Gear
Gear and packing lists
What to bring and what I brought. Every page here comes from a stay at the place it covers, and each one links to the experiences it applies to. The journeys themselves are on Getting there.
Some gear links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one, I earn a small referral fee at no cost to you.
Gear guides
What was in the bag, and why
The kit carried on one kind of trip, piece by piece, with the rules that chose it.
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Everything I carry
The whole kit, camera to car charger: one body and a second always on me, the long lens for bears, the drone for the aerial perspective, and the gimbal, bags, drives, light and power.
For Berry Island Lodge, Caverhill Fly Fishing Lodge, God's Pocket Resort, Knight Inlet Lodge, Lightwater Cove, Mistaya Lodge, Moutcha Bay Resort, Newton Cove Resort, Nootka Sound Resort, Purcell Mountain Lodge, Sointula Lodge, Spirit of the West Adventures, Steep Island Lodge, The Lodge at Gold River, Tofino Fish Guides, Wahous Wilderness Lodge, Wildcoast Adventures
See the kit -
Camera kit for wildlife from a boat
One body, the 200-600 and what keeps them dry and steady: the camera kit for bear viewing from a skiff and whale watching from a small boat in BC.
For Berry Island Lodge, Caverhill Fly Fishing Lodge, God's Pocket Resort, Knight Inlet Lodge, Moutcha Bay Resort, Newton Cove Resort, Nootka Sound Resort, Sointula Lodge, Spirit of the West Adventures, Steep Island Lodge, The Lodge at Gold River, Tofino Fish Guides, Wildcoast Adventures
See the kit -
The saunas
Where the heat is on this coast and in the mountains: the barrel saunas on the Knight Inlet dock, the wood-fired one on the beach at Orca Camp, and the rest, with the plunge that goes with each.
For Knight Inlet Lodge, Lightwater Cove, Mistaya Lodge, Sointula Lodge, Spirit of the West Adventures, Wildcoast Adventures
See the saunas -
What it costs to kit yourself for a bear-viewing trip
The Knight Inlet packing list priced item by item: the essentials, the whole list with the long lens, what the lodge lends you, and the three things worth buying.
For Berry Island Lodge, Knight Inlet Lodge
See the kit budget -
What it costs to kit yourself for a sea kayak camp
The sea kayak packing list priced item by item: the essentials, the whole list, what the operator brings (the boat, the tent, the meals), and the three things worth buying.
For Spirit of the West Adventures, Wildcoast Adventures
See the kit budget -
What it costs to kit yourself for a backcountry ski week
The winter packing list priced item by item: the board or skis, the avalanche kit, the layers, what the lodges provide and rent, and the three things worth buying.
For Mistaya Lodge, Purcell Mountain Lodge
See the kit budget
Packing lists
Tick it off as it goes in
Every item is a real checkbox and the ticks are saved on your device, so the list is still yours the night before you leave.
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What to pack for a sea kayak base camp
The list I packed from, item by item, with a box beside each so you know when you are done.
For Spirit of the West Adventures, Wildcoast Adventures
Open the packing list -
What to pack for a summer week at a backcountry lodge
Boots, layers, rain, sun and the helicopter weight limit, for a hiking week at a fly-in lodge like Purcell or Mistaya.
For Mistaya Lodge, Purcell Mountain Lodge
Open the summer packing list -
What to pack for a winter week at a backcountry lodge
Splitboard or skis, avalanche kit, layers and the helicopter weight limit, for a winter week at a fly-in lodge like Purcell or Mistaya, written from the board.
For Mistaya Lodge, Purcell Mountain Lodge
Open the winter packing list -
What to pack for Knight Inlet Lodge
Layers, scent-free everything, the camera rules on the stands and the skiffs, and the floatplane weight limit, for a bear-viewing stay at Glendale Cove.
Open the packing list -
What to pack for a dive week at God's Pocket
The certification floor, every piece of dive kit you must bring because there is no rental gear, camera power rules, and the 4 pm boat from Port Hardy.
Open the packing list -
What to pack for Lightwater Cove
A weekend bag for a rain-shadow island: the ferry, the car, layers, something to swim in, and cash for the Saturday market.
For Lightwater Cove
Open the packing list -
What to pack for Berry Island Lodge
Layers for fog, the lodge's own rain gear and boots, a long lens for wildlife from small boats, swimwear for the 5 pm swim club, and what stays in the car at Alder Bay, for an off-grid stay in the Broughton Archipelago.
Open the packing list
