The Journal

Heliconia is excited to announce the winners of this year’s PaddleTV Awards for Best Camping Gear of 2024.

While Ken Whiting is known for his paddlesport gear reviews and for recognizing the top paddling gear that he’s tested each year with his PaddleTV Awards, this year he has expanded his selections to include camping and backpacking gear. To put the gear to the test, Ken embarked on a number of extensive backcountry adventures, which included a 5-day whitewater trip down the Petawawa River, a packrafting mission down the Noire River, a 5-day sea kayaking adventure on Lake Superior, and other solo kayak and standup paddleboard adventures throughout Ontario and Québec.

From stove systems to ultralight tents, the 2024 winners reflect the best innovations and designs in camping equipment. These products not only performed well, but stood out for their convenience, durability, and overall contribution to making outdoor experiences more enjoyable.

PaddleTV’s Best in Class Camping Gear Award Winners

Primus Lite+ Stove System
A lightweight, compact, and thoughtful stove system designed to feed 1 or 2 people. It includes a .5L pot, which locks to the stove, and a Piezo igniter. The Primus Lite+ Stove System is designed primarily to boil water quickly within the provided pot, but it can be used with other types of cookware as well. The entire stove system and a 100g gas canister stows inside the pot to provide great portability. 

Platypus GravityWorks Water Filter
This filter system takes the hassle out of water filtration, using gravity to do the work without the need for pumping. It offers a surprisingly fast filtration rate and can easily be cleaned in the field to keep it running as efficiently as possible.

Pinnacle Foods Dehydrated Meals
Crafted by a family-owned business, these small-batch dehydrated meals deliver delicious, preservative-free flavors with substantial calorie counts, making them ideal for backcountry trips. 

Big Agnes Copper Spur Tent
Lightweight yet durable, this three-season tent is quick and easy to set up, has dual doors, and intelligent design features. Its versatility and weight-to-performance ratio makes it ideally suited to a wide variety of backcountry adventures.

Zenbivy Soft Top Pillow
The Zenbivy pillow system offers customizable comfort with its inflatable bladder and down topper. It’s like bringing your favorite pillow from home, but it takes up very little space in your pack. 

Big Agnes Lost Ranger 3-in-1 Sleeping Bag
Made with an ultra comfortable ripstop nylon, this versatile sleeping bag offers three unique configurations to make it ideally suited for a wide temperature range. It does this by combining an inner and outer bag, which can be used independently, or together for the most warmth. The Lost Ranger is also designed to attach to any sleeping pad, to help you stay comfortable all night long.

ENO JungleNest Hammock
Designed to protect you from any and all bugs, ENO’s JungleNest Hammock features an integrated bug net. Combined with one of ENO’s rain tarps, the JungleNest Hammock provides a great sleep in the wettest and buggiest of conditions.

BruTrek PourOver Coffee Maker
This compact coffee system offers a lightweight, reusable, and space-saving way to brew high-quality coffee on the go.

Sea to Summit Frontier UL Collapsible Dinnerware
These collapsible bowls, made from food-grade materials, are compact and durable.

Silva Free 1200 Headlamp
With 1,200 lumens of brightness, this headlamp’s wire-free design, powerful battery, and versatility provide reliable light for extended backcountry trips.

Flextail Zero Sleeping Pad Pump
This ultralight pump makes inflating sleeping pads effortless. Only 1.2oz in weight, and the size of your thumb, the unit can inflate up to 25 sleeping pads on a single charge. 

If you would like to submit a product for Ken to review on PaddleTV, please email ken@helipress.com 

About Ken Whiting
Ken Whiting is a world-champion kayaker, author of 12 books and videos about paddling, and the host of the world’s largest paddle sports YouTube channel, PaddleTV. Ken is also the host of Facing Waves, a leading outdoor paddlesports adventure television show, and is one of the most accomplished and respected paddlesport professionals in the world. Through his project, Ken hopes to help get people outdoors and have positive, enriching experiences that will result in them being life-long outdoor participants.

About Heliconia
Heliconia’s goal is simple – to get more people outside and help them become lifetime outdoor participants. The award-winning video production company does this by showcasing outdoor adventure and adventure travel through inspiring and educational content with industry-leading influencers. Heliconia currently produces seven unique media projects, providing authentic storytelling opportunities for every adventure and every destination. These series include Epic Trails, Facing Waves, Adventure Cities, Great Family Adventure, Hook, Line & History, Road Trip Angler, and Outdoor Eats.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Jenna Hill
Communications Manager 
jenna@heliconia.ca

and/or

McKenzie Dolan
Digital Project Manager
mckenzie@heliconia.ca