Top Backpacking Luxury Items

[Sweet-Tater]

I'd love to hear about your favorite luxury items when backpacking -- things that add a bit of extra comfort to your experience.

For me,  an inflatable camp pillow is my favorite. I went without for many years, choosing to stuff my clothing into a stuff sack as a makeshift pillow. For those of you who have done that, you know it's almost always less than comfortable!

Another favorite is the Nite-Ize "SpotLit" in Disco-O flavor...perfect little tent or hammock illumination. 

Let's hear your favorites!

[tristanofalls]

Miniature dark chocolate bars. Anticipation plus effort plus savoring? So good.

Agreement on the pillow. A lot of the 'optional' things like that are simply solutions to things that annoyed me consistently for years before I relented on being stubborn.

For cold-weather camping, I bring a pair of wool socks that's impractically thick. No way they'd fit in shoes. Really amps up the cozy.

It's not for me, but several people I know invest the effort into summit beers or ciders or even gin & tonics. As long as people are careful with things like dehydration and altitude, more power to 'em! Spoil yourself a little.

[Sweet-Tater]

A little **bleep** of something around the campfire used to be part of my regular backpacking routine. These days, I'd rather splurge the weight and bulk  on something to make my sleep even cozier. I think I'll add some mini chocolate bars to my food bag next trip, too! 

[Thaddeus]

REI flex-lite chair!  While I would not take this on a long thru hike, Its DEFINITELY the best luxury item that I take backpacking.  Sure, it weighs a pound and a half, but when I dont have to carry my bear vault, there is still a net savings in weight.  Nothing beats that chair with its back support after a long day on the trail.  The sub-7 hammock is a nother great option when coupled with the Helios Ultralight straps.  The whole set up comes in under 12 oz.

[Sweet-Tater]

I just bought the Helinox Chair Zero for this very purpose. Haven't taken it backpacking yet, but I already dig the comfort this lightweight chair provides after a long day of snorkeling at the beach. 

[Rstolting]

I love having a pillow. It's one of the small things that makes backpacking more enjoyable.

[TomIrvine]

I like the GSI JavaPress.  Excellent coffee wherever I can heat water.  

[Cory_michaela44]

All about the backpacking Eggs Bene with a JetBoil! On 2 or 3 night remote trips I like to pack in a couple of eggs, an English muffin, some fake-bacon, a pouch of dehydrated hollandaise sauce, a little salt & pep, and a packet of gas station hotsauce. Order of opperations: heat the muffin on the JB flame follwed by the "bacon", heat water to boil, remove pot from heat for swirl and poach method (takes some practice) with a refire if needed, pull out eggs and pop in the sauce pouch for 4 mins. Serve with box of tiny orange juice and mini champagne bottle. Voila, you've gone from backpacking to glamping!