c/camping-gear-reviews

Tracked my hiking mileage last season and hit 312 miles total

I started keeping a log on my phone just for fun and ended up with 312 miles by November. That included 14 different trails across three states. Has anyone else been surprised by their actual numbers after a season of camping trips?

Why does nobody talk about down sleeping bags losing loft after 2 seasons?

I was dead set that synthetic was the way to go forever, thought down was fragile and overpriced. Then a guy at a group campsite showed me his 6 year old down bag that still lofted up after a proper wash and dry cycle. Am I wrong to think down is actually more durable if you treat it right?

My uncle swore by a $15 tarp for years

Back in 2019 my uncle told me to never spend more than 15 bucks on a camp tarp. He said the expensive ones just have fancier packaging and you'll tear them anyway. I didn't believe him until I bought a 40 dollar tarp from a well known brand and it ripped on a tree branch the second trip out. Then I found a basic blue tarp at a hardware store for 14.50 and it's still going strong after 4 seasons. That old guy knew what he was talking about. Anybody else have a cheap piece of gear that just won't quit?

Friendly ranger warned me about cheap bear spray and I almost paid the price

A ranger at Glacier National Park told me last fall that the $12 bear spray from a discount store might not work when you really need it, but I figured it was fine since it had the same active ingredient. Three weeks ago a black bear got curious about my campsite near Sprague Creek and when I sprayed it just kind of dribbled out weak and misty. Has anyone else had cheap bear spray fail on them, or was I just unlucky with that particular can?

Tried a cheap inflatable sleeping pad from Amazon and woke up flat on the ground at 3am

So I picked up one of those no-name inflatable pads for like $25, figured it'd be fine for a weekend trip up to Lake Tahoe. First night was okay, but the second night I woke up at 3am with my hip bone digging into the dirt. The thing had a slow leak somewhere. I patched it with tape but it didn't hold. Lesson learned - don't trust a $25 pad for real camping. Anybody got a recommendation for a mid-range one that wont break the bank but also won't leave me sleeping on the ground?

Best camping trip of my life vs worst single night, can a decent tent fix both?

Last summer in the Smokies I had 5 perfect days with a $30 Walmart tent but then a sudden hailstorm at 2am turned it into a nightmare with water leaking everywhere and poles snapping, so is it better to spend big on a durable 4-season shelter or just accept that bad weather ruins any setup and plan around the forecast instead?

Just realized my 3-season tent is garbage for desert camping

I used to think any tent would work anywhere until I took my REI passage to the San Rafael Swell last spring and woke up covered in dust because the mesh let everything in. The constant wind ripped through the thin poles and I spent 5 hours trying to patch tears with duct tape. Has anyone else found that their normal backpacking tent just falls apart in high desert conditions?

My buddy Dave insisted lithium batteries are worth the extra cash for cold weather camping

He told me last November to swap my old lead-acid for a LiFePO4 before a trip to Big Bear. Sure enough, temps dropped to 18°F that night and my buddy's battery barely turned over while mine fired right up. Anybody else find lithium really makes a difference below freezing?

Stripped a tent pole repair screw for 45 minutes before realizing my mistake

Was trying to fix a snapped shock cord on my old Kelty tent last weekend and spent a solid 45 minutes fighting with the little screw on the pole ferrule. Turns out I was turning it the wrong way the whole time because the threads were reversed on that particular model. Anyone else ever waste a ton of time on a simple fix just because you assumed the hardware was standard?

Wasted $120 on a fancy camp stove that barely works

I bought this ultralight titanium stove from a new brand online and it took 20 minutes to boil a cup of water last weekend in Colorado. The flame is so weak even in calm weather you gotta babysit it forever. Has anyone else dealt with one of these overpriced micro stoves that just don't put out enough heat?

Took me 45 minutes to pitch my tent in the dark last weekend

I got to the campsite near Big Bear around 9 PM. Thought I could set up quick. Nope. Forgot I'd never practiced setting up that tent in the dark. The poles were all tangled. I kept putting them in the wrong sleeves. Tried using my phone flashlight but it died after 10 minutes. Ended up using my car headlights. Stupid mistake. Has anyone else made this kind of rookie error?

Found out my 10 year old tent had a 3x higher hydrostatic head rating than my new one

I was looking up specs for a buddy and dug out my old Coleman from 2014. The new one I bought last season says 1500mm but the old one was 4500mm. Anyone else notice gear getting worse over time or is this just a budget brand thing?

Can we talk about the guy at the campsite who changed my tent setup?

Spent 45 minutes trying to light a damp fire before my friend showed me the trick

Camped out near Lake Tahoe last weekend and everything was wet from morning dew. Tried using my usual fire starter cubes but they just fizzled out after 10 seconds. Kept adding more twigs and blowing on it like an idiot for almost an hour. Then my buddy walks over, digs some bark off a dead log, and has a roaring fire in 3 minutes. Anyone else discover a simple fix way too late into the trip?

