c/camping-gear-reviews

Hit 50 campsites on my check-in app last weekend and it made me realize I've been buying the wrong tent stakes this whole time

I counted up 47 trips where I fought with cheap plastic stakes before finally switching to some 8-inch steel ones from a hardware store in Flagstaff for $12 and now I can set up in under 10 minutes even on rocky ground, anyone else learn a basic gear lesson way later than they should have?

Got told my tent setup was wasting time, so I changed my method completely

Last year on a trip to Shenandoah, a guy walked past my campsite while I was staking down my 6-person tent and said I was doing it backwards. He pointed out that I was anchoring the corners first instead of getting the poles fully seated and the rainfly clipped on before staking. I was skeptical at first, but he explained it cuts down on flapping and keeps the inner tent off the ground better in wet weather. I tried it his way on my next trip to a rainy spot in Ohio, and it saved me about 15 minutes of fiddling with loose fabric. Now I always do poles and fly first, then stakes last. Has anyone else had a stranger's advice completely change their routine like that?

Rant: Just found out my fancy lightweight tent poles cost more than my first car

I was looking up why my Big Agnes tent pole snapped on the third trip (just below the mid ferrule, classic spot). Found some forum deep dive where a guy broke down the cost of DAC Featherlite poles versus the standard ones. Figured it was a tiny markup for the weight savings. Nope. It's like 3 times the price per section. My beater Honda Civic from 1998 cost me 800 bucks. These replacement poles are going to run me $240 for a full set. I could buy a whole other tent for that. Anyone else feel like the ultralight tax is getting out of hand?

Hot take: I used to think a cheaper sleeping pad was fine

Talked to a guy at REI last weekend who had the same inflatable pad I do but the 4-inch thick version. He said after one bad night on gravel he'd rather haul the extra pound. I tried his setup for 5 minutes in the store and yeah, I get it now. Anybody else switch to the thicker pads after a rough night?

My camp stove regulator gave out halfway through breakfast last weekend

I was making coffee and eggs at Grayson Highlands when the flame started sputtering and just died - turns out the regulator had rusted inside from a rainy trip two years ago. Has anyone else had a stove part fail unexpectedly on a trip and what did you do to finish cooking?

Rant: I heard a group of hikers at REI saying 'you don't need a footprint under your tent' and I almost lost it

I was browsing the clearance section at the REI in Denver last Saturday and overheard these three guys telling a new camper that tent footprints are a scam for saving money. I mean, maybe it's just me but I spent $35 on a generic footprint for my tent and it saved my floor from a sharp rock on my second trip out near Estes Park. That guy's advice would have shredded a $200 tent floor over a cheap piece of Tyvek. Has anyone else had to bite their tongue listening to bad gear advice from know-it-alls in the store?

Debate: Is a heavy canvas tent actually better than a cheap nylon one? I switched and here's what happened

I spent the last 2 years using a cheap nylon dome tent from Walmart that cost me like $60. It worked fine for car camping but last summer in the Smoky Mountains a storm rolled in and the thing started leaking at the seams and the poles felt like they were gonna snap. So I finally bit the bullet and bought a 10x10 canvas bell tent from a guy on Craigslist for $300. First trip out with it was this past spring and I gotta say the thing was a beast. No leaks, stayed warm inside, and felt solid in the wind. But man it weighs like 70 pounds and took me 20 minutes to set up alone. The nylon one took 5 minutes and I could carry it with one hand. So which side wins? The canvas is clearly tougher and more comfortable in bad weather but the nylon is way easier to haul and pitch. Has anyone else switched from one to the other and regretted it or been happy with the change? I'm curious where people land on this.

My old two-burner stove finally gave out after 12 years, switched to a canister stove for a week trip.

I used the same Coleman propane stove since 2012 and it served me well through dozens of trips. Last month on a trip to Shenandoah, one of the burners started sputtering and the other wouldn't light at all. I picked up a simple single-burner canister stove for about $30 to finish the trip. The difference in boil time was shocking, it brought water to a rolling boil in under 2 minutes compared to 5 or 6 with the old one. Has anyone else noticed a big jump in performance switching to these smaller stoves?

Just switched from a foam pad to an inflatable after 10 years

I used to swear by my closed-cell foam pad, thought inflatables were fragile and overpriced. Then I borrowed my buddy's Therm-a-Rest at Borrowdale last month during a rainy trip, woke up actually rested for the first time in years. Anyone else make the switch and find it harder to go back than they expected?

Who knew sleeping bag temps are tested with a dummy??

Was looking at the tag on my old Coleman bag and saw it said 'EN tested' so I looked that up. Turns out they use a mannequin with sensors in a lab to rate those comfort and limit temps. Not like, a real person shivering in a tent somewhere. Kinda explains why I woke up freezing when it was 20F and my bag was rated for 15F. Anyone else ever get burned by those ratings?

Switched from a down bag to a synthetic one after that rainy trip last spring

Switched from a 15-year old coleman to a modern 4-season tent last fall and wow

I used to just use this beat up old coleman dome tent my dad gave me back in 2008. It was fine for summer car camping where it never gets below 50 at night. Then last October I did a trip up near Lake Placid and temps dropped to 28. I woke up with frost on the inside of the fly and my sleeping bag wet. That was the last straw. Picked up a used MSR Access 2 from someone on craigslist for $200. The difference in wind stability and no condensation is night and day. Anyone else make a similar jump from old gear to something newer and feel dumb for waiting so long?

