Ooo. There are a bunch over the years.

Hiking trip pack technology didn’t really make a lot of difference over the years. The argument between external and internal frame packs still rages on forums. The padded belt, more waterproof fabric, snap clips on straps, and pack zippers that worked were incremental improvements.

Bluefoams on hiking trips. Made for much warmer nights.

Woven poly tarps instead of sheet plastic. Much harder to put holes in. Somewhat lighter. Grommets to tie to!

SeaLine bags instead of canvas duffles. That was a big win. Meant that most kids slept dry most nights.

Sealines didn’t completely replace food boxes. It’s handy having a food box for odds and ends — the spices, current block of cheese, Coffee and tea. And you can sit on them.

Tents. Initially we tried skish for this. But cheap tents aren’t a win.

Some items were a trade-off. Nylon moccasins were easier to dry around the campfire. Easier to melt too. And the lampwick chewed on your feet more, unless you bought 3 sizes too big, and used full felt liners in them. THAT was a win.

Harnesses are better with boots for snowshoes, but I prefer lampwick if I’m using mocs.

Polypro replacing wool/cotton blend long johns was a huge win, both for warmth, and the lack of itch. Polypro made possible the SJSA Tuxedo: Polypro top and bottom worn with shorts and tee-shirt over the top.

Fleece replacing wool was a win too. Although I missed the wool mackinaws in their zillion different colours of bright plaid. Saying goodbye to the red and black / green and black cotton flannel shirts was easy. (I think the kids referred to them as ‘stoner shirts’. Acrylic knit toques and scarfs and fleece mitt inners dried in minutes around the fire.

The Mariner canoe was a big improvement over the Selkirk. Where I was often scared spitless in the Selkirks on a wavy lake, the Mariner was MUCH more stable. You’d get blown off the lake before you were really at risk to dump. Not having an external keel made them quicker to steer, and they didn’t catch on rocks when you were sliding sideways across the current. This also made them harder to handle in general, but especially on a windy lake. They were also about 1/2 to 1 km/h slower, mostly because the steersman had to spend more steering strokes.

Dog sleds went through three generations in my time: Initially they were oak. SJSA led the revolution with aircraft aluminum and fiberglass. Kids still broke them, so the glass got thicker, and aluminum tubing was replaced by iron pipe. The last set weighed in at 150 pounds. Each.

In Selkirk the first set I made was another set of oak ones, with planks preformed with the curl bought from the Hudson Bay Northern division. I was pissed off that Mr. Voss would let me go on those sled’s first grade 12 dog run. (I got my revenge: Fred Parr made me head dog the next year, and every year after while I was at Selkirk, I got to do the Christmas trip.)

We lost badly with the oak sleds in Alberta. Three generations of new sleds followed in short order using high density high molecular weight polyethylene, each subtly refining the design. The last batch I made for the last interschool dog sled race weighed in at 37 pounds each. That year Selkirk only entered two teams. But our sleds loaded weighed less than SJSA sleds empty.

Night chains gave way to cables. 5 foot length of 1/8″ aircraft cable, with a loop on one end, and a clip on the other. Loop around a tree, pass the clip through the loop, and clip your dog. Needed 1 tree per dog. More room for the dog. Fewer fights.