c/camping-gear-reviews

The day I stopped using a camp stove windscreen

Cooked bacon at 10,000 feet last summer and it took 45 minutes. My buddy pointed out my windscreen was trapping too much heat near the canister. Swapped to a simple twig fire for wind protection and had breakfast done in 15. Has anyone else ruined a trip by overcomplicating their stove setup?

Question about tent stakes: Was I pounding them in backwards for 5 years?

I was camping at Lake Tahoe last weekend and a gust of wind almost took my tent down. A guy at the next site pointed out I had the stakes angled away from the tent instead of toward it. Has anyone else made this mistake or am I the only one who never read the instructions?

Debate: Is a $300 tent really better than a $100 one after 3 years of use?

Switched from a heavy Coleman tent to a lightweight backpacking one last summer and it changed everything

I used to haul my old 8-pound tent for years because I thought it was fine for car camping trips near Denver. Then I borrowed a friend's 3-pound ultralight tent on a rainy hike and realized I was done carrying all that extra weight. Has anyone else made this switch and felt like they were missing out for way too long?

Discovered a way to dry out wet boots overnight without ruining them

I was sick of wet boots every morning after rainy hikes. Tried stuffing them with newspaper and setting them near a fan on low. It worked way better than my old trick of using a campfire which just damaged the leather.

Just passed 50 nights in my hammock setup this year

I've been keeping a little log of my camping trips, and this weekend I hit 50 nights sleeping in my hammock this year. That caught me off guard, I figured I was maybe at 35. It matters to me because I switched from a tent two years ago