Burned $80 on a fancy inflatable sleeping pad before I realized my old foam one didn't leak air at 2 AM

After three trips last summer waking up on cold ground with that inflatable flat as a pancake, I finally dug my old closed-cell foam pad out of the garage and slept like a rock on a rainy weekend at Lost Lake, has anyone else given up on air pads for good or am I just bad at picking them?

Hot take: My buddy with the $300 tent changed my mind about budget gear

I was bragging about my $50 Ozark Trail tent that lasted 4 seasons, but my buddy who spends weekends in the backcountry finally called me out. He said I was missing the point because one bad storm could wreck my whole trip and cost me more in ruined gear. He showed me how his tent held up in 40 mph winds last summer at Big Bend, and I honestly couldn't argue. I started looking at mid-range options under $150 that still have good reviews instead of just the cheapest thing. Has anyone else had a friend talk them into spending more on something they thought was fine?

Hike up to Eagle Lake in Tahoe and noticed something about tents

I was up at Eagle Lake near Tahoe last weekend and saw about a dozen tents set up around the shore. What caught my eye was how many people had their rain flies pulled way too tight against the tent body. You could see condensation dripping inside on a few of them. I always leave a small gap between the fly and the tent for airflow, and it made a big difference on my last trip in wet weather. Anybody else notice this at popular campsites?

Question about using a cheap rain fly tie-out repair kit

I patched a tear on my Kelty rain fly with a $8 kit from Walmart and it lasted exactly one night before peeling off in a storm. Has anyone had better luck with a specific brand of patch kits or am I better off just buying a new fly?

Shoutout to the tarp that saved my tent in a downpour

Last summer I was camped up near Loon Lake in the Sierras, middle of July, and this crazy storm rolled in out of nowhere. My tent was a decent one, but the rain fly started leaking bad right over my sleeping bag around midnight. Water was dripping on my face and soaking everything. I grabbed my cheap blue tarp I always bring but never use, tied it over my tent with some paracord I had in my bag. It held up the whole night, no leaks, kept me dry until morning. The wind picked up around 4am and I thought the whole thing would fly off, but those knots held. I learned that a simple tarp is way more useful than any fancy rain fly replacement. Has anyone else had a random piece of gear save a trip out of nowhere?

My old sleeping pad finally gave out last trip, so I tried the foam pad trick everyone mentions

I've been using the same inflatable sleeping pad for about 6 years now. It was one of those no-name ones from a big box store, but it served me fine until last month up in the Smokies. Woke up at 3 AM flat on the ground with that cold seeping right through. I didn't have a patch kit and was ready to just sleep on the tent floor. Then I remembered a guy at a campsite once told me to try a closed cell foam pad underneath instead of buying a whole new system. I had a cheap blue foam pad in my car for sitting on, so I laid it down and put my deflated pad on top. Honestly? It worked way better than I expected. Still had some ground feel, but I wasn't cold and actually got a few hours of sleep. Has anyone else run into this where a patch doesn't stick and you just have to work around it?

That guy at Yellowstone who laughed at my Walmart tent

I was setting up at a campsite near Mammoth Hot Springs last June when this older guy in a decked out van walked over and asked if I was serious about that tent. He pointed at my $40 special from Walmart and said I'd be picking up my gear out of a puddle by morning. Sure enough a thunderstorm rolled in around 3am and I spent an hour trying to keep the seams from leaking. Has anyone else had a random stranger call out their gear like that?

Hit exactly 7.3 miles on a trail I've hiked for years, turns out my old GPS was off by half a mile the whole time.

Why would a GPS unit drift that much over time, has anyone else noticed their old devices getting less accurate after a few years of heavy use?

Last weekend was a total camping gear disaster for me

I went out to Lost Maples State Park for a three day trip and my tent pole snapped on the first night. The wind picked up around 2 AM and that cheap aluminum just gave out. Spent the rest of the night sleeping in the back of my car with a rain fly over the broken tent. Has anyone else had a tent fail on them during a trip and what did you do to fix it in the moment?

My camp stove regulator gave out at 8,000 feet last Saturday

Was making coffee at first light near Estes Park and the flame just sputtered and died. Replaced the whole thing with a cheap screw-on adaptor that afternoon, has anyone else had this happen with the old twist-lock models?

Hit mile 40 on a trail I'd done 20 times before and found a creek I never knew existed

I've hiked this trail near my place for like 3 years now, always turn around at the 20 mile mark because I thought that was the end. Last month I pushed through to 40 and there was this whole hidden creek with campsites nobody uses. Sucks I wasted so many trips, but now I'm wondering what else I've been missing on other trails. Has anyone else found something major on a trail they thought they knew inside out?