c/camping-gear-reviews

Trusted that REI guy about sleeping pads, froze my butt off near Flagstaff

He said the R-value on my old foam pad was fine for 40 degrees, but it dropped to 28 that night in the Coconino forest. Woke up shivering at 3am with my hips numb, now I always check the actual temp forecast before packing. Anyone else had a store employee steer you wrong on gear?

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quinnj24•5d ago

My $90 cot collapsed at 3AM and I woke up in a pile of poles

Bought it off a big-name site based on 400 five-star reviews, but the crossbar bracket snapped right at the weld while I was asleep, so I'm asking if anyone has a cot brand that actually survives a 220-pound guy tossing over three nights.

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kaib18•5d ago

My $8 tarp now beats my $140 tent in a downpour

Swapped my fancy dome tent for a cheap blue tarp and paracord after getting flooded out at a site near Lake Tahoe last May. The tarp sheds rain better because I finally learned a proper ridgeline knot instead of just staking corners. Anyone else ditch a pricey shelter for the dumb simple setup that just works?

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wendy_wilson•7d ago

The 14-hour rainstorm that exposed my whole tarp setup

I spent years setting up my tarp with the ridgeline under the fly, thought it was keeping things dry. Then last month at Big Basin, water pooled in the sag and dripped right onto my sleeping bag at 3 AM. Anyone else figure out they had the geometry backwards for a decade?

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barbaraschmidt•13d ago

First solo campout at 41, and the gear bill hit $612. Worth it or waste?

I finally did my first solo trip last month at Cold Spring Campground. Nothing fancy, just two nights. But I bought a tent, sleeping pad, camp stove, and all the little extras. Total came to $612 after I got home and added it up. The funny part is I could have borrowed my buddy's old gear for free. Now I'm torn. Part of me says the freedom of having my own stuff makes future trips easier. The other part says I got caught up in reviews and shiny gear ads. My pad alone was $140 and honestly the ground still felt hard under my hips. Anyone else hit a spending number that made them question their setup choices? Did you keep the gear or return half of it?

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joel_mason22•15d ago

That $180 inflatable pad deflated on night two in Big Bend

I bought this thicker inflatable sleeping pad last month thinking it would beat my old foam one. First night was GREAT, super comfy. But on night two out in Big Bend, I woke up at 3am on hard rocky ground. The seam right by the valve split open, no joke. I patched it with duct tape but it kept leaking air all night. Spent $180 on it and it lasted two whole nights, what a waste. Now I'm back to my closed cell foam pad, it's heavy but it never fails. Has anyone else had a brand new inflatable pad fail this fast, or did I just get a dud?

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beth_ward80•16d ago

A stranger at Lost Lake told me my tent stakes were garbage, so I stopped using the cheap ones

He watched me hammer a bent nail into the dirt and just laughed, then handed me a set of MSR groundhogs, and now after 3 trips in Washington I haven't had a single gust blow my fly loose, has anyone else upgraded their stakes after a random campsite critique?

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murray.cole•17d ago

Coworker said my ultralight obsession was just a hobby, got me second-guessing my scale

Ran into a guy at a trailhead near Boulder who laughed at my 8.5 lb base weight and said I was overthinking it, he carried a 40 lb pack for 20 years and never once weighed a spoon. I used to love shaving grams, but now I'm wondering if the spreadsheets and titanium forks actually make trips better or just feed my own fussiness. Anyone else hit a point where the gear math stopped being fun and started being the whole point?

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paulperez•17d ago

That $30 tarp stake hammer was worth it after one rainy weekend

Last month I camped near Lake Tahoe and the ground was hard as concrete. Another camper saw me struggling with a rock and handed me a rubber mallet with a metal core, said it was a tarp stake hammer from Home Depot. I bought one for about 30 bucks and it drove 8 inch stakes in half the time. Has anyone else found a cheap tool that saves real hassle on tough ground?

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ray_carr•18d ago

Overheard a guy at REI say the word 'bivvy' and it sent me down a rabbit hole

I was in the REI in Denver last Saturday, just browsing sleeping bags, when this older dude told his friend that a bivvy sack is the only way to camp on a ridgeline in wind. I laughed it off at first, but then I looked one up after I got home and watched three videos about condensation management. Turns out he was right about the wind thing, but now I'm stuck deciding if I want to trade my tent for something I can barely sit up in. Has anyone else made the switch to a bivvy for exposed sites, or is that just a masochist move?

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lindaw12•19d ago

Weekend downpour turned my tent into a wading pool, gear check saved me

Last Saturday at Lake Wenatchee the rain came in sideways at 2am and my old tent floor just gave up. I woke up with my sleeping bag soaked and my boots floating, that was a rough 40 minutes of draining everything with my camp mug. The real kicker is my friend's tent with a $35 footprint stayed bone dry, so now I'm looking at adding one to my setup before the next trip. Anyone else had a tent fail in heavy rain and switch to using a footprint full time?

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victor_carter51•24d ago

One bad review about my tarp setup changed how I pitch it every time now

Last summer in the Smokies, a guy walked past my site and said 'your ridgeline is gonna sag by midnight with those stakes.' I thought he was just being picky, but sure enough, 2 AM and the whole thing was drooping. I switched to a 45 degree stake angle and a taught line hitch on both ends. Night and day difference. Now I'm wondering, do you folks trust random campers' advice or only what you read in official reviews? I used to ignore everyone, but that one comment stuck with me.

