- Stephan Kesting
- November 1, 2025
The Perfect Bailer
Many years ago, I was out on a lake with my girlfriend in her parents’ motorboat. An Ontario Provincial Police patrol motored up and asked
- Stephan Kesting
- September 15, 2024
How to Build the Perfect Yoke for Portaging Your Canoe, Step by Step
Bill Mason said it best, “Portaging is like hitting yourself on the head with a hammer, it feels so good when you stop.” Stumbling across a portage
- Stephan Kesting
- September 2, 2024
The Perfect Repair Kit for Wilderness Canoe Trips
On a longer canoe trip it’s not a question of whether your equipment is going to break but rather when it’s going to break. That’s why it’s not unusual
- Stephan Kesting
- May 16, 2024
Plastic Welding a Cracked Whitewater Boat
I recently broke my favourite whitewater boat – an Esquif L’Edge Lite – paddling the Capilano River. The river was already at a low level
- Stephan Kesting
- March 31, 2022
The Evolution of the Canoe Sail
The first sail I ever built was an army jacket held up by two paddles and a stick. The two paddles were jammed in place
- Stephan Kesting
- January 22, 2022
My Favorite Bear Alarm
The PakAlarm is an affordable and reliable way to bear proof your camp. Basically it allows you to run a tough monofilament line around your
- Stephan Kesting
- January 22, 2022
Fire Irons, the Best Way to Cook Over a Fire
Fire irons are two pieces of metal, typically tubular aluminum, that can be laid across a fire to provide a stable surface for cooking. In
- Stephan Kesting
- January 14, 2022
5 Ways to Screw Up Bear Spray
Bear spray is an important piece of wilderness equipment. I’ve carried it in black bear, grizzly bear and polar bear country and it’s always added