother about this...my friend says to just
tie it up willy-nilly, but I'm thinking there must be a more "elegant"
solution, something less ad hoc.


Thanks again!

In rec.boats.paddle wrote:

Muy gracias! =) But have you seen the construction of the Paragon
Pack up-close and in-depth? My friend and I could get extra-length
straps, but we can't figure out how to integrate them seamlessly with
the Paragon Pack. Did your friend just tie his own straps around his
Paragon Pack, or did he somehow work with the Pack's inherent features?

He used the Paragon Pack straps, and tied the inflatable kayak to the
PP with cam straps.

I hope you don't find me a bother about this...my friend says to just
tie it up willy-nilly, but I'm thinking there must be a more "elegant"
solution, something less ad hoc.

If you are equivocating over price, here's a less expensive solution.
Go to a surplus or backpacking store and buy padded shoulder straps
with pass-through strap holders sewn in. Using long two cam straps
(probably 6') tie the padded shoulder straps around your rolled-up boat.
It might be better than a Paragon pack because it's more stable, since
the straps are further apart.

I've been watching this discussion with interest, having spent three
years packing in the jungle backcountry of southern Mexico. Packing
wierd shapes, sizes and weights on mules, or porters, and carried on
narrow steep slippery trails. Has the OP in this discussion described
where he plans to carry this bag? Are you traveling in the air travel
system, and what countries? Or are you looking for something to store
the cat in at home? Are you planning a portage, and how long? Are the
measurements you give required to fit in one bag, and how much would it
weigh? Or would you be better dividing the weight?

Baggage handling machines eat backpacks with all the loose straps, for
lunch! Catus and thornbushes can shred an inflatable while being
portaged!

I'm with pmhilton on this one as far as keeping it as simple as
wrapping the bits in a tarpulin, bundling with ropes, and attaching
shoulder straps, or tumplines. Packing can be individually monitored
for weight and size. Bundles can be strapped to mules, and porters in
foreign countries are use to carring bundles, but not backpacks.

Even if you are storing in the garage, a tight bundle will be easier to
handle. Also when you get to where you are going, you unroll the
tarpulin bundle such that all your equipment is still on the tarpulin
and not in the dirt and oil of a parking lot or streamside mudflat!

Now on the otherhand, if you show up at the local waterhole carrying
your stylish equipment in a stylish backpack, I grant it will make a
better impression!

Just my two cents worth, TnT