c/camping-gear-reviews

Finally found the perfect camp chair after 3 years of trying cheap ones

I bought one of those $30 folding chairs from Target last month for a weekend trip up to Lake Tahoe, and it sank into the dirt the first night, no joke. Then I tried my buddy's fancy chair he got from REI a few years back, and it was way sturdier with these wide feet that don't dig in. So last week I bit the bullet and spent $80 on a similar one with a cup holder and a side table built in. It survived a whole rainy weekend without rusting or tipping over, which is more than I can say for the last three chairs I owned. Honestly, I should have just paid up from the start instead of thinking I could get away with the clearance stuff. Has anyone else found that spending a little more on camp chairs actually saves money in the long run?

That cheap sleeping pad I bought on Amazon leaked air after 2 nights

Bought a $25 sleeping pad off Amazon for a 4 day trip in Shenandoah. By night 2 I was waking up on the ground with my hip digging into rocks. Anyone know a good way to patch these things or should I just toss it?

Just realized the Coleman 4-person tent was the wrong choice for my family

Two years ago I had to decide between the Coleman Sundome 4-person and the REI Co-op Base Camp 4 for our trips to that campground near Lake Tahoe. I picked the Coleman because it was $120 cheaper and I figured we only go camping a few times a year. After two trips with my wife and our two kids, I regret it. The rain fly barely covers the mesh and water got in through the corners during a storm last June. The poles are flimsy too I had one snap on the third setup. We ended up sleeping in the car that night. Anyone else find that the more expensive tent pays for itself after a few uses?

Vent: My $60 sleeping pad lasted exactly one rocky trip before it leaked

I used to think any cheap foam pad would do the trick for camping. Bought this one off Amazon last spring, took it to a site in the Smokies, and by the second night I was waking up on hard ground. Turns out the foam was barely an inch thick and tore against a stray root. Now I'm looking at inflatable pads with a higher R-value, but I'm worried about durability. Anyone else get burned by budget gear that seemed fine in the store?

Vent: That $80 tent footprint I bought last year was a complete ripoff.

Took it out to Lake Tahoe last weekend and the thing shredded after one night on gravel. Anyone else given up on brand-specific footprints and just use a tarp instead?

Used to think a cheap sleeping pad was fine until my back gave out at Yosemite

I camped for years with a $15 foam pad, figured it was good enough since I was young. But after three nights on rocky ground at Yosemite last fall, I woke up with my hips aching so bad I couldn't hike half a mile. Switched to a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite for $190 and now I actually sleep through the night, which makes a huge difference when you're carrying a pack all day. Has anyone else dealt with that mid-30s back pain switch where you suddenly need real support?

Took me 8 trips to realize I was packing my tent wrong

I kept shoving the poles and rainfly into the stuff sack separately for 3 years. It was my neighbor at a campsite near Lake Tahoe who showed me you're supposed to bundle them all together and roll the fabric around them. Has anyone else missed something this basic after years of camping?

Woke up to a snapped tent pole in the rain last Saturday and somehow turned it around

I was on the Blue Ridge trail near Asheville and one of my cheap aluminum poles just gave up at 3am during a storm. Had to rig it with a branch and some duct tape to make it through the night. Next morning the sun came out and I patched it up well enough to finish the trip. Anyone else had a pole snap and have to MacGyver a fix on the fly?

My sleeping pad debate ended with a foamie instead of an inflatable

I spent two weeks going back and forth between a Therm-a-Rest Z Lite and a Nemo Tensor for a 3 night trip in Shenandoah, and went with the foam pad to avoid worrying about punctures. Turns out it's way more comfortable than I expected on rocky ground, but man, packing it on the outside of my pack is annoying. Has anyone else switched from inflatable to foam and actually stuck with it?

Tried a hammock camping setup for the first time this weekend

I usually sleep on the ground with my tent and pad, but I grabbed a $40 hammock from a garage sale to try out. Got it hung up between two trees at the camp spot by the lake, and I actually slept way better than in my tent! Has anyone else made the switch from tents to hammocks and found it worth the extra setup effort?

The moment I realized I'd been pitching my tent wrong for like 5 years

So I've been camping in the same old dome tent since I bought it at a garage sale near Denton. I always set it up with the rainfly pulled super tight against the tent body because I thought that's how you keep water out. Last trip to Lake Ray Roberts it poured all night and I woke up soaked. I was so frustrated until this guy at the next site came over and pointed out my rainfly was touching the tent wall, basically wicking moisture right through. He said you gotta keep it loose and allow air gap. I felt like such a moron. Has anyone else had that facepalm moment where you realized a basic setup thing you've been doing wrong? I've got another trip coming up in June and I'm paranoid I'm messing up something else basic.

TIL that sleeping pad R-values are total BS after comparing three top rated models last weekend

I was at REI reading the box on a Therm-a-Rest and noticed the R-value listed was 4.2, but then I saw an REI Co-op pad with the exact same R-value for half the price. So I bought both plus a generic Amazon one, took them out to 38 degree weather in Big Bear, and the cheap pad was actually warmer than the expensive Therm-a-Rest. Has anyone else tested this or am I just getting unlucky with specific pads?

