What it costs to kit yourself for a bear-viewing trip
The essentials, bought new, are about CA$14,541 (US$10,614);
the whole list is CA$15,364. Priced from the Knight Inlet packing list, at street prices.
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Knight Inlet Lodge. An autumn stay at Knight Inlet Lodge, checked against the lodge's own guidance. Temperatures, weights and what the lodge provides are the lodge's figures.
A bear-viewing lodge hands you more than most: at Knight Inlet the rain jacket, the rain trousers, the wellingtons, the binoculars and the life jacket are all theirs, and they are good. What is left to buy is layers, scent-free everything, a soft bag under the floatplane weight, and the camera. The camera is where the money is, and it is also the one thing nobody will lend you.
These are the prices behind the Knight Inlet packing list, added up two ways: the clothes and the small things that every guest needs, and the whole list with the long lens in it. I have priced what I actually carried, at street prices, and the list is the one I packed from in the autumn.
The figures
Two ways to add it up
The essentialsCA$14,541US$10,614 · 18 items not marked optional
Without the cameraCA$907US$662 · the essentials less the camera group
Everything on the listCA$15,364US$11,214 · 20 of 24 items name a product
Of which, the cameraCA$13,977US$10,202 · 7 lines, priced at what I carry
Approx., at 1.37 CAD per USD. Street prices, not quotes; a sale or a used one changes the sum. Where an item offers a choice, the
cheapest prices it and the line says "from". The kit budget on the list lets you tick what you own and see what is left.
What you bring
The list, priced
Every item on the list, in its groups, with the product I used and what it costs. An item with no price is one nobody sells you: a form, a prescription, a weight limit.
The print-ready PDF · 4 pages on Letter, sent by email from the foot of the 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.
Berry Island Lodge · All-inclusive wildlife lodge in the Broughton Archipelago, formerly Farewell Harbour: twelve ocean-view rooms, grizzly and whale trips by boat, sea kayaks and a 5 pm swim club.
Bear Viewing Lodges on the record, every one stayed at and photographed in person.
Questions about the kit
What does the essential kit for a bear-viewing trip cost?
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About CA$14,541 (US$10,614) for the 18 items on the Knight Inlet list that name a product and are not marked optional, at street prices. Without the camera kit that is about CA$907 (US$662): layers, boots, socks, scent-free toiletries and a soft duffel. Anyone who already owns base layers, a fleece and a pair of boots is most of the way there.
Do I need to buy rain gear or binoculars for Knight Inlet?
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No. The lodge supplies rain jackets, rain trousers, wellington boots, binoculars and life jackets, and the packing list marks your own rain shell and binoculars as optional. What you cannot borrow is the camera, and a monopod or beanbag rather than a tripod, which is banned in the skiffs and on the stands.
How much of the cost is the camera?
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CA$13,977 (US$10,202) of the full list is the camera group: a body with the longest lens you own, spare batteries, cards, a rain cover and a small camera for the flight, priced at what I carry. A phone and the lodge's binoculars are a perfectly good trip; the figure is there so nobody is surprised by it.
