Canoe camping equipment list.



This is near minimum, intended for late spring through early fall trips. I rarely leave more than a half dozen or so of these things behind. In cool or cold weather I carry more clothes, like extra layers of polarfleece, heavy wool pants and/or a wetsuit. Sometimes, during hot weather, I add a mini cooler and have cold food for meals, though this option actually weighs more than dried and dehydrated and the means to prepare it.
I Use a Duluth #3 pack with 2 Sea Line #30 Black Canyon dry-bags inside. Wet items can be placed outside the Black Canyon bags in contact with the canvas to wick water away speeding up drying.
Most of the time, I get dressed from what I have packed. So a skirt, a blouse and a pair of sandals don't go in the drybags because I'm wearing them. However, I allow space for them just in case.
  • Tent with full coverage fly. Kelty V2. A full coverage fly reduces condensation by reducing infrared cooling under a clear sky and eliminating cooling of the tent body by cold rain water.
  • Tent Poles. Shorter segments greatly increase the packing options. Aluminum doesn’t split or shatter like fiberglass.
  • Waterproof Floor Liner. Coated nylon or 6 mill plastic cut two feet longer and wider than the tent floor. Put it in the tent centered with the edges up the walls. Put gear against the liner and let the edges fall over the gear. Any moisture from condensation that runs down the inside of the tent goes behind the sides of the liner. Water from leaks in the floor are trapped under the liner. If it gets a hole in it from use, cut it smaller and demote it to floor protector. The floor liner can make a huge difference in a tent without a full coverage fly in bad weather.
  • Floor protector/Footprint. Coated nylon or 6 mill plastic cut 8 inches narrower and shorter than the tent floor. If any sticks out, rain collects on it and runs under the tent, making leakage worse.
  • Parawing tarp. Kelty Noah’s Tarp 12. For solo use a Noah’s tarp 9 will save weight and space. The light color of the Noah's tarp allows some light to penatrate, making for a more liveable space in prolonged rainy conditions.
  • 1 Tarp Pole. Adapted from a Eureka Timberline pole set. I can usually find a tree to tie off at least one end.
  • Tent Stakes. North Face “V” stakes are excellent, far better than skewer type stakes.
  • Camp Cord. Kelty Triptease is best. 1/8 inch poly braid from Lowes will do and is much cheaper.
  • Sleeping Bag. Kelty Lightyear 40 or Cosmic 35 bags are good choices. Down is more comfortable and synthetic is warmer when wet. It takes a major screw up to get a wet bag, so I go with down.
  • Polar fleece stuff sack for pillow. Not available commercially. I made mine from a cheap Polar fleece blanket. Stuffed with dry clothes it makes a passable pillow. Make it as small as is comfortable so you don’t need to bring extra clothes to fill it.
  • Compass with a built in mirror, for navagation and checking my ass for ticks.
  • GPS. The simplest most basic ones are best.
  • Mini Mag krypton bulb flashlight with Nite-Eize 1 watt triple LED conversion.
  • Mini Mag krypton bulb flashlight with Nite-Eize 1 watt single LED conversion. I’m thinking of getting a 3 watt LED Mini Mag to replace this one.
  • Lithium AA batteries, usually 4 are enough. Both Mini Mags and my GPS take AA size.
  • Full length ultra light Thermarest Mattress.
  • Polar fleece pullover top. Should fit well but not snug.
  • Polar fleece sweatshirt. Should fit loose enough to fit over pullover top.
  • Polar fleece Pants
  • Bikini. Skimpy and thin for quick drying and minimal packing volume.
  • Medium weight short skirt, with side zippers or pleated for mobility. My favorite ones are a pleated maroon wool/poly blend tweed mini, a denim mini with full side zippers and a cotton kaki mini with big pockets. The kaki looks more outdoorsy but is actually the least functional in the woods. In spite of it's resemblance to the skirt of a "Fantasy Schoolgirl" costume, the pleated tweed mini is actually the most functional. It's rasonably warm when damp, dries fairly quickly and the pleats allow full mobility. The denim and kaki skirts take hours to dry and are therefore only really suitable for campwear during warm weather. One distinct advantage of the skirt is during warm weather in Lyme Disease areas. Ticks climb up till they find a place to hide. When wearing a skirt with no underwear, I have never found one in my ass crack or any other crack. They climb up to the waistband and stay there where they can be easily found and removed. For guys, I'd suggest a kilt or risk having your buddy removing a tick from your...
  • Lightweight short skirt or unlined nylon running shorts. Smaller, lighter and quicker drying than a wool/poly skirt. My favorite for canoeing is a nylon tennis skirt with the permanantly attached cotton bicycle style shorts cut out. In hot weather I leave home the medium weight skirt and carry the running shorts but rarely wear them. I prefer to wear the lightweight skirt for comfort and keep the nylon shorts for backup.
  • Underwear. I have no idea why anyone would wear a bra in the woods. Likewise for panties. When you are sweating in the outdoors, all panties do is make your crotch smell, promote a rub rash and increase your chance of a yeast infection. Sometimes I will carry a cotton g-string, but it’s my most often left home item. I prefer the freedom and hygiene benefits of going commando. The main reason that I list it here is that everybody else puts it on their list and I didn't want anyone to think that I forgot something.
  • Disposable razor. Keeps the legs, underarms and more hair free. No 110 volt outlet or batteries required.
  • Regular cotton T-shirt. Cap sleeves for protection of the shoulders
  • Skimpy cotton top. Cap sleeves, midriff baring, tie front is nice. The sleeves protect the shoulders and the tie front hugs the bottom of the boobies to soak up and wick away sweat on hot day.
