It’s not about going soft. More that life is too short to be enjoying this stunning country while feeling grumpy about cold or wet camping.
They reckon someone who is able to work doing the thing they love will never actually work a day in their lives.
Lucky man: a lifelong passion for exploring and adventuring has given Blake O’Loughlin the momentum to set up Xplora, a camping and outdoors enthusiasts brand, focusing on comfort and convenience in a range of high quality equipment for the Kiwi 4WD enthusiast.
“We’re travellers who aren’t afraid of forging new trails. Wanderers that aren’t lost. The kind of people who enjoy finding new ways to drive from A to B; who choose the longest hike on the trail map; who love a long weekend away at that remote camping spot,” he says.
A bit of a wild man himself, Blake has been hunting, tramping, camping and fishing since ages ago. He’ll take any excuse – or no excuse at all – and grab some mates to get lost in the bush, tackle new off-road driving trails or discover an uncrowded fishing spot.
With so much time spent exploring the great outdoors in all seasons, Xplora is Blake’s answer to a need for outdoors gear that meets the challenge posed by wild and unpredictable Kiwi conditions. Gear that is designed to withstand all weather conditions, across most types of terrain.
“This is about being able to escape into New Zealand’s great outdoors without giving up the creature comforts of home.
Xplora’s range comes together around a 4WD, creating a mobile camper with rooftop tents and vehicle awnings. The products help adventurers stay connected and comfortable with LED lighting, solar panels, fridge-freezers, deep cell batteries and easy to use battery boxes.
“Make sure you can get there and back again using our vehicle recovery gear, from heavy duty tracks to our high-powered winches. Our goal is to make the wild and wonderful natural environment accessible to more people, without compromising on the comfort and connectivity we’ve come to expect.”
Xplora makes the outdoors better with high quality materials and smart design elements that are tested by real outdoors and 4WD enthusiasts. Find out what all the fuss is about and join the Xplora family. Here are a few favourites:
• Awnings and awning walls that hang off the side of a 4WD ute or SUV and provide a practical living, sleeping or dining space – or all three. Pop a tent alongside as a dedicated sleeping space and the awning is released for cooking or that afternoon ‘sundowner’ refreshment session.
• Batteries and battery accessories including controllers for solar or multi-battery systems, jump start units and battery boxes are essentials for ‘roughing it’ at remote locations.
• Solar blankets and panels feed energy into the energy system, giving almost unlimited self-sufficiency.
• When that part of the system is sorted, the next job is to sort out camp lighting, a fridge and/or freezer.
• On-vehicle kit: getting to or from that campsite might just require a decent kit-bag of recovery gear: wheel tracks, snatch straps, even a winch extender and a tree protecting strop.
• Rooftop tents are looking to be the ‘it’ accessory for 2022, whether hard top or soft.
• For those who are happiest at ground level though, that roof area is still useful with a decent roof rack. Buy the best possible, and buy one that is load rated above what the rack will be asked to carry.

With these products and more, Kiwis can tackle their summer camping and adventuring in confidence and style.