Luxury items you take canoe (or winter) camping

I've always been pretty Spartan when canoe camping, tending toward lighter and lighter weights as I've aged. The primary luxury I've permitted myself since my mid-60's is a full-size bag chair, the weight of which (9 lbs.) be danged. I picked a chair the back of which can recline, and which has solid arm rests that I can push on to help me easily stand up.

Here it is at my local paddle on Lake Lillinonah (Housatonic River), set up on the rock where I read for about an hour. There's a cove around to the right where I practice freestyle moves in my Bell Wildfire.



Bagged, I tie the chair in the stern of my Hemlock SRT in the Adirondacks.



And unfold it at an unofficial campsite on Forked Lake.



I'll pass on winter camping because I don't do that. For those that do, what luxuries do you take in winter as well as canoe camping?

Thermarest Basecamp XL mat for those comfort trips. Four lb's, 30" wide and 2" thick. Thermarest large pillow and I'm sleeping - well I really don't sleep much, but I can lie there at nite in complete comfort.

Since I consider my outdoor activities to be privileged, every item I take with me is luxurious for me.
Especially since I've been traveling with my own car and canoe and the appropriate equipment.
I am very grateful for that.

.

.

Sitting in the shade on the sunny side of life.

. .



regards
Michael

I always bring my “Byers of Maine” wood/canvas cot and an old wood/canvas folding chair when I bring my wall tent, along with candles, a wanigan, a lightweight rug for the floor, beer, fresh food, and a heavier ax for splitting wood. This is for 3 season camping, no more winter camping.
When I did a portage trip non of the above came along except some fresh meat for the first few days.

Lightweight canoe, tent, sleeping pad, light, two pairs of shoes, more than enough food, extra socks, maybe an extra pair of pants.

These are just some of the luxury items I take that historically were not available or utilized.

Alan

Chair, a cooler, 2 pound cot for gravel camping, aluminum Dutch Oven.
Dining fly for wet trips.

At age 76 and after 50+ years of canoe tripping, much of what used to be considered luxury items are now mandatory items - a higher chair w/backrest, insulated inflatable pad/pillow, a somewhat larger solo tent than the old coffin-like bike-packing tent I used for years, a small fold-up table for cooking off the ground and for holding my afternoon drink(s), etc etc.

A roll up table goes on every trip.

jdeerfoot said:

a somewhat larger solo tent

Click to expand...

Yes, me too. The Nemo tent I now use, which is pictured in my OP and below, is a three person tent. I like room to store stuff, sit up and move around.

Good thread, now it depends what boat I’m using. Haha. Chair is a must. I was using that tri pod to sit on but you know how that feels after a while. Just bought a big agnes light weight chair, bigger than the helinox that I can’t get out of.
Bigger tent, alps mountaineering. I
Like cooking so pots and pans, maybe the double burner propane stove. Cooler and wannigan if possible.
I’m going to try my Bryers mini cot that sits way low to the ground. Will be tough getting up from that.
Now you got me thinking and planning. Ahhh! Just came back from winter camping at Catskills yesterday.
Yes, I too have that large themarest but that is car camping gear.

Keeled Over said:

Thermarest Basecamp XL mat for those comfort trips. Four lb's, 30" wide and 2" thick.

Click to expand...

I see your Basecamp and raise to a Mondo XL, same width but 3.5 inches thick! On my solo trips I take variety of tents/shelters, a two person 3 season for tiny camping opportunities or for extreme weather, A 4 person tent/shelter for when space is available, a 12 x 14 tarp and for emergency use an Outdoor Research bivy for extreme situations or for protecting my sleeping bag (under a tarp or when using a floorless shelter.

Wow...I still think of luxury as my old Therma-Rest chair kit that allows my sleeping pad to be converted into a chair. Of course, I'm still sitting on the ground in it but if I go in "lux" mode (my term), I can extend the lower 2/3 of it and lounge in my sleeping bag while reading & sitting upright. When it's time to sleep I unbuckle the two straps on the upper 1/3 and lie down without ever having to leave the bag; a genuine luxury on cool autumn evenings when I'm toasty warm and ready for dreamland.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

Wow...I still think of luxury as my old Therma-Rest chair kit that allows my sleeping pad...

Click to expand...

I hear ya. I was thinking "I take a percolator for my coffee" but I haven't winter camped in ages.

Glenn, can you offer more info about your "bagged chair" sounds nice.

coldfeet said:

Glenn, can you offer more info about your "bagged chair" sounds nice.

Click to expand...

Coldfeet, I discuss my GCI chair (I have 2) and include a YouTube video of it in the post linked below. I don't believe GCI makes this particular reclining back chair anymore, but they make many others that you can search out.

ppine said:

A roll up table goes on every trip.

Click to expand...

Yes, I have one these also - the size of card table. A bit heavy and bulky but I have fond memories of card games under the tarp at this table in a light rain with the Coleman double mantle hissing away.

We packed last night for a weekend of winter backpacking in Pennsylvania.

There are two items that get added to the winter pack that are super luxurious.

The first is down booties for camp time. These include soft soles and work well for padding around a frozen camp and escaping frozen or wet shoes after the day’s hiking is complete.

The other luxury item are light, down sleeping booties meant only for the inside of the sleeping bag. These are custom sewn down socks that weigh next to nothing, but do a wonderful job of keeping the feet warm over frigid nights.

MichaelMerry said:

We packed last night for a weekend of winter backpacking in Pennsylvania.

There are two items that get added to the winter pack that are super luxurious.

The first is down booties for camp time. These include soft soles and work well for padding around a frozen camp and escaping frozen or wet shoes after the day’s hiking is complete.

The other luxury item are light, down sleeping booties meant only for the inside of the sleeping bag. These are custom sewn down socks that weigh next to nothing, but do a wonderful job of keeping the feet warm over frigid nights.

Click to expand...

I just returned from 5 nights in Algonquin, those "hut booties" are my favourite footwear for in the hot tent, they keep my feet dry and warm while providing good traction on the ice that invariably forms around the stove.

A comfortable chair is a must for me. The only time I took less than a full-sized chair was when I packed a tripod chair (it still had a seatback, but no arm rests) as part of an ultra-light 5 day trip that included the Mud Pond Carry.

Man (at least this man) does not live on water alone. So I bring beer, usually enough for a couple cans a day. Always cans, never bottles, and always a good craft beer. When the wife and friends are along, the ingredients for a back-woods cocktail like gin & tonics or bloody marys are a big hit.

When portaging is not a concern, the two-burner Coleman stove, a cooler of fresh food, and a folding table and stove stand come along. Luxury to me, necessity to Mrs. Riverstrider. And also entails a much larger cook-kit than I would otherwise bring.

I never was concerned about the lack of an outhouse at a campsite, and always made do. But these days I prefer at least some modicum of comfort, so I bring along a 5-gallon bucket with a toilet-lid top fitted to it, either set up over a cathole (with the bottom of the bucket cut off), or using a wag-bag.

Finally, I tend to bring a lot more clothes than strictly necessary. I could get away with a lot less, but having more keeps the BO down and makes staying dry in rainy weather that much easier.

-rs

I want to camp with Robin.