c/camping-gear-reviews

I finally tried that $20 sleeping pad from Walmart against my friend's advice

My buddy Mike kept saying you need at least a $80 inflatable for comfort, but I grabbed the blue foam one on a whim. After 3 nights in Shenandoah last week, I slept fine on roots and rocks. Has anyone else found cheap gear that actually works better than people claim?

Last Saturday was the worst camping trip I've ever had. Rained nonstop for 14 hours and my $40 tent from Walmart just gave up.

Took me 3 tries to figure out my tent stakes were wrong for the ground here

I spent a whole weekend last spring trying to set up my tent at a site near Durango and the wind kept ripping the stakes out. I kept thinking I wasn't hammering them in deep enough or the ground was too hard. Turns out I was using those cheap plastic stakes that came with the tent instead of something better for rocky soil. After the second night of waking up with dirt in my sleep, I finally asked a guy at the gear shop what I was doing wrong. He handed me a set of MSR Groundhogs and said try these. Put them in on the third attempt and it held through a 40 mph gust no problem. Has anyone else wasted hours on the wrong stakes for their local terrain? I felt like a fool but at least I learned. I don't think I'll ever use the free ones again.

Just realized my sleeping bag was making me cold at night

Used to think a -20 bag was all I needed for winter camping in the Rockies. Last January I froze my butt off near Evergreen even though the bag was rated fine. A guy at REI told me I was compressing the insulation by sleeping on it wrong. Now I use a foam pad underneath and it made a 15 degree difference easy. Anyone else find out their bag was way less warm because of their sleeping setup?

Switched from a Coleman to a wood stove for car camping last fall

I used to always just bring my old Coleman propane stove on trips to the Smokies. It worked fine but I got tired of carrying extra fuel canisters that always seemed to run out at the worst time. A buddy of mine in a Facebook group showed me his little folding wood stove and I was hooked. Been burning twigs and pine cones ever since, but I still miss how fast propane boils water when I'm hangry. Has anyone else dealt with the learning curve of getting a wood fire hot enough for coffee in the morning?

Why does nobody talk about how sleeping pads lose insulation in cold weather

I took my usual pad out to the Smokies last weekend when it hit 28 degrees and woke up frozen to the ground, turns out the R-value drops way more than I expected once temps go below freezing and I wish I'd known that before I spent the whole night shivering.

Changed my stance on using a tarp under my tent after a wet night in Ohio

I always thought a footprint was a waste of cash and just used the tent floor. But after camping near Hocking Hills last month, rain pooled under my tent and soaked everything through a thin spot. A guy at the campsite showed me how a cheap $10 tarp, folded slightly smaller than the tent, would have stopped that. He said if the tarp sticks out, it just catches water underneath. Now I see the point of a proper barrier and I'm picking one up before my next trip.

Sat next to a guy at REI who said 'just sleep on the ground'

I was in the REI parking lot in Denver last month waiting for my wife and this dude walks by with a hammock and a tarp. He tells his friend he's been hammock camping for 8 years and never uses a tent or pad. Said the hammock is lighter and he sleeps better than in a bed. I looked at my 12 pound tent setup in the trunk and started questioning everything. Has anyone here actually made the full switch to hammocks and not regretted it?

Warning: Guy at REI told me to test my stove at home before a trip

I was at REI in Denver last month buying a new backpacking stove, and this older employee walked over while I was looking at the MSR PocketRocket. He said 'you need to fire that thing up in your backyard before you drive 4 hours to the trailhead, trust me.' I shrugged it off but did it anyway, and the first time I connected the canister the valve hissed air for 2 seconds then stopped. Turned out I had a defective seal out of the box, would have been stuck eating cold beans in the San Juans. Has anyone else caught a dud stove fresh from the store?

Rant: My $30 Coleman tent leaked like crazy compared to the old Eureka I borrowed from a friend

I finally saved up and bought a budget Coleman Sundome tent from Dick's last month. First night out at Big Sur, we got a light drizzle and water just poured through the seams. My buddy let me borrow his beat up Eureka Apex from the 90s for the second night and it stayed bone dry. The Coleman felt flimsy right out of the bag too, poles bent super easy. Meanwhile that old Eureka has been through 4 seasons and still holds up. Anyone else find the newer budget tents are way worse than the older models?

Bought a cheap tarp from Walmart and it shredded during a windstorm at Lake Tahoe

Spent 20 years folding my sleeping bag wrong - a ranger at Glacier National Park set me straight

I always rolled my sleeping bag into a tight cylinder like the military does. Last summer at Glacier National Park, a ranger watched me struggle for 5 minutes and finally said "you're crushing the insulation, just stuff it loose into a compression sack." He showed me how the down needs air pockets to stay warm. Has anyone else been doing it the hard way for years?