  • Sandals. Teva or similar. On some trips, I also carry a pair of 3 inch heel flip-flops for camp wear. It’s more comfortable than wet Tevas. The weightof the thick sole and heel keep the sandal from flipping sand or dirt up the back of my legs.
  • Bug Shirt. The “Original Bug Shirt” brand. Yes, it’s that much better than the competition.
  • Tilley Hat. Tilley hats are the best choice. Cotton curved brim is the best of the best. I don’t have one yet. I’m still using a cheap boonie hat.
  • 1 pair Socks Wool/Poly blend. This is my second most left home item.
  • Cagoule. Hard to find, but is the best choice in rain gear.It's a knee length Anorak.
  • Pack Towel. 8X24 inches is sufficient.
  • PFD. A canoe style often has twice or more buoyancy than a kayakers style.
  • 3 one quart size Nalgene Bottles. Lexan holds up better than polyethylene. Don't carry water in clear disposable bottles. They can act like a magnifying glass and damage a hull in sunny weather.
  • Water purifier. PUR Hiker is a good choice and doesn’t plug up when used with cedar water.
  • Camera in Waterproof Case.
  • Throw Bag. Kevlar core floating line. Avoid the one's with mesh panels on the bag.
  • Pack Stove. MSR Dragonfly on longer or colder trips. MSR Pocket Rocket for backpacking, summer and warm weather short trips.
  • Fuel. White gas for Dragonfly. 8 Oz 227 g, or smaller, Butane canisters for Pocket Rocket. Large canisters make the stove less stable. 8 OZ is a good size.
  • Rescue knife. Carried while on the water. 4 inch double edged with serrations.
  • General purpose knife. One 3 1/2-inch serrated blade, one replaceable box cutter blade. I have never needed to use the main blade; it’s just a backup in case of loss of the rescue knife. The replaceable box cutter blades last several trips and when they get dull can be reversed or replaced.
  • Titanium Soup Spoon. Sporks are pretty much useless for soup.
  • Titanium Fork. Sporks suck for vegetables and meat.
  • Titanium Pot, 1 ½ quart. Titanium is not non-stick, but is much easier to clean than aluminum and lighter than steel.
  • Titanium Lid
  • Aluminum Pot Grabber
  • Measuring cup. Plastic 1-cup size. The old ones out of a BSA mess kit are great. The new BSA ones are wimpy. A thin lexan one from the grocery store will do just fine.One of the Nalgene bottles will do in a pinch, untill the graduation marks on the side wear off.
  • Pen.
  • Glasses in a hard case.
  • Sunglasses in a hard case.
  • Toothbrush.
  • Stubby Phillips Screwdriver. Fits the screws and bolts on my canoe.
  • Small Box Wrench. Fits all but one of the nuts in my canoe.
  • 2 Butane Pocket Lighters. Stored in separate containers so both won’t get damp at the same time. I carried 2 lighters and matches for years. I never needed the matches. If both lighters fail, I have a magnesium fire starter for backup.
  • Hand Sanitizer. I don’t go anywhere without Purell.
  • General purpose detergent. A trial size bottle of hair shampoo will clean dishes, clothes and even hair. Prell works best as it has minimal conditioners and perfumes.
  • Small scouring pad.
  • Food. Nothing that needs refrigeration or crushes easily. That’s not as limiting as it sounds.
  • Paper Towels. Bounty brand, cut in half to the size of a toilet paper roll. Bounty is strong yet soft enough to use as toilet paper and absorbs well.
  • Cell Phone for emergency contact.
  • Customized 4-inch Ruger SP101. .357 Mag. For the most dangerous predators, the kind that wear sneakers, 5 rounds of Federal brand 125 Gr JHP’s in a Bianchi speed strip and 5 more in a speed loader. For less dangerous predators, like bear, 5 180 Gr cast lead rounds in a speed strip. I only needed it once. Two pushy and seriously creepy guys, well beyond the reach of roads and cell towers, became perfect gentleman when I “accidentally” let them glimpse it on my hip. Mostly it just lets me sleep well, knowing it’s handy. Be sure to check local laws. The states that don’t allow it are the states where you need it most and even where legal, the paperwork is often a bitch.
First Aid/emergency Kit, in a Pelican case.
  • Band Aids for the usual small cuts and scratches.
  • Benadryl for allergic reactions.
  • Cyanoacrylate Liquid Gel Bandage. It goes bad after a few years, but doesn’t sting like second skin.
  • DermaformTape
  • Diva Cup. A washable reusable rubber cup with a stem. Replaces both tampons and pads. It sounds icky, but is actually more sanitary and comfortable than the more common options. Note: you can’t wear clothing that rubs against the stem, which sticks out a bit, causing leaks. Guys can skip this item altogether. If guys are bleeding from their genitals they need more than a little rubber cup!
  • Excedrin. Ingredients: acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine. For when your headache is worse than your body aches.
  • Percogesic. Ingredients: acetaminophen and phenyltoloxamine. The best when your body aches more than your head and for alergy caused headaches.
  • Eyebrow Tweezers. I have never used them on my eyebrows when in the woods, but they are far more useful than regular tweezers for other stuff.
  • Gauze Roll for bigger wounds and scuffs.
  • Hydrocortizone for rashes.
  • Loperadimide Hydrochloride for the shits.
  • Lotramin AF For fungus infections
  • Magnesium Fire Starter Block as a last ditch heat source.
  • Neosporin for general infections.
  • Salt for leach removal.
  • Sewing Kit with nylon thread for sewing tents, gear and people.
  • Swiss Army Knife. Victorinox Classic. SD
  • Tick Tweezers.
  • Zyrtec. One pill works phenomenally on allergies for 24 hours.