I've spent weeks on canoe trips and various other "overland" adventures. One of the repeated concerns is how to safely pack and transport fragile gear.

When traveling, you need to carry gear and supplies that must be protected from damage, the elements, animals, and insects. These concerns include cooking gear and stoves, food, cameras, and more.

For canoe tripping and rafting, many campers have adopted large plastic barrels. Unfortunately, these round barrels are heavy, bulky and expensive - especially when you add harness systems that cost $100 or more. Another issue is that these big round barrels waste a lot of space.

Backpackers (and some canoe and kayak campers) have also adopted "bear barrels", which are smaller hard plastic jars to store their food. Some "bear sensitive" parks now mandate the use of these barrels to minimize the likelihood of unpleasant encounters. But these smaller round barrels face these same weight and shape issues.

The Rubbermaid "Action Packer" is a molded plastic tote with a lid that is secured with lockable latches. In this article, I am going to show the steps to convert this tough container into a versatile hard case for multiple adventures.

The starting point for this project is the 8-gallon Action Packer. As of the date of this article, Amazon has these totes available for about $50.00.

My goal for this project is to have a secure storage container that will serve many functions.

In the case of canoe tripping, the 8-gallon Action Packer is sized perfectly to fit in any canoe. Canoe tripping requires that the content are protected from water. While the Action Packer is designed to be submerged, it is 90% waterproof. I'm confident that it would float long enough to be recovered in the case of a capsize.

Another reality of canoe tripping is portaging all your gear, often several times per day. For this purpose, I will be installing backpack shoulder straps to the lid of the Action Packer.

Finally, camping places our food and valuables within the home territory of native animals and insects. I've spent considerable time hanging my food in trees over the years. The commercial food barrels or "bear safes"are designed to make this unnecessary. While I'm sure a black bear might puncture the Action Packer with a tooth or claw, I'm confident that they would quickly lose interest when unable to easily remove the tightly latched lid.

Likewise, raccoons, chipmunks, or parading ants aren't going to get at my food stored at the campsite.

The only "assembly" required is the attachment of the backpack straps. Here I attached a set of straps that were sold as accessories for hunting tree stands.

There may be other options - or you might have an old backpacking frame that can provide the required straps. Mine were purchased from Amazon.

These straps use loops at the top and bottom - where they would normally be attached to a tubular stand. In this case, I bolted two aluminum strips to the lid of the Action Packer.

The addition of the backpack straps makes portaging your gear or camping kitchen and food easy. Obviously, the flat lid of the case will rest against your back - and it is surprisingly comfortable! Anyone who has portaged gear in a soft Duluth pack knows the agony of some small object digging into your back.

I will note that using this hard case will require that you pay attention to packing the contents tightly. Remember, you will be packing the case horizontally, and then stand it up vertically for backpacking. If your cook kit, food containers, cameras, etc. don't fill the space tightly, then add some soft gear or clothing to fill the spaces.

But the Action Packer hard case is great for kayak camping, too! (This applies to my sit-on top kayaks with ample storage areas.) Even when portaging isn't a concern, I like having the hard case when camping on a sandbar, frustrating any marauding raccoons during the night!

Also note that I added a loop of paracord on each end plus a small carabiner to keep the latches firmly closed! No raccoon or bear has yet to outsmart me.

Now that I am enjoying "overlanding" by UTV, I find that the Action Packer makes an ideal camp kitchen container. It is impervious to the weather and dusty trails. And it is a great "table" for serving meals, too!

I'm confident that you can find many other uses for this versatile tote with backpack straps! Maybe a day at the beach, with a long walk from your vehicle? Or a walk-in fishing destination carrying your gear and lunch - plus offering a seat when you get there.

What other uses do you have for a weather-tight, durable and portable container? Please comment below. Don't forget to Like, Share, and Subscribe for more outdoor content!