c/camping-gear-reviews

I was convinced those lightweight titanium camp mugs were a gimmick until I actually used one for a season

I mean, I spent years hauling a heavy ceramic enamel cup on backpacking trips because I thought titanium was overpriced hype. Finally grabbed a Toaks 750ml pot/mug combo at an REI garage sale for $25 and figured I'd try it out. After 4 months of weekend trips in the Shenandoahs, that thing is still dent free and the heat distribution is way better than I expected. It's crazy how much weight I was carrying for no real reason. I still don't trust their forks though. Has anyone else had good luck with titanium cookware or am I just getting lucky with this one?

Old timer at the general store told me to ditch my expensive tent for a canvas tarp. He was dead right.

My tent became a swimming pool at 2am in Shenandoah

Camped near a creek last weekend and woke up to 3 inches of water inside because I forgot to seal a seam. Anyone else have a gear failure that turned into a total disaster story?

Used to think cheap tarps were fine for ground cover under my tent

Last spring in the Smokies, I went with a $7 tarp and woke up in a puddle after rain seeped through the weave. Switched to a heavier poly tarp with sealed seams for $20 after that trip, and now I actually sleep dry every time. Any recommendations for a tarp that won't break the bank but actually holds up?.

My friend told me my tent stakes were too light. Switched to 6 inch MSR Groundhogs.

Was backpacking in the Gila National Forest. Wind picked up at 2am. Cheap aluminum stakes just bent. Woke up with my tent wrapped around my face. Buddy handed me his Groundhogs next morning. Made me buy my own. Now I sleep fine.

Chat with a forest ranger at Bryce Canyon changed my mind about tent stakes

He said I didn't need those 12 inch monster stakes for desert camping, just the little 6 inch ones if I angle them right. Tried it last weekend in the wind and my tent didn't budge. Anyone else ever overthink simple gear?

My $40 Amazon sleeping pad gave out on night two in the Smokies

I was camped near Elkmont last month and woke up on the ground at 3am. The pad slowly deflated and I spent the rest of the night shivering on dirt. Anyone else tried those cheap knockoff pads and had them fail right away?

Vent: Blowing $80 on a camping stove that barely boiled water

I bought this ultralight stove from a small brand online, thinking it would save weight but instead it took 12 minutes to boil a cup of water. Meanwhile, my buddy's old Coleman boiled the same amount in 4 minutes. Has anyone else wasted cash on gear that just didn't perform like the reviews said?

I finally snapped my favorite tent pole in the dark at 2am

Last weekend at Lake Shasta, I was packing up in the rain and darkness because a storm rolled in early. Pulled the wrong end of my pole hub and one of the fiberglass sections just snapped clean in half. No warning, no crack sound first, just immediate failure. Had to tape it up with duct tape and pray it held for the hike out. Anyone know if those pole repair splices actually work or should I just buy a whole new set?

Remember digging fire pits with a little trowel for 20 minutes? I switched to a $12 folding shovel from Harbor Freight after a rainy night in Shenandoah and now I'm done in 3 minutes, anyone else made the swap?

Used to think the trowel was fine until that storm soaked the ground so bad I spent 45 minutes scraping mud with my hands, grabbed that cheap shovel on a whim and it’s been in my pack ever since, what do you use for your fire pits?

Was I wrong about cheap sleeping pads? That $40 foam pad from Walmart actually kept me warm last weekend in 35 degree rain.

I always swore by my inflatable Therm-a-Rest until I got a puncture and had to borrow my buddy's closed cell foam pad, and I slept better and warmer than I have on trips where my air pad was perfectly fine - has anyone else found that cheap gear sometimes just works better for specific conditions?

Changed my mind about lightweight backpacking stoves after talking to a ranger at Shenandoah

I was dead set on replacing my canister stove with an alcohol setup to save weight. Then I talked to a park ranger at the Loft Mountain campground who said they've had three rescues this year from people who couldn't boil water fast enough in cold weather. He showed me the burn times on alcohol vs canister at 30 degrees and it was like double the wait. I stuck with my $40 BRS canister stove for now. Anyone else run into a similar situation where a pro changed your gear philosophy?

Bumped into a thru-hiker at REI who told me my sleeping pad R-value was way off for shoulder season trips

He explained that those budget foam pads lose like half their insulation below freezing, so I swapped my $30 pad for a $120 one after testing it in 20 degree weather last weekend, anyone else get bad advice from online reviews about cold weather gear?