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morganhayes•25d ago

Sleeping pad repair kit paid for itself in one trip to the Smokies

Tore a 2 inch gash in my inflatable pad on day two at Elkmont, patched it in 10 minutes with a $15 kit instead of buying a new $120 pad. The trick was roughing up the surface around the tear with the sandpaper before layering the glue, did anyone else skip that step and have patches peel off?

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grant.jade•27d ago

My sleeping pad was leaking air for 2 years and I never knew

Last month I woke up on the ground at Joshua Tree at 2 AM. Turns out my inflatable pad had a slow leak the whole time. I kept blaming cold nights or rocky ground for my stiff back. Then I dunked it in a friend's pool and saw bubbles along the seam near the valve. It was a $60 pad from REI, and I had it patched for free under their warranty. Anyone else find out their gear was broken in a dumb way like this?

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kelly.robin•27d ago

My $30 tarp failed in Acadia, but the $150 one I mocked is looking smarter now

Last month I camped three nights in Acadia with a cheap blue tarp from a hardware store in Bangor, and the wind shredded a corner by the second morning so bad I had to tie it to a tree with shoelaces. Three years ago I laughed at my buddy for dropping $150 on an aquaquest tarp with reinforced grommets, calling it overkill for weekend trips. So which side is actually right, do you pay for durability or just replace the cheap stuff every season?

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andrew693•29d ago

Hit 40 campsite setups and finally ditched the checklist

After my 40th trip last month I realized I hadn't used my packing list since trip 25. Turns out muscle memory kicked in, I just know where everything goes in the truck now. Anyone else stop needing lists after a certain number of nights out?

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olivia_wilson•29d ago

Spent $180 on a fancy camp stove and it melted my pot handle

I picked up this lightweight titanium stove last month for a trip up near Lake Tahoe. The stove itself was fine, but I didn't realize the pot support arms were way too short for my old aluminum pot. After about 10 minutes on high, the handle softened and bent right into the flame. I mean, maybe it's on me for not checking the fit first, but the box said it works with any 1L pot. Has anyone else had this issue with ultralight stoves tipping or sagging under a heavier pan? I'm thinking of just going back to my old $25 burner instead of risking another expensive trip.

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jamie_price•1mo ago

That $80 stove saved my weekend after my Jetboil failed at Big Bend

Went down to Big Bend last month and my old stove wouldn't light no matter what I did. I had grabbed a cheap $80 Camp Chef burner on a whim from the store that morning and it fired up first try in 40 degree wind. Anyone else had a random backup piece of gear save a whole trip like that?

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olivia757•1mo ago

Pro tip: A mouse chewed through my Tent Pole bag at Yosemite last June

I left my tent bag on the ground overnight and a mouse gnawed right through the fabric to get at some crumbs. Now I always hang my gear bag from a tree branch, anyone else have critter trouble with their storage?

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jasons63•1mo ago

Bought a $30 Ozark Trail sleeping pad on a whim and it held up better than my $150 Therm-a-Rest

I was skeptical about cheap gear for a long time. Then last spring I forgot my good pad at home on a trip to Olympic National Park and had to grab whatever was at the nearest Walmart. That Ozark Trail pad went through three nights on rocky ground without a single leak or losing air. My expensive one had a slow leak after five trips. Has anyone else tried budget gear that surprised them?

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spencer_thomas4•1mo ago

I finally swapped my heavy canvas tent for a silnylon one

Used to haul my old 12lb canvas tent up to Rainier every summer and my back was killing me. Switched to a silnylon one after 3 trips last year and it weighs like 4lbs now. Setup is way faster too since it packs down smaller and I don't have to fight with wet canvas. Anyone else made the jump to lighter material and noticed a big difference in packing?

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miles798•1mo ago

Used to swear by my 4-season tent until last winter in Colorado changed my mind

I always thought a 4-season tent was the only way to go for winter camping. Then I took my Hilleberg out to Rocky Mountain National Park in January and it was a total sweatbox inside. The lack of mesh made condensation so bad my bag got wet by morning. A buddy with a 3-season tent and a good tarp setup was way more comfortable. Now I just use my 3-season with a footprint and a proper sleeping pad. Anyone else ditch the heavy 4-season after a bad experience?

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spencer407•1mo ago

Stumbled on an old Coleman stove at a thrift shop in Flagstaff

Found a beat-up 1950s Coleman two-burner for $12 at a Goodwill up there, and after some elbow grease it cooks better than my brand new one. Has anyone else had luck reviving old gear like that?

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murray.cole•1mo ago

Stopped shoving my knife into the ground after a ranger called me out last weekend

Was at a campsite near Lake Tahoe and this old ranger walked by while I was cleaning my trout. I just jammed my Mora into the dirt like always. He goes "you're just asking for rust and a dull edge there bud." Never really thought about it, but yeah he's right. Now I carry a little folding stand thing I got for $8. Anyone else do this and regret it?

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olivia_wilson•1mo ago

That storm at Big Bend made me toss my entire sleep system

I was camped at the Chisos Basin in Big Bend National Park last March when a surprise microburst hit around 2 AM. My cheap sleeping pad deflated flat in the wind and cold, and I spent the rest of the night shivering in my bag. Next morning I drove straight to the gear shop in Terlingua and dropped $200 on a Therm-a-Rest pad instead. Has anyone else had a single bad night push them toward a big upgrade like that?

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