Sam Mauldin is an avid climber, extreme athlete, and most notably a paddleboarder. He and I met on a 100 mile stand up paddleboard expedition down the Guadalupe River in South Texas, the first trip of its kind. After that trip Sam went on to do another 100 mile trip on one of the most remote stretches of the Rio Grand river that was nominated for SUP Expedition of the year. Now Sam, founder of SA adventure sports, is heading out on another amazing expedition tackling the Rio Grande de Matagalpa for 150 miles of unknown river conditions in Nicaragua, so unknown that the government is requiring a Naval Escort for half of the trip. We discuss the challenges and dangers that lie ahead of them, his gear choices, and those who will be accompanying him on this excursion.
Follow Sam and Crew on their Spot GPS tracker
Sam Mauldin on his recent 100 mile Rio Grand SUP expedition down the Rio Grande in Texas
Sam's Gear List
1. Paddleboard: This year’s battle ship will be the 14’ Hala Nass to cope with the open water and high head winds we’ll be facing.
2. Paddle + backup: Hala’s Lock + Load carbon travel and the coveted Butter knife
3. Repair kit: Stock repair kit wit Tear Aid and a couple hose clamps added to the mix
4. PFD
5. Helmet
Camping
1. Hammock: Sea to Summit’s new “Hammock Pro” which packs down to about the size of my fist and weighs only 360g. The “Ultralight Hammock” that other team riders are taking packs down even smaller and weighs an impressive 155g!
2. Bug Net: Specifically for Hammocks
Size: 4.5 x 4 x 3.5 in
Weight: 450g
3. Hammock tarp: Sea to Summit Hammock Tarp,
Size: 6 x 3 x 3 in
Weight: 330g
4. Liner: Sea to Summit Coolmax Adaptor Traveller
Size: 3 x 5 in
Weight: 328g
5. Sleeping pad: Sea to Summit Ultralight Mat
Size: 3 x 6.5 in
Weight: 395g
6. Lighter/Firestarter
7. Headlamp: Petzl Aktik 300 lumens
8. Stove: Jetboil
9. Fuel: One 3.5oz can
10. Mess kit: Sea to Summit X-Series Set.
Weight: 453g
11. Knife: Pilot knife attached to my PFD
12. Compression Sack for clothes
13. Food:
6 Mountain House dinners and
4 breakfast meals
15 Cliffbars
3 packs of Shotblocks
Coffee
Jar of peanut butter
Pack of tortillas
14.Water filtration:
LifeStraw 5L Mission gravity filter
PURINIZE
15. Water bottle
16. Storage
Sea to Summit
65L Hydraulic Pack with shoulder straps (1)
26L Rapid Drypack (1)
TheSUP Pocket
17. First Aid Kit
18. TP/wet naps
19. Machete
20. Rocket launcher to fight off crocs
21. Soap
22. Collapsible 5g jug
23 Cameras: GoPro Hero4, Canon T6i
24 Power Banks (3)
25 Solar panel: Off brand
26 Repellant
27 Sunscreen
28 550 Para cord and carabiners
29 Personal Hygiene pouch
30 Water shoes: Astral
31 Spot Tracker Gen3 GPS transponder
32 Sunnies: Native Eyewear for the entire group
You can follow Sam Mauldin's expeditions via his Facebook and Instagram and will also be broadcasting his position throughout the duration off his trip via a spot tracker at the following link. Sam is also a big supporter of Missions of Grace an outreach non profit located in Nicaragua and Texas.