PCU Submersion Test

A few years ago, I read somewhere that while wearing the Protective Combat Uniform (PCU), you could jump in a lake and walk yourself dry in an hour. Challenge accepted. Last Sunday in Toronto it was -5°C, average humidity of 60%, and wind between 28 and 44kph . We put PCU to the test by doing a full submersion test in Lake Ontario. Twice. For those of you not familiar with PCU, I wrote a short history of the system a while back. As well at the bottom of this article is a video overview of the clothing system by Mark Twight.


I need a bigger pack

It hit me like a ton of bricks as I walked across the slippery rocks on the shore of Lake Huron last December, "I need a bigger pack". Three of us had made the trek from Toronto to Manitoulin Island, and had to deal with many parts of the highway being closed due to ice. By the time we got our packs on, we had about an hour of sunlight left. Within that time we had to find a suitable place to set up our camp on crown land and that was proving to be difficult. The forest was too thick to walk through quickly, and the route we took on the shore over slimy rocks was only slightly more palatable.