Camping gear?

[Mr. Leary]

Some of the cheaper gear is absolutely worth buying. Go to Walmart. The vast majority of their camping gear is great for the average car-camper. Stay away from their tents, though. For a quality tent on a budget you might want to look at Alps Mountaineering.

Here is a suggestion:

Put together the following items and go camp for one night at the nearest campground. Stay close to home.

You'll need:

1. Tent (use your Coleman)

2. Bedding (sleeping bag, blankets, whatever you already have at home)

Try to get synthetic materials as much as possible.

3. Sleeping Pad (go buy the cheapest thing at Walmart. I think the little blue foam things are about $12, you can return it the next day if you don't like it)

In this case, the cheap stuff is superior. I have tried everything under the sun, and have yet to find something that does the job as reliably as the blue foam pads.

4. Ice Chest (you have one, right?) Put some cold food in it; sandwiches, cheese & crackers, etc. No need to complicate this by cooking and cleaning. And of course your favorite beverages.

The_Mrs. and I like to pre pack for light camping trips. Then all we have to do is open and eat.

5. Chair ( I imagine you have one of these, too. A folding patio chair works just as well as a "camp" chair)

...or you could find a nice, soft rock to sit on...

6. Book and/or radio. Or whatever you wish to pass the time with.

That's it, except maybe firewood. Camping like this for a night will give you a good idea of how you want to develop your camping lifestyle. And you'll also get an idea about which camping gear you might want to acquire.

Start off simple and add things as you go. Have fun!

.

 

[James86004]

Camping is an inexpensive form of recreation in the long run, but I feel your pain about the initial capital expenditure. When I got back into camping in 1993 after going to college at an urban campus (what was I thinking?), I had to buy all my equipment from scratch.

$100 for a tent. A Sierra Designs 3 man tent at REI. It was one of their rentals that they were getting rid of. 16 years later and it is still going strong, so I think I got my money's worth.

$30 for a cooler. It doubled as my chair and table. Those cheap umbrella chairs didn't exist yet.

$5 for a Coleman stove at a yard sale.

Flashlights and pots and pans I already had.

I just used regular blankets and pillows the first few times, and pitched my tent on sand or pine needles so I didn't need a pad. Now that I am older I don't think I could get away with that.

If you are camping out of a pickup truck, give some thought to sleeping in the bed. If the weather is nice, you can sleep on a foam pad with some regular sheets and blankets. If it rains, you can rig a tarp over it and you will be high enough off the ground to keep the flooding at bay. You can do something similar with some SUVs and minivans. With most cars you need to sleep on the ground.

If the weather is crummy, and you are miserable in your cheap tent and sleeping gear, you either quit camping, or start justifying spending a lot on a good tent and a good sleeping bag.

If you are truly hooked, you will end up with 3 tents, 2 sleeping bags, camp chairs, stoves, dutch ovens, nice day packs, nice backpacks, 2 or 3 pairs of hiking boots, headlights, lanterns, Thermarests, ad infinitum. When a kid comes along, you get a tent trailer and a Dormobile, and pretty soon you are camping 60 to 90 days out of the year and wishing you could do more. :victory:

 

[cruisertoy]

We took a father and son up to Illiumna Alaska for 10 days with us on our anual float trip. The father had NEVER camped before(other than 1 night the week before in his back yard). I basically sent him a list of gear he and his son were going to need. Once we arrived in Illiumna we camped for 2 nights before hopping a Beaver out to the little river we float for a week. He showed up with a Costco Wenger tent. I have all my gear stored in the hanger at the air strip so I knew I had an extra tent and sleeping bags for him. You can bet you will have rain 7 out of 10 days on this trip and it rained the first two. He stayed nice and dry and warm so we took his Cheap tent on the river run with us. The first night on the river the wind must have been 50mph. His tent kept laying over, but it popped right back up. I watched most of the night but it never broke or ripped. He was tired but dry the next morning. I'd probably pick one of those tents up to throw in my bug out box or in your case to start out with for a few years. My scout troop now has three of them and you know how scouts are with equipment. They have lasted 3 yrs without issue.

I've also picked up tons of used cooking equipment. I think I have 3 double burner colmans, and at least 3 colman lanterns all for $20 or less each. I've gone more simple when I actually camp. I bring a Jetboil and cook over the fire.

 

[computeruser]

Nope, no need for super-expensive gear. Mid-range gear exists, is affordable, and is a real step up from el-cheapo stuff from Target. A $120 Kelty tent, a $70 Slumberjack bag, a Coleman stove, and a Rubbermaid ActionPacker with some kitchen kit, and you're ready to camp. Treat the gear with respect and you'll be good to go for a long time to come!

Sierratradingpost has some good deals from time to time, as do some of the chain sporting goods stores, the military surplus stores, and campmor.

 

[Maximus Ram]

Craigslist and yard sales...even one of those weekend auction type places that people pay for space to sell. And not only look at the sporting goods section on craigslist, but the yard sale section . Good way to find the sales in your area.

 

[Maximus Ram]

or even here..

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=68

 

[Wilbur]

Everyone thanks a ton for advice and help! I don't have an real outdoors experience so knowing how much the quality is different.

 

[vanderpooch]

Come camping over in Tennessee and I'll hook you up with some old gear! I have lots of stuff to lazy to sell and would rather give it to someone thats going to use it.

 

[jcbrandon]

Come camping over in Tennessee and I'll hook you up with some old gear! I have lots of stuff to lazy to sell and would rather give it to someone thats going to use it.

Now that is the Expedition Portal spirit. Hats off to you, vanderpooch. C'mon out west and I'll hook you up with a beer.

 

[Wilbur]

Come camping over in Tennessee and I'll hook you up with some old gear! I have lots of stuff to lazy to sell and would rather give it to someone thats going to use it.

Where are you near?

 

[cico7]

Thanks! I guess I've gone to rei and can't justify the prices for most equipment.

Try one of the surplus stores or thrift stores. You can find a lot of deals there.

 

[06TXTaco]

Check out the events for your local REI, and look for their garage sale. As mentioned previously, they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee and the product returned by customer for reasons other than defect or damageare are resold at the garage sales as-is. You will have to spend a little time reviewing the products before you buy (and be a member) but the deals can be worth it. Couple of finds we had (for example) are an Ocean kayak Scrambler 11 new previous year model $125, Garmin 60CSx returned $45 (works perfectly). I have seen North Face/Mountain Hardware/Sierra Design tent for $30. Again it's as-is product so review it closely before you buy.

Keep in mind that the “cost factor” for a lot of camping gear has to do with weight. There tents, sleeping bag, stoves, plates, etc. that are of equally quality but have a large weight difference. If you are not going to be packing it, save the $$$ and add .5lb.

 

[Uncle Roger]

For kitchen kit, check out Ikea. Their cheap stuff is cheap, but for camping, who cares? Sets of silverware for $5, a set of spoons/spatulas for a couple bucks, plastic plates and bowls for pennies.