Some campers are content with a bivy sack and a bag of oatmeal. If that’s not your style, you’re in the right place! From a four-season tent that feels like a portable palace to a luxury sleep system that elevates your shuteye, these 12 wilderness camping essentials make sure you’re not quite roughin’ it in style.
12 essentials for wilderness campers who crave comfort
1 Tentipi Safir 7 CP
$2,425 USD | mansfieldoutdoors.com
A versatile four-season tent for not-so-lightweight camping, the traditional Safir 7 offers such comfort and livability you’ll be tempted to bring it on all your adventures just because it’s so cool. The Swedish design is crafted from breathable cotton polyester impregnated with a long-lasting water repellant, making it resilient to challenging weather. We tested the Safir in pleasant spring conditions, but it has also withstood storm-force gales on glacial icefields.
Our tester arrived in a tidy package, about 10 by 10 by 24 inches and weighing 27 pounds. After you’ve set up the Safir once, you can erect the straightforward single-pole design in under five minutes. Towering over the campsite at nine feet tall, it features standing room height and a spacious interior. The Safir 7 can comfortably accommodate six to eight sleepers or a dozen people sitting for story time.
To get the most out of your Tentipi, you’ll want to pair it with a woodstove or firepan for warmth, cooking and just because you can—more on this below. The Safir has many optional upgrades, including a removable floor, porch, drying rail and more. Available in a wide variety of sizes, fitting up to 35 people.
2 Eldfell Stove
$1,140 | mansfieldoutdoors.com
Referred to as the heart of the Tentipi tents, the stainless steel Eldfell Stove is designed to pair with the tipi design. Use it to cook, dry clothes, and create a warm and cozy home away from home, regardless of the temperatures outside.
The Eldfell features an extendable insulation pipe that slides over the upper stove pipe to safeguard the tent fabric. It’s stable on its feet and in strong winds, too. The Eldfell comes in one size—25 by 15 by 12 inches—but offers different chimney lengths to match various tent sizes. The stove weighs 32 pounds and comes in its own purpose-made wooden box.
Another option for campers who want to cut down on heft is Tentipi’s collapsible Hekla firebox. It weighs just eight pounds and allows for an open fire in the tent thanks to its efficient burning design. The Paddling Mag team didn’t have the opportunity to test the Hekla, but it’s said to reduce wood fuel use by 75 percent.
3 Exped Dura 5R
$160 | exped.com
Exped’s Dura series is a jack of all trades, balancing durability, weight, warmth, comfort and packability. The 5R sleeping pad is our new go-to for any adventure; it promises a super comfortable sleep thanks to three inches of loft and whisper-quiet insulation. It also boasts a toasty 4.8 R-value, claiming to keep campers comfortable down to -4°F/-20°C, making it a solid year-round option for many. Rolls up larger than a Nalgene bottle, but not by much.
Exped’s Schnozzel Pumpbag is included. The accessory makes inflation quick and easy, inflating the pad in just three bags of air. It also keeps moisture out of the pad’s interior, extending its life. Available in mummy and rectangular shapes, as well as long and wide options. Exped’s track record of bomber reliability—our last mat is still going strong a decade later—speaks volumes.
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4 Klymit Pillow X Large
$33 | klymit.com
At 3.2 ounces, this pillow offers comfort at a weight you won’t even notice. Its X-shaped design cradles your noggin, perfect for back sleepers. Leave a little air out for a more comfortable feel. Stuffs down to the size of a wallet.
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KLYMIT AMAZON BACKCOUNTRY PUBLIC LANDS
5 Mountain Hardwear Bozeman
$160 CAD | mountainhardwear.ca
The synthetic-filled Bozeman from Mountain Hardwear is an entry-level, three-pound bag perfect for car camping. Designed for warmer weather adventures with a 20°F/-1°C limit, its generous mummy cut maximizes warmth without constriction. Its fleece-lined stuff sack can double as a pillow when stuffed with clothes. Zip together with a matching bag for snuggling.
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6 Yeti Panga 75L
$350 | yeti.com
No duffle bag we’ve ever tested matches the durability and waterproofness of Yeti’s Panga. Living up to its claim of being an all-weather gear fortress, the Panga is a burly beast, made to last and dry on the inside even when dunked and dragged. Comfortable shoulder straps transform it into a backpack, making it as ideal for river trips as travel. It offers a generous interior, though the single zipper design is a challenge when packing larger items. Also available in 50- and 100-liter sizes, the Panga’s only drawback is its price.
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7 Mpowerd Luci Solar Lights
$54.95 | mpowerd.com
Easily portable, if not especially practical, our favorite thing about Mpowerd’s Luci Solar Lights is its cozy atmosphere around the campsite. The 18-foot-long string puts out 100 lumens, bringing a soft, warm glow that instantly makes your site more Instagrammable. Fully waterproof and fueled by a full day of summer sun or a six-hour USB charge, these lights keep the night alight for up to 20 hours.
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8 Helinox Chair Zero Highback
$179.95 | helinox.com
We’ve been fans of Helinox since their Chair One revolutionized ultralight camp comfort in 2012. The Chair Zero Highback takes all the best of the original—a durable aluminum alloy frame that snaps together like tent poles with 100-denier polyester Kevlar-reinforced fabric—and pairs it with even more support.
At 1.5 pounds, it’s double the weight of the original but just a sixth of the weight of your typical clunky superstore camp chair. Supportive and stable, you can lean back without fear of toppling. For folks under six feet tall, your shoulders will likely rest just below the back of the chair. If you slouch down a little, you can also rest your head on the high back. For broader paddlers, the 15-inch shoulder width might be a bit tight.
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HELINOX AMAZON BACKCOUNTRY REI
9 Engel Cooler Dry Case
$79.99 | engelcoolers.com
This compact, leak-proof cooler from Engel measures 15 by 10 by 11 inches, weighs 3.5 pounds, and holds up to 18 twelve-ounce cans in its 13-quart capacity. You could spend four times as much on a cooler, but this one has proven to be perfectly adequate for keeping things on ice for weekend adventures—especially when you only need your brews and brisket kept cold until tomorrow, not dinner five days from now.
10 Forty Creek Whisky
$32.85 | fortycreekwhisky.com
There’s nothing like sipping on a wee dram around the campfire at the end of the day. Put it in a flask and keep the bottle out of the backcountry.
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11 Svante Fredén Reflector Oven
$119.75 CAD | canadianoutdoorequipment.com
Leave it to the Swedes to make a luxury item with such minimalism we want to bring it on more than our base camp trips. Handmade by craftsman Svante Fredén himself, we borrowed this 1.5-pound reflector oven from The Canadian Outdoor Equipment Co. and were impressed by its easy assembly, folds-flat compact size and spectacular snacks we easily made. No more searing your baked goods on too-hot embers or painstaking pan rotation over a gas stove. Bring this svelte little unit and eat your heart out. Think bannock, pizza, cookies, cakes, brownies and cinnamon bun rolls. Need we go on?
12 AeroPress Original
$54.95 | aeropress.com
Goodbye, gritty cowboy coffee. So long, bitter instant brew. The light and compact AeroPress Original is a quick and simple way to make a cup of coffee that tastes almost as good as one your favorite barista lovingly prepares. Just add medium-ground beans and hot water, stir and press. It makes 10 ounces of regular coffee per pressing, or one to three espresso-style shots for lattes and cappuccinos. And it’s all done in about one minute.
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This article was first published in the Issue 72 of Paddling Magazine. Make yourself at home. | Feature photo: Michael Hewis
