Canada's COGHLAN'S｜From a Toaster Rack to Over 400 Camping Accessories

Among camping gear, tents, sleeping bags, and stoves usually receive the most attention. However, it's often the small, simple accessories that are not bulky, and whose absence becomes quite bothersome, that truly make a camping trip successful.

COGHLAN'S started with just such a small problem.

In 1959, Norm Coghlan of Winnipeg, Canada, repaired camping stoves and lanterns at a gas appliance store. He noticed that while customers could boil water and cook outdoors, there was no simple way to toast bread on a camping stove.

A single Camp Stove Toaster later became the starting point for a brand with over 400 camping accessories.

A Product Nearly Discontinued, Created a Brand

Norm Coghlan initially had no intention of building a camping brand with hundreds of products. He simply found a toaster manufactured by an American company that could be used on a camping stove, solving a customer's inconvenience during outdoor breakfast.

The product quickly became popular. When news came that the original supplier might cease production, Norm bought the remaining inventory and founded Coghlan's Outdoors.

This turning point perfectly represents COGHLAN'S. The brand didn't first decide to enter a massive market; instead, it first identified a small, unaddressed nuisance and then preserved an effective solution.

Sixty Years Later, The First Product Is Still on the Camping Stove

Many products exit the market due to changes in materials, trends, and usage, but COGHLAN'S earliest product, the Camp Stove Toaster, remains in the brand's product line today.

Its structure is not complex: a lightweight steel base fits directly onto most double-burner camping stoves, four wire racks can hold four slices of toast simultaneously, and it folds flat for storage when not in use. For over sixty years, camping stoves have continued to evolve, but this simple need has always existed.

The Egg Holder, which has also been around for many years, has become a familiar item for many campers. These are hardly high-tech products, but what is truly remarkable is that the problems they address persist, and their design is simple enough not to require constant reinvention.

For COGHLAN'S, classics aren't meant for display cases; they're meant to be taken out, opened, and used on the next camping trip.

From a Toaster to Over 400 Solutions

Today, COGHLAN'S product line exceeds 400 items, ranging from outdoor dining, fire-starting supplies, and camp tools, to storage, guy lines, tent pegs, repairs, insect repellent, and emergency survival supplies. The brand also continues to launch new products annually based on campers' needs.

While it appears to be a vast list of accessories, there is a very consistent development approach behind it: observing the small annoyances people most often encounter outdoors and then addressing them one by one with clear-purpose, straightforward products.

A mosquito head net doesn't need to be responsible for the entire trip, and a bear bell doesn't need to be the most expensive item on a backpack. Each product doesn't have to accomplish many tasks, but it must do its own job well.

From Camp Breakfast to Emergency Preparedness

COGHLAN'S addresses not only camping comfort but also emergency preparedness in outdoor and disaster scenarios. The brand's Emergency Blanket uses aluminized polyester film, which reflects body heat to reduce heat loss in cold environments, and is also lightweight, windproof, waterproof, and remains pliable at low temperatures.

These types of reflective insulation materials have a clear material lineage with metallized film technology that matured during the Space Age. NASA extensively researched and used multi-layered metallized polyester films for thermal control in early space programs, and similar principles later entered lightweight emergency insulation products.

This is not a COGHLAN'S product developed in collaboration with NASA, nor does it imply that the brand's gear has been to space. What is truly noteworthy is that the brand can transform seemingly distant material applications into practical tools that can be tucked into a pocket or backpack for hiking, camping, and emergency shelter.

No Need to Be an Expert for Your First Camping Trip

COGHLAN'S doesn't portray outdoor living as a world only accessible to professionals.

First-time campers need accessories whose purpose is clear and that they instinctively know how to use. Experienced users, on the other hand, understand that a simple, reliable small tool can often save a lot of time and hassle.

Good accessories shouldn't steal attention from the trip. They just need to do their job when needed, allowing users to spend time making fires, eating, chatting, and truly enjoying the outdoor life they seek.

A Camp Hero is Someone Who Prepares the Small Things Well

COGHLAN'S now uses "Camp Hero" to describe the feeling it hopes to bring to its users.

They aren't necessarily the most experienced person in the group, nor do they need the most expensive gear. Sometimes, they simply remember to bring fire starters, spare guy lines, a toaster, or that small tool everyone realizes they need once they've arrived at camp.

This concept continues the brand's character since 1959: equipment doesn't have to be the main focus; it's about making outdoor experiences less troublesome and more effortless for people.

Making Small Camping Annoyances Simple, One by One

COGHLAN'S story didn't begin with an earth-shattering invention; it started with a toaster that could be placed on a camping stove.

Sixty years later, the brand has developed over 400 products, yet the original toaster and egg holder remain in the product line.

This also illustrates what COGHLAN'S truly excels at: it doesn't need every product to be the star of outdoor gear, but rather transforms those easily overlooked yet truly bothersome problems into simple, reliable solutions, one by one.

Whether a camping trip is enjoyable sometimes depends not just on how beautifully the tent is pitched, but whether breakfast can be toasted, if the guy lines are secured, and if the necessary small tools are conveniently at hand.