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Your three favorite pieces of comfort or luxury canoe camping gear

I was thinking I'm a tough guy and I don't take "luxury" items. But then there's the dedicated, single-purpose, awkward to pack, popcorn maker. I don't actually own one, but have packed one in my canoe. CanoeTripping's Will Derness has a fancy one with a crank handle on top that drives a blade around the bottom of the pan. That kind of luxury is beyond me.


Popcorn maker.png
Hot, fresh pop corn at camp is definitely a luxury!
 
A chair! It doesn't matter what kind of camping (car, canoe, backpacking, etc) there's nothing better than sitting in an actual chair at the end of a long day. The more they tell you that a chair is an unnecessary luxury (looking at the ultralight, long distance, hard trail backpackers here) the more you will enjoy that chair when you stop for the day.

Another thing that is always worth bringing is an actual pillow. I'm a side sleeper and a rolled-up jacket just doesn't cut it for me. Even in a hammock, I do like a small pillow.
 
I don't count my hammock, etc., as I take the same setup when I'm backpacking and watching the weight—though I love my hammock!
- Chair
- Extra wood processing thing like my hatchet in addition to my Silky
- A second stove, which is a small gasifier, as it makes me slow down and enjoy the moment and the process
 
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Number one is my folding chair. At camp during a canoe trip it is relaxing, and during a rest stop for lunch it beats sitting on a rock or a log. I'm too old for that any more!
Number two is my empty Folger 1# coffee container. (plastic) I've sharpied the "2PIN" word on the side and it is very useful when the middle of the night urge to pee strikes. No exiting the tent and stumbling around to ease my discomfort.
Number three would be the Clipper gel pad for my tractor style seat. Paddled my last leg of a circuit for nine hours and my rump was feeling fine. Other parts not at that level of comfort!
 
I don't think a sleeping pad qualifies as a luxury item....that's like calling a compass or a yoke a luxury item.

Agreed on the chair.
Fishing gear & binos probably round it out for me.
 
For canoe tripping, the best choice has got to be the chair. I found the Maxi Trac Folding chair at NAPA Auto Parts, of all places. With a large comfortable high back support it is as tight , and is as sturdy and lightweight in a small disassembled carrying package as any much more expensive chairs fiound from the usual outdoor equipment vendors. It was originally sold for $35, but I have found it on sale for $17 at times when I picked up a couple of them.. Currently listed for only $23.


In my second place is the luci, or similar brand solar powered light. A good solar day charge will last all night with enough outpout to easily read by.

Not so muich any more, but for my early years on my solo trips I would bring a small "transistor radio" ( as we used to call them) to listen to talk radio during those nights when it was hard to fall asleep on hard ground.

Number 3 is... there is no such thing as having as many as three luxury items on a camping trip. But I shall cogitate on it.
 
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PortageW/Cerberus said:
I don't think a sleeping pad qualifies as a luxury item....that's like calling a compass or a yoke a luxury item.

Agreed on the chair.
Fishing gear & binos probably round it out for me.
Click to expand...
there's a huge difference between a cheap 1" pad and a luxury one like the 4 1/4" Mondo king by Cascade Designs- 1 " is barely sufficient, over 4" is definitely luxury
 
scoutergriz said:
there's a huge difference between a cheap 1" pad and a luxury one like the 4 1/4" Mondo king by Cascade Designs- 1 " is barely sufficient, over 4" is definitely luxury
Click to expand...
Of course there is... (I actually own one of those Mondo Kings for car camping.)

The linked article has the author calling a fairly standard 2.75", 4.8 R-value pad a "luxury item". In the shoulder season that's a survival basic, and in fact would be uncomfortably cold much below 40F.
 
After (1) inflatable sleeping pad, and (2) coffee, my 3rd luxury item(s) might be modern materials themselves, in whatever gear form;
kevlar canoe, dry bag packs, quick dry clothing, sealable food packaging, Li-ion lighting, butane fuel stove and stuff...
They all smooth out the rough and glamp the camp. I still love cotton and wool, leather and brass, wood and iron. "Modern" can be subjective.
 
OK ... for me ...

1) My dogs. They are a lot of work - responsibility. That said, I would not enjoy the trip nearly as much without them. Therefore, they bring me the simplest of joys ... they are a luxury.

2) My lean one plus tarp tent. I have cooked in it when needed. Been rain, storm bound - plenty of room for me, my kit and of course dogs. We take bug breaks behind its screen and sleep well ventilated. I can sit is my chair prepare a cup of coffee and read a book during a thunderstorm in my Lean One Plus. This is a luxury.

3) I have discovered that at 60 I must make some concessions as I am just not as tough as I was years ago. This year I finally used an air mattress I purchased years ago for winter trips ... but never used. I never knew what I was missing but came to that realization on my latest trip - how wonderful an air mattress can be ... a real luxury.IMG_0389.jpeg
 
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Several people mentioned Whisperlite stoves and I used one for years along with an old Svea 123, but my Kiwi son in law sold me on the Trangia type alcohol stoves, that's what everybody used in NZ... almost as hot, lightweight, no moving parts or possibility of clogging, and completely silent.
 
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One of my Favorites. Portage yoke/ back rest.

My Trangia Alcohol stove.
And My Coleman Hulu single pole two man tent.

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Jim
 
  1. Big Agnes Big Six Camp Chair. It took a while to finally pull the trigger on this chair because of the price, but once I sat in it, wow, it is so comfortable and sturdy and when packed away it is only marginally larger than much smaller chairs.
  2. Insulated Camp Chair Cover for the Big Six Camp Chair. Definitely a luxury item, but it makes the shoulder season trips around the campfire even more enjoyable.
  3. Optimus Polaris optifuel stove. This stove works well in all seasons, it even simmers very well.
 
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