Visited Yosemite last month and it hit me how useless my old rain fly was

I went up to Yosemite last month for a 4 day trip, and the second night a storm rolled in around 2 AM. My six year old rain fly turned into a puddle catcher instead of shedding water, and I woke up with my sleeping bag soaked and my tent floor floating. The weight of the wet gear on my pack the next morning was brutal, maybe 5 extra pounds of water. That experience made me realize I've been cheaping out on something that's literally the difference between a good trip and a miserable one. I spent 4 hours drying everything out by a fire and still had damp socks for two days. So now I'm wondering, what rain fly material actually holds up in heavy rain without weighing a ton? I'm budgeting around $80 to replace it. Has anyone else had a similar wake up call with their shelter gear?

I finally tried a hammock setup last weekend and I don't get the hype

Everyone on here swears by hammock camping but I gave it a real shot at Lake Georgetown on Saturday night. Woke up with my back all twisted up after maybe 4 hours of sleep because I kept sliding down. I set it up with a ridgeline and the right angle just like the tutorials say, but it still felt like sleeping in a taco. Spent $60 on a decent one from a local outfitter and now I'm just wishing I had my tent back. Is there some trick I'm missing or do people just pretend to love these things?

My tent pole snapped in the middle of a storm last weekend

I was camping up near Lake George and a big gust of wind came through around 2am. The aluminum pole just cracked right at the joint, no warning at all. I ended up duct taping it and finding a lean-to to wait out the rain, but has anyone else had a pole fail like that on a newer tent?

I wasted $350 on a titanium camp stove that barely boils water

Everyone online raves about those tiny titanium wood stoves for backpacking. I bought one from a popular brand last spring and took it on a trip up near Mount Rainier. In theory it's great, light weight and no fuel canisters. But in practice I spent 45 minutes trying to get a pot of water to a weak simmer. The wind killed it completely even with a DIY windscreen. I ended up just eating cold food that night and wished I'd brought my old $30 propane stove instead. Anyone else fall for the ultralight hype and regret it?

Unpopular opinion: Those ultra-light backpacking stoves are overrated for most trips

I used to swear by my titanium canister stove for every hike, but after a 3-day trip in the Smokies last fall where the canister ran out mid-boil, I switched back to my old liquid fuel stove that I bought for $40 in 2019. The canister stoves are fine for short weekend trips, but for anything over 2 nights or in cold weather, the liquid fuel is way more reliable because you can refill it and it works below freezing. My friends think I'm crazy carrying the extra 6 ounces, but I'd rather have hot coffee every morning than save that tiny bit of weight. Has anyone else gone back to an older, heavier setup after a gear failure messed up your trip?

Got a nylon tarp stuck to a tent pole in 90 degree heat last Saturday

Was setting up near Lake Tahoe and the tarp basically melted onto the pole. Had to peel it off with a knife and it left sticky residue. Anybody know a fix for getting melted nylon off aluminum poles?

My $80 sleeping pad failed on night 1 in the Smokies

I bought this insulated pad from a big box store thinking it would hold up. By 2 AM I was lying on cold ground with a slow leak I couldn't find. Anyone else had luck patching these things on the trail?

Guy at an REI parking lot told me my tent stakes were garbage

Some dude loading his car saw me struggling with those cheap plastic stakes that came with my tent. He walked over and said "those will snap the first time the ground gets hard." I brushed him off but sure enough, two trips later at a site in Big Sur, I broke three of them trying to get them into dry dirt. Ended up using rocks to hold the corners down all weekend. Picked up a set of MSR Groundhogs after that and they've lasted through 15 trips with no issues. Has anyone else had bad luck with the stakes that come free with tents?

The summer my tent flooded on night one in the Smokies

Back in 2019 I drove down to the Smokies for a weeklong trip. Set up my old REI tent near a creek because the guidebook said it was a good spot. That night it poured like crazy and I woke up floating in about two inches of water. The seam tape on the floor had completely peeled off somewhere over the years. Spent the next morning drying everything on a picnic table with a camp towel that smelled like mildew. Rented a crappy cabin for the rest of the week just to save the trip. Still use that tent for dry weather but I check every seam before I go now. Anyone else had a brand new trip ruined by old gear that seemed fine?

Debating whether a $200 sleeping pad was worth it after a freezing night in the Smokies

I spent $200 on an insulated sleeping pad for a trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park last month. The first night was 32 degrees and I slept warm, no issues at all. But the second night I woke up shivering because the ground was colder than I expected, even with the pad. So did that pad really save me, or did I just get lucky with the weather? Has anyone else paid up for insulation and regretted it, or swear by it?

Hit 50 nights camping this year. Didn't realize until I counted.

I was looking through my calendar last week. Just adding up weekend trips. Got to 50 nights out in a tent. That's more than I've done in the last 3 years combined. Half of those were at state parks in Ohio. Made me realize my old sleeping pad was not cutting it. Bought a new one with a higher R-value. Anyone else keep track of their total nights per season?

Old timer at a campsite in Montana gave me bad advice about tent staking

I was setting up in some rocky ground near Glacier last fall and a guy in the next spot told me to just use big rocks on the stakes instead of finding a better spot. He said it's fine, it'll hold... well a wind came through around 2am and my tent collapsed on me. Woke up with a pole snapped and my face in the dirt. Had to pack up and drive two hours to a motel. Anyone else run into advice from strangers that made your trip worse?

Bought a $12 inflatable pillow from a gas station in Montana expecting it to pop by morning

Three years and twelve camping trips later that stupid thing is still holding air better than my $80 memory foam pad, what gives?