A $400.00 tent is not going to protect you any better then an $80.00 tent. I have been a serous tent camper for going on 40-years and used a lot of tents. As long as you get the right features they all will do the job. And they all need to be replaced about every 4-years. The sun and weather is hard on them and even if you recoat them with waterproofing 4-years is about it. The stress points start to go, they don’t repel water, the zippers start to go. Better to just buy new and pass the old one on to some kids. I use to buy MSR or Eureka tents because they were good quality. But I found the less expensive ones do just as good a job.


It’s nice to have what you see as the best or highest quality, but you can get along nicely without buying the most expensive item, and get along well. As an example I bought a Thermette because I liked it, it was a neat way to boil water. But it cost $110.00. And while it’s nice, I really could have lived fine with an old goodwill pan and a campfire. But I like the way the Thermette works.



I think it helps to always be thinking about what to have in your BOB or to have camping in the back of your mind while out shopping. Garage sales, Wal-Mart and all the dollar stores, Goodwill & Salvation Army, are all a great place to find useful stuff.

Always try to have some money on you to take advantage of these items that seem to pop up.

Yea there is some junk out there (can you say China?) but you can find a lot of good useful items without spending a lot. I bought a Kelty external frame backpack from the Goodwill store for $4.00, I would guess it is a mid 1980s made pack. But it is in great shape.


Multi tools are great (I love my Leatherman Tool and my Swiss Army Knife. But you could put together a small pouch that has all the tools in it that a $100.00 Leatherman tool has on it, and for only $10.00. It’s not as small, but it will cost a lot less. Think about all the items you feel you need in a BOB and apply a bit of rethinking or down engineering and you will find a way to get by for much less and still do what needs to be done.