"Last summer 6 of us did a 46-day arctic canoe trip on the Parent, Coppermine, Fairy Lake, and Hood Rivers in the NWT and Nunavut. We had no food drops so we carried all our food for the entire trip over numerous portages. Our food was contained in 4 food barrels (one Headstrong Harness, two different commercially available harnesses, and one homemade job) plus 3 packs, averaging about 100 lbs apiece.

I can now say without hesitation that the Headstrong Harness is the best barrel harness out there. The way it self-tightens and doesn't stretch when wet keeps it close against the back whereas other harnesses sag several inches away from the back, requiring you to be further hunched over in that way only one who has carried a full food barrel can truly understand. The back padding is excellent. And this harness is so rugged it looks like it could handle another 20 trips of this length with no problem at all. By comparison, I've worn through the bottom of one of my other commercial available harnesses twice. I'm confident that I'll never have to or want to replace my Headstrong Harness."

Levi Waldron Click for full trip log on "Canadian Canoe Routes" site