Hacked my leaky air mattress with a patch from a bike tire repair kit

Got to the campsite at Algonquin last weekend and my mattress had a slow leak from a tiny hole. Tried the included patch but it wouldn't stick, so I cut a piece of an old bike tube and used rubber cement from my bike bag - held air all night long. Anyone else use random gear to fix camping stuff on the fly?

Got caught in a surprise thunderstorm at Big Bend and it wrecked my tent zipper

Last spring I was camping at Big Bend National Park and a storm rolled in out of nowhere. The wind was hitting 40 mph easy and my tent zipper got caked with sand and grit. Tried to close it up quick but the sand jammed the track and ripped right through the fabric. Had to sleep with a gap flopping open all night. Has anyone else had a zipper fail at the worst possible moment like that?

My Kelty sleeping bag vs a cheap Ozark Trail one in 30 degree weather

Last month I camped up at Big Bear and brought my old Kelty cosmic 20. My buddy had a $40 Ozark Trail bag from Walmart. First night hit 32 and I woke up warm while he was shivering by 3am. We checked the fill and his had way less insulation packed in. Anyone else notice a massive difference between budget bags and mid-range ones?

Tried a titanium camping cup. Hated every sip.

Bought one of those fancy titanium cups for backpacking. Thought it would be light and cool. First morning coffee tasted like metal. Burned my lips because the rim heats up instantly. Learned my lesson: some gear just ain't worth the hype. Anybody else regret a lightweight upgrade?

That old timer at REI told me to skip the $200 sleeping bag

Met this guy Bill outside REI in Portland who said my $80 Kelty bag would be fine for summer car camping as long as I got a liner. I was skeptical since everyone online hypes the expensive down bags. Three trips to Olympic National Park later and I've slept totally fine in temps down to 45°F. Has anyone else found that buying gear based on random strangers beats the forums?

Warning: That $50 inflatable sleeping pad from Amazon almost ruined my trip

Just hit 100 nights in my hammock setup this season

Ive been tracking every night I sleep in my hammock while car camping this year and I hit 100 last weekend at Indian Creek. That thing has held up way better than I expected for a $60 rig from Amazon. Anyone else keep a log of their gear usage like this?

My tent collapsed at 2am in a thunderstorm in Shenandoah

I was camping solo at Big Meadows last June and the weather looked fine when I set up. Around 1am the wind really picked up and then the rain started pounding. I woke up to my cheap dome tent bending sideways and one pole snapped clean in half. The whole thing came down on my face and I was drenched in like 30 seconds. I grabbed my headlamp and sleeping bag and ran to the bathhouse to wait it out. Spent the rest of the night huddled on a bench shivering and regretting that I bought the budget tent from Amazon for $60. Has anyone else had a tent fail in bad weather and what did you switch to for something that can actually handle wind?

Just got back from a trip to Big Bend and I'm convinced most camp stoves are overpriced junk

I cooked dinner on a $15 butane canister stove I grabbed at a gas station in Alpine, and it boiled water faster than my buddy's $200 MSR job. Anyone else think brand loyalty is just paying for marketing?

My buddy swore a cheap tarp was fine for rain cover, but after a downpour in the Smokies last fall, my gear was soaked through in 20 minutes

He said spend the cash on a stove and skimp on the tarp, but now I'm thinking that's backwards, who else has gotten bad advice like that and what happened when you ignored the common sense?

Serious question about those fancy ultralight camp chairs

I was totally skeptical of those $150 backpacking chairs that weigh barely a pound - figured they'd tip over or break after a weekend. But after borrowing one on a 4-day trip in the White Mountains, I gotta say it held up fine and was actually nice to sit in. Am I missing something or is the cheap heavy chair crowd just being stubborn?

Vent: my new tent zipper failed on day 2 of a week-long trip

I bought a four-person tent from a big box store last month for a trip up to Lake Tahoe. On the second night, the main zipper got stuck halfway down and I couldn't get it open or closed without forcing it. Ended up using duct tape to keep the flap shut for the rest of the week. Has anyone else had zipper problems with newer tents, or did I just get a bad one?

Why does nobody talk about how heavy those old canvas tents were

I used to use my dad's old canvas tent from the 80s and it weighed like 25 pounds plus it took forever to dry out. Last summer I finally switched to a Kelty 4 person tent that weighs under 8 pounds and sets up in 5 minutes. Has anyone else made the switch from heavy gear and actually noticed a difference on longer hikes?