Got caught in a surprise hail storm in Rocky Mountain National Park with a bargain tent

Back in June I was hiking near Dream Lake when the sky went from blue to dark gray in maybe 20 minutes. I had this $45 tent from Amazon that I bought because the reviews looked decent. No time to make it back to the car so I set up camp right there. Hail started coming down hard, dime sized chunks. The tent poles bent weird and a seam split along the rainfly. Water dumped in through the tear in about 5 minutes. I ended up huddled under a tarp I had in my pack for the next 3 hours until it passed. Lesson was I need to decide if cheap gear is worth the risk in the backcountry. Do you all lean toward spending more on shelter and skimping on something else or is it all worth the upgrade?

Rant: My $80 camp stove gave out on day two of a week-long trip

I was out in the Shenandoah mountains last month, maybe 10 miles from the trailhead, and my stove just stopped working. It's one of those compact butane stoves, worked fine on day one, but on day two the valve got stuck and wouldn't let any gas out. I tried shaking it, tapping it, even took the canister off and put it back on, nothing. Ended up having to boil water over a fire for the next 5 days, which took forever and left all my pots black with soot. The worst part was I bought this stove because the reviews online were all 4 stars, guess they didn't test it for more than one meal. Has anyone else had a stove die on them mid-trip and what did you switch to?

My tent pole snapped at 2 AM during a storm in the Smokies

I was stuck in a downpour near Clingmans Dome when the main aluminum pole on my three-season tent just cracked in half, so I ended up using paracord and a hiking pole to keep it up til morning; anyone else had a tent fail in the middle of the night?

Why does nobody talk about how sleeping pad insulation drops off after 2 years?

I got 3 seasons out of my Therm-a-Rest before I woke up shivering at 40 degrees last fall, but the R-value sticker says it should handle 20. Is there a standard lifespan on these that I just missed, or did I get a dud?

Hit 50 nights in my tent this year and changed my mind about sleeping pads

I always thought cheap foam pads were fine since I'm a tough sleeper, but after night 48 in Olympic National Park I woke up with my hip digging into a root and realized I was done. So I finally grabbed a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir at REI for like $180 and now I get why people spend the money. Has anyone else held out on upgrading something basic for way too long?

Why does it take three hours to set up a tent that claims to be "10 minute setup"?

I bought one of those instant pop up tents last spring from a big box store. The box said 10 minutes, maybe 15 if you were slow. After 45 minutes of fighting with bent poles and a rainfly that didn't match the instructions, I was ready to toss the whole thing in the dumpster. Finally got it standing after an hour and a half. Then the next morning it took another hour to get it back in the bag. Has anyone else dealt with this gap between what the company advertises and what happens in real life?

Switched from a standard tent footprint to a Tyvek groundsheet after a muddy trip in the Smokies

The difference was night and day because the Tyvek kept everything bone dry and didn't absorb water like my old polyester one did, and it cost me $12 at a local hardware store instead of $45 online, so has anyone else made the swap and noticed their gear lasting longer?

Hit 100 nights camping last year without even realizing it

I was going through my journal entries from last fall and added up all the nights I spent outdoors. It came out to exactly 103 nights between March and November. That caught me off guard because I never set out to hit any kind of goal. Most of those were weekend trips to a spot near the Deschutes River in Oregon. Has anyone else tracked their nights out and been surprised by the total?

Last summer I hit 40 nights camping and it surprised me how much it changed my outlook

My buddy's comment about my tent stakes hit me harder than I expected

He said I looked like I was fighting my gear instead of using it, and after 8 years of backpacking in the Sierra Nevadas, I realized he was right about how I always jam stakes in at a bad angle. Has anyone else had a friend point out a simple fix that totally changed how you camp?

Rant: That $30 solar lantern I bought off Amazon was a total waste

Last summer I grabbed one of those cheap solar lanterns for like 30 bucks thinking it'd be perfect for camping at Lake Shasta. First night out it was bright for maybe an hour then dimmed to nothing by 9 PM. I left it in the sun all day too right on my picnic table. Second trip I brought it back and same thing happened. I ended up using my phone flashlight to find my tent zipper in the dark. Has anyone else had bad luck with those no-name solar lights or is there a decent budget brand that actually holds a charge?

Can we talk about how everyone sets up their rain fly wrong

I was at Rocky Mountain National Park last weekend and saw three different groups all pitch their tents with the rain fly touching the inner tent. That's a sure way to wake up soaked because condensation will just run straight through. I learned this the hard way after a miserable night at Bear Lake in 2022, so please leave air gap of at least 4 inches between the fly and the tent body. Has anyone else noticed this mistake becoming more common?

Overheard a guy at REI in Denver say his tent collapsed on him last week

I was in line at REI last Saturday and this guy was telling the cashier how his $80 tent folded up during a storm near Estes Park. He said the poles just snapped like twigs when the wind kicked up around 2 AM. It made me realize I've been skimping on tent quality for years, just grabbing whatever's cheap on Amazon. Has anyone else had a tent fail on them in bad weather?