So I took my significant other on her first trip into the BW. For 7 days and 6 nights, and she loved it. She loved it to the point of searching for a canoe to buy as soon as we left Ely today. I know that you all have great recommendations on gear. She's already decided to upgrade some of my gear, for "our" future trips... We'll be looking for the following.....

1. Camping Hammocks, with bug screen and rain fly

2. Lightweight camp chairs with backs

3. Air mattresses, currently have a self inflating Therma rest, she would like more cushion

4. Fish finder for canoe

Hopefully that's the end, but it may be the beginning... At least I get to upgrade equipment and she's not going to argue... In all seriousness, I absolutely loved having her there and experiencing it.

Thanks

Upgrading gear makes birthday and Christmas gift lists easy. It's always good when your trip partner enjoys the trip as much as you do. Guess we know where your next vacation is going to be!

You are in such a great place! I suggest you start with the pads. If you are using the old 1 inch self inflate pads you can do much better. I have an exped that takes more work to inflate but is about 2-3 inches thick, much more comfortable and warm. There are many good options here.

There are a number of butt-hangers here who can give you more info on tarps, bug nets, and hammocks, but I’ll toss out that this is a prime area where plenty of people do DIY set ups. If you, your SO, or someone else you know sews this might be a great, cost effective option.

Chairs are easy; either REI for a little less money and a bit more weight, or Helonex for a bit more dough and a bit less weight. Both good options.

For a fish finder, the Garmin Striker 4 is a good option for just over a 100 bucks. There may be better, but this will get it done.

Hammock camping is a dark and deep rabbit hole to go down, and it isn't necessarily conducive to camping with your SO. I would focus on ground dwelling for now so you can share the tent experience. That being said, if you want a good camping hammock to lounge in, I would get the Dutchware Chameleon hammock with a Warbonnet tarp of your choosing. The Chameleon is what I use as my camping hammock, with a down underquilt and top quilt.
The Helinox Sunset chair is my current favorite for a super comfortable lightweight chair, but you can save weight by going with some of the lighter smaller options as well. I know many places are running a sale on these chairs right now.
For an air mattress, I've been very happy with the Exped line of mats. Get something that insulated though, as the ground can be cold and unforgiving. I also would recommend getting the Schnozzel pump bag if you get an Exped mattress. This EXPEDites inflating the mattress and it doubles as a dry sack.
These of course are just my personal recommendations. If you're a gear head like me, half the fun is researching all the gear that's out there. Try to buy the highest quality gear that you can afford. It is better to buy once and cry once......

Two person hammock? Very intriguing.

I don't use #1, #2, or #4, so can't help with that.

I'm happy with my Thermarest Neo-Air X-Therm - it's warm, comfortable, light and compact. It replaced an Exped Syn-Mat 7. But there are a lot of good pads out there with the usual trade-offs: warmth, weight, compactness, cost. Depends on where you fall on that spectrum, and maybe which one is on sale. :).

2x the Helinox Sunset chair. I love mine! A friend borrowed it on a recent trip and he and another guy in the group are now looking to each buy one! For the air mattress, I really like my Big Agnes air core ultra with a Big Agnes bag (BA has a sleeve integrated into the bag that the mattress slides into; no more sliding off the mattress in the middle of the night). Another purchase to consider is the BA Pumphouse Ultra stuff sack that doubles as pump to fill the mattress. I like when one piece of gear serves two purposes!

bombinbrian: "So I took my significant other on her first trip into the BW. For 7 days and 6 nights, and she loved it. She loved it to the point of searching for a canoe to buy as soon as we left Ely today. I know that you all have great recommendations on gear. She's already decided to upgrade some of my gear, for "our" future trips... We'll be looking for the following.....

1. Camping Hammocks, with bug screen and rain fly

2. Lightweight camp chairs with backs

3. Air mattresses, currently have a self inflating Therma rest, she would like more cushion

4. Fish finder for canoe

Hopefully that's the end, but it may be the beginning... At least I get to upgrade equipment and she's not going to argue... In all seriousness, I absolutely loved having her there and experiencing it.

Thanks"

Camping Hammocks and air matresses, while thay could be used together, are kind of on divergent paths with respect to maximum comfort for the dollar. For comparable price to a highend sleeping pad, you can get a super comfortable down underquilt for your hammock. While the underquilt adds to the upfront investment of converting to hammock camping, it will really make a difference in comfort and how fast you'll get accustomed to sleeping overnight in the hammock.

Hammcocks can be cheap and simple or can represent brilliant but, more costly design. Warbonnet Outdoors offers some superbly designed gear. The Blackbird and Blackbird XLC are renown for their enhanced comfort. This is acheived with a unique foot box designed to allow a flatter lie (lay?).

Most down underquilts will work with any hammock but, require a bit of a "fiddle factor" to acheive perfection. Warbonnet offers the Yeti underquilt designed to work specifically with their hammocks.

What ever hammock you choose, Warbonnet's Superfly Tarp is worth consideration.

A Warbonnet set-up will set you back. They frequently offer package sales savings. It might be worth while to buy 1 set-up to try before investing in complete set-ups for 2.

Disclaimer: My preferred hammock is not a Warbonnet but, my favorite it is no longer available on the new market. I have 2 Warbonnet Blackbirds and 2 Superfly Tarps. I use these for my son's as they are, by far, the easiestof all my hammocks to set-up, are easiest to acheive a comfortable lie (lay?) and, have integrated bugnets.

Good Luck

On the chairs, we started w/ Helinox chair one's and liked them. But in the name of saving space and weight we got a pair of the chair zero's and they're just as good to sit in and smaller/lighter. Now the one's only come along if we're taking others on a trip

On the subject of air mattresses, I'm a fan of Exped's mats. IMO a good night's rest is the best way to keep her wanting to come along. If not Exped, then look for something that is 2.5" thick, thicker if she is a side sleeper.

Chairs - REI Flexlite or similar. You can find less expensive knock-offs on Amazon.

After trying hammock camping last year I'll never go back. I find ground camping hard to get comfortable even with an air mattress. Plus you have to worry about finding a level area. Not hard in the bwca but still. Definitely talk with your SO about the comfort trade offs of hammocking VS closeness of tenting. They do make 2 person hammocks and I've seen some pics of couples doing the 3 trees 2 hammocks method for just a little more togetherness. Might want to demo a 2 person at a sporting goods store or order from a place with a good return policy and take it out for a test run.
Last year I slept in a Grand Trunk Skeeterbeeter pro with continuous loop webbing for suspension, and a 10x10 tarp. I had no real problems with the Skeeterbeeter despite the relative cheaper price point except the need to change out the base cord suspension system for CLs. It's not amazing or anything but I won't be upgrading terribly soon unless it breaks. I can't comment on the tarp effectiveness as it actually didn't rain all 5 nights of our 2019 July 4th week trip. I didn't have an under quilt and ended up not needing one. I'm also not planning on bringing one in mid august this year but I'll have multiple insulation options if needed.
btw Another good place to do some good research is /r/hammockcamping

For LW camping chairs I'll +1 the Helinox Sunset and Helinox in general. I have a "Chair One" but wish it was a "Chair Zero". I'm just able to squeeze the 14" One bag into my backpacking bag horizontally whereas I would probably need to go vertical with a 19" Sunset bag.