Coghlan’s Camping Accessories: Still Plenty of Time for Fall Camping

If you have been camping more than once, ever entered an outdoor retail store, or walked down the hardware isle of many grocery stores, then you have undoubtedly used or seen products made by Coghlan’s. Their camping and outdoor accessory line is quite large and includes things like roasting sticks, compasses, camp clips, first aid material, rope and fire starters.   

A bit about Coghlan’s: “Coghlan’s Ltd. is recognized as a world leader in outdoor camping accessories. Founded in 1959 and based in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada; Coghlan’s is a family owned company and has built its reputation on core values of product quality and innovation.” Currently, “there are over 450 accessories [in the Coghlan's product line] designed to enhance the outdoor experience making it more comfortable and enjoyable.” 

Pictured above is the Coghlan’s Flint Striker, (all product photos are taken after we tested and reviewed them). A very small very basic flint and steel fire starter. The function of this magnesium Flint striker is simple, scrape the included striker down the flint rod to create a shower of sparks that can ignite a pile of tinder you’ve prepared. There are thousands of strikes per rod and works wet and dry, and in the cold. Thousands of strikes is believable as the striker above looks like that after easily striking it over 1000 times. The reason it took so many strikes is from inadequate tinder. I started with dry leaves ground up almost to a powder. I thought this would be more than adequate to start a fire – an hour later, with no fire, I was convinced the Striker was worthless, before giving up completely I decided to also try dry grass as tinder (video below) and was able to ignite it in less than a minute. Bottom line, the Flint Striker works exactly as claimed, big lesson learned is use the correct tinder to save your sanity. In the video below I used my pocket knife to start the fire because after and hour using the included small piece of metal my finger had a blister. However, I am 100% confident that if I had used dry grass as tinder from the start, I would have had no issues igniting it.

We tested the Coghlan’s Ultralight Tent Stakes pictured above with favorable results. The 9″ anodized aluminum stakes feature a three sided design for strength and weigh .8 oz. These can virtually be used with any tent, there is a notch at the top for a tent line and a nylon loop at the top for easy removal. We tested the stakes in the video below. About 50 lbs. of pressure were applied to the stake at a 45 degree angle that would be used to hold a tent, and it held very well. Also we placed the stake between two rocks and stepped on it with little bending. These stakes are a very light and strong option for replacement or to upgrade the flimsy stakes that come with most tents.

Finally we tested the Coghlan’s Tarp Clips Pictures above. Made from a nylon resin they are rated to hold up to 240 lbs. of pressure. With claw teeth on the inside the center piece slides against the wedged shaped lower piece to create a grip that gets tighter the more pressure is applied. Good for holding tarps in place for shade or extra support to keep a tent up. We tested the clips with a very thin towel and it slipped out with about twenty pounds of force. The video below shows the test results with an actual tarp. When lodged in place the clip help the tarp with conviction. We couldn’t pull the clip off once it was set – bottom line a great option to keep tents and tarps where you want them, with or without strong winds.

Overall the accessories we’ve tested from Coghlan’s performed exactly as advertised (especially when using the correct tinder with the fire starter). Check out their product catalogue for your next camping accessory needs.