Each year we give a yearly rundown of some of the biggest news while looking ahead to the next year. Join us as we portage to 2026!

Top 10 Most Read Articles in 2025

#10 - Maps By Jeff Releases New Killarney & French River Maps

Ontario Parks tweaked the reservation system for Killarney back in 2022 to a site-specific model and renumbered all of the campsites. This instantly made any map of the park a tad more confusing because the campsite numbering on any map that you had wouldn’t match up with the online reservation booking. What a perfect excuse for Jeff to launch a redone map with even more data and not one, but TWO maps for the French River.

#9 - New From Maps By Jeff: Temagami, Kawartha Highlands & Massasauga

Jeff first released a map of Temagami waaaay back in 2014 and it was sorely in need of an update. He teased that a complete re-do was coming at our backcountry canoe symposium back in April and after a public beta of sorts to make sure everything was as up to date as possible… we have five beautiful maps that just crave to be unfolded and explored. If you’re dreaming of canoeing in Temagami, be sure to order your own copies today (oh yeah…it’s also no small feat that there are new maps for the Kawartha Highlands and The Massasauga as well!).

#8 - Recreational Barrel Works Launches New Wooden Barrel

Recreational Barrel Works has a line of “Heritage Packs” which harken back to the days of voyageurs so it was a natural choice for them to release a wooden barrel that fit in their harness… or did they? April Fools indeed!

#7 - SAIL To Add 8 New Stores By 2030

Outdoor retailers have had a wild ride in Canada and Quebec-based SAIL is no different. From filing for bankruptcy protection, to closing six stores… it finally looks like the pendulum is swinging back to positivity as 8 new stores have been announced.

#6 - Trail Mix: Yes, Camping Gear Is Being Hit With Tariffs

Ooof, what a year it has been with our friends to the South. With on again and off again tariff threats the camping and canoeing gear market has been all over the place. The silver lining in all of this has been that the backlash has lead to a renewed campaign to support Canadian brands and services (although I feel bad that a huge market for them comes at a cost).

We’ve been running a list of Canadian Camping Gear Manufacturers, Canoe Manufacturers, and Paddle makers since we first launched this site as we’ve always promoted what Canada has to offer and we hope you in turn support them as well.

#5 - Rogers Satellite Offers Internet Connectivity Anywhere In Canada

Satellite connectivity has been handy for backcountry adventurers for ages now, especially for SPOT and inReach users, but now we’re living in an age where the technology has trickled down to our cell phones. Last year Apple added messaging via satellite followed by Garmin extending their service for Google Pixel users. The features were very rudimentary and only offered the ability to send text messages in a pinch. This year Rogers kicked off full connectivity (via SpaceX’s StarLink) followed by Bell Announcing Satellite connectivity coming In 2026 and Telus (via Canadian-based TerreStar Solutions). Over time you will be able to send not only text messages, but make phone calls and send photos. Will this be enough to sway you from using a dedicated unit such as in inReach or SPOT?

#4 - Fjallraven Is Reuniting With GORE-TEX

It’s hard to believe that Gore-Tex was invented back in 1969 and the first Gore-Tex jacket came out in 1977! It turns out that if you rapidly stretch polytetrafluoroethylene you can create a waterproof AND breathable material, perfect for outdoor adventures.

There’s one huge drawback through… the material uses PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) a forever chemical in the membrane and in the durable water repellent (DWR) coatings. Because PFAS break down slowly, if at all, people and animals are repeatedly exposed to them, and blood levels of some PFAS can build up over time. This can lead to increased risk of some cancers, a reduced ability of the immune system to fight infections and an altered metabolism and body weight regulation. Not great.

Swedish outdoor brand Fjallraven moved away from Gore-Tex in 2012, creating their own waterproof shell fabric known as Eco-Shell which was PFAS free. Now that Gore-Tex has changed their manufacturing to phase out PFAS, it was pretty big news that eco-conscious brands such as Fjallraven are switching back.

#3 - Announcing The Traversing x CCM Backcountry Canoe Symposium

This was a pretty big leap for me and was years in the making. I had never hosted an event before, especially one of this magnitude and I didn’t want to disappoint. Thankfully it was one of those “if you build it, they will come” moments and I was thrilled to pack the canoe museum with fellow canoeists as we listened to wonderful tales from Kevin Callan, Jeffrey McMurtrie, Ron Breault and Chris Prouse.

Mark Saturday, April 11th, 2026 on your calendar, we’re already working on the next symposium! Details will be coming in the new year about the event and hope to see you there!

#2 - New Book: A Spark Of Courage By Kevin Callan

A few images illustrated by Cliff McArdle were teased back in 2023 of a new children’s book by Kevin Callan, a radical departure from his typical guide books. Not only was the concept shot down by all the publishers he approached, but after finally releasing it after going the self-published route, Kevin faced the hurtle of trying to figure out how to print the book in Canada. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, hopefully our review of the book will give you the extra motivation you needed. We loved it so much we donated an autographed copy to our local library system.

#1 - The "Canada Strong Pass" Grants Cheaper Camping At Parks Canada

As we get closer to the end of the year, I’m always curious as to what our readership found interesting from all the articles that we published. I shouldn’t have been surprised at this year’s result. Canadians were looking for some good news around the middle of the year and the Canada Strong Pass was a shot in the arm that we needed (you had me at “discounted backcountry camping”). In fact the Canada Strong Pass was so successful that it lead to some over-capacity crowds at some Parks Canada locations and some griping that it might lead to some natural spots being overrun. If you didn’t take the opportunity to take advantage of it this year, don’t worry, it’s been renewed for 2026. Now that Park Canada’s 2026 backcountry camping reservation dates have been announced, there’s no time like the present to start planning next year’s adventures.

Business Updates

Route Planning, GPS and SOS

Park News Updates

Cool New Gear

Book Club

Media

Sad News

R.I.P. Lars Fält

Traversing News

Traversing turned 15 this year and as always, spent many hours in the outdoors enjoying each moment.

We had some incredible photos entered in this year’s canoeing photo contest. We invite you to check them out if you haven’t as a source of inspiration. We also want to send another shout-out to both Recreational Barrel Works, Maps by Jeff and MEC for generously donating the prizes!

We did a gear review of the KUXIU S2 Qi2 MagSafe Solid-State Power Bank, which is possibly the future of batteries and perfectly suited for your misadventures. We also reviewed the Royal Robbins Expedition III Shirt & Wilder Pant, a product that made Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2025.

Canadian Outdoor Equipment approached us this year to write gear review for them as part of their COEC Equipped Reviews program which was a huge honour. Check out our review of the Kupilka Firesteel 8, as well as future gear reviews that will be coming out on their website in the new year.

It’s not every day that you get to Interview the CEO of Trangia. Magnus Rydell was very generous with his time and was happy to answer some Canadian oriented questions about their products.