My brother insisted I buy a cheap tarp instead of a name brand one

My brother has been camping for about 30 years so when he told me to save my money and just get a heavy duty blue tarp from the hardware store I listened. I needed a new ground cloth for my tent and the brand ones at the outdoor store were 40 bucks. The blue tarp was 8 dollars. I used it for the first time last weekend at a site near the Blue Ridge Parkway. After a night of heavy rain I woke up to water seeping through the tarp and soaking the bottom of my tent. The cheap tarp just does not have the same waterproof coating as the nicer ones. Now I have to dry everything out and I am pretty sure I will need to buy the proper ground cloth before my next trip in June. Has anyone else had a tarp fail like this or did I just pick a bad one?

My old Coleman stove started putting out yellow flames last month

I was getting ready for a weekend trip to Pine Creek and fired up my two-burner stove I've had since 2012. The flames were all lazy and yellow instead of that clean blue I remembered. I figured the burners were clogged so I took them apart and cleaned them with a tiny wire brush. Still yellow flames so I dug deeper and found the fuel line had a bunch of crud inside from sitting in my damp garage over two winters. Ran some carb cleaner through it and let it dry for a day and now it burns perfect again. Anyone else ran into old fuel lines getting gunked up from storage?

Bought a $30 sleeping bag pad off Amazon and froze my back off in the Smokies last weekend

That thing might as well have been a yoga mat for all the warmth it gave me at 40 degrees. Has anyone else gotten burned by those no-name inflatable pads under $50?

Hit 50 nights in a hammock this year and my back has never been better

I switched to a hammock setup back in March. Told myself I'd try it for real camping, not just afternoon naps. Hit 50 nights last weekend up in the Blue Ridge. My tent friends keep saying it's a gimmick but I wake up with zero stiffness now. Anyone else ditch the ground for a full season?

Appreciation post: the guy at Glacier National Park who saved my tent in 30 seconds flat

My rainfly ripped open at 2am during a storm at Many Glacier Campground and a random camper from the next site over showed up with a roll of Tenacious Tape and patched it up right there in the dark, has anyone else had a stranger bail them out with gear repairs on a trip?

My old sleeping pad went from plush to pancake in one season

I got a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir back in April and it was amazing for the first 8 trips. By September I was waking up with my hip on the ground every single night. Figured out I was storing it rolled up tight in my garage and the heat must have wrecked the foam. Has anyone else had a pad lose its loft just from bad storage?

That rainy week in Shenandoah made me hate my six-year-old tent so much I finally replaced it.

After three straight nights of waking up in a puddle because the seam tape let go, what really convinced me was watching my buddy's cheap REI tent stay bone dry while mine turned into a swimming pool, has anyone else had a whole trip ruined by bad gear?

TIL my tent stakes were basically useless from a guy at a state park

Last weekend at Hocking Hills State Park, this older camper next to me saw me struggling with my tent and just laughed. He said those cheap aluminum stakes that come with most tents might as well be toothpicks in rocky soil lol. He showed me his 8-inch steel shepherd's hook stakes and I felt like an idiot for not upgrading sooner. Anyone else run into that moment where a stranger's gear advice just clicked?

Stop treating tent seams like they're optional

I keep seeing people unpack a brand new tent at the campsite and just set it up without touching the seam tape. Then they wonder why everything inside is wet after a light rain. I made that mistake myself last spring at a site in the Smokies. Woke up at 3am with water pooling in the corner of my sleeping bag. Seam sealing takes maybe 20 minutes before you leave home and costs like $8 for a tube of the stuff. Most factory seam tape just isn't enough even on higher end tents. Has anyone else learned this the hard way or found a specific sealant that holds up better than others?

Compared a $40 tarp from Walmart to a $90 one from REI, the cheap one actually held up better in the rain last weekend

Just had a talk with a buddy that made me rethink my whole tent setup

My friend Dave from work told me he spent $40 on a cheap tent at Walmart last spring and it's held up through like 15 trips in all kinds of weather. Meanwhile I've been dropping $200+ on gear thinking you gotta pay for quality to last. Makes me wonder if I've been overthinking camping gear this whole time - anyone else ever had someone totally change how you look at something simple?

Tried one of those ultralight camp chairs and my back still hates me

Picked up a Big Agnes Skyline UL last summer after reading all those rave reviews about how it weighs nothing. Yeah it's light, I'll give it that. But after three nights in the Sierras I could barely stand up straight in the morning, thing sits way too low and there's zero lumbar support. Learned my lesson that saving a pound ain't worth it when you're uncomfortable every time you sit down. Anybody else find a lightweight chair that doesn't wreck your back?