Dave Cornthwaite
Amongst other things he has paddleboarded the length of the Mississippi, skateboarded across Australia, swum 1001 miles, written three books, stayed awake for 72 hours in a row without turning crazy, and for years has tried in vain to get Nutella to sponsor his adventures. But will he give up? Never!
Aquapac. I’ve had one on my back every day for the last two years. I’ve seen an Aquapac rucksack containing my precious MacBook Pro (and thousands of unsaved words and photos - naughty Dave!) float down a river after being washed off my paddleboard. Everything stayed dry. Before it was official I was still a champion of Aquapac gear, I use it because I love it. Their motto - Immerse Yourself - seems kinda apt considering the journey we’ve just been on.
How do you keep your stuff dry?’ is the question on everyone’s lips. River travel is instantly associated with being wet but I see it a different way - you’re constantly within touching distance of losing your warmth, your means of communication and your health, so you need the best protective layer between you and the water. This is where Aquapac takes over. Imitation brands come and go, but these guys have been around for years. They know their stuff.
Functional waterproof pouches for electronics, wet/dry rucksacks, drybags and camera cases - I’ve spent over a year of my life travelling down rivers and I’m yet to lose a piece of electronic equipment. Phone, GPS, SLR camera, point and shoot, iPod, iPad - all usable at the same time as having the ultimate guard from rain and river.
These days if you want your expedition to take you further than just the destination you need to share, create and document. These are the basic passions that led me to adventuring professionally rather than something I feel I have to do to continue my career. On Swim1000 I wanted to share my experience, passion and knowledge with my team and in hand they started throwing their own individual creativeness into the mix. Here’s Dave Zaple snapping away with his portable camera in a mini camera case with hard lens - this guy takes better photos on a point and shoot than I can on a Daddy Canon SLR, he’s wasted as a paramedic!
Chilling out in our Mad River canoe, Aquapac Noatak drybags (they come in different sizes) kept the team tents and clothes dry. We suffered through some cracking storms and came out the other side dry and smiling. Can’t ask for much more…
Orange and black is a familiar brand on my expeditions, and I don’t just mean on my Orca 3.8 wetsuit. We used Aquapac drybags on a cold, wet and challenging Wolf River Expedition near Memphis on a Little SUP Adventure in April 2012, as well. Flying colours, everytime.
Links
> Visit the Aquapac website
> Aquapac on Facebook
> Aquapac Tweets
> Check out their UK store
> And the US Store
Find out more about the Swim1000 Expedition & Dave’s Adventures or follow Dave’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
