We are often asked what equipment is needed for canoe camping. It's not an easy question to answer. What you need is determined by where you are going, what the weather is expected to be, the skill level of the person going and the skill level of the group. Where you are going can make a big difference. For example, an Everglades trip requires a tent that is weatherproof enough to handle high winds and mist and rain blowing horizontally, yet it must be small enough to fit on a small tent platform on stilts, shared with 6 other people, in the middle of a swamp, bay or inlet and still be suitable for ground camping on loose sand or hard packed damp soil. The weather, particularly temprature, affects your choice of clothing and gear. Lower tempratures require more layers of clothing in camp and on the water. A wet or dry suit may also be needed on the water. Extended rainy weather requires an adjustment in tents and tarps. Your skill level will also affect your choices. You will find that many critical items aren't all that critical after all and can be replaced with skills. Small things like the sliders to adjust the guy lines on your tent can be replaced buy a simple knot. The "Tautline Hitch" works better than any slider and weighs nothing and you always have enough because you carry them in your mind. Big heavy items like coolers and ice are eliminated by a simple adjustment in your menu. Yes, you can eat very well without referigeration. The skill level of the group affects camping style. Some groups bring items like a camp axe. In our case items like that are so inferquently used that we have stopped bringing one altogether, yet we are never short of wood if we want a campfire, unlike many axe carrying groups that sometimes end up eating cold beans in the rain. There are some common denominators in these lists. All employ some sort of system and style of camping. All are oriented to low and no impact camping following the principles of Leave No Trace. You are likely to notice similarities in the first 3. The second list was prepared by a person that got started in a class taught by the person that made the first list. The third was prepared by the first person using the second list as a starting point. All these lists allow isolation of damp items from dry ones and employ some way to dry out as you go. For example, Beverly's system uses 2 modern dry bags inside a traditional canvas outer pack. One dry bag contains critical items like the sleeping bag which must remain dry. The other bag contains less critical items that can be allowed to become humid. Damp and wet items are placed between the dry bags and the canvas of the outer pack so the wetness can be wicked away to the canvas and evaporated from there. Items that can get wet, like pots and pans, tent stakes and tent poles are packed in the canvas outer pack above and between the dry bags. If a tent get packed up wet in the rain,it dosen't go back in the humid dry bag, but remains in the outer pack till it can be dried out. The Troop Packing List uses a similar system but with a less expensive duffel bag instead of the pricey Duluth #3 and allows for various sizes and qualities of dry bags to keep costs down. The coldweather list put a higher emphasis on keeping gear dry because of the higher risks associated with sub freezing weather, but still allows damp gear to be isolated from dry and wet gear can be packed in the duffel. The troop list is also oriented towards camping with more shared items and tasks partlly to save on equipment costs and andpartly because BSA likes things done as a team. Yet, many of the benefits and redundancy of individul effort camping are retained. These lists are intended as full packing lists. Every trip is different, but if it's not on the list, you probably don't need it. Larry's cold Weather packing list 40KB Text File Beverly"s general purpose Packing List web link Troop Packing List HTML File Generic Packing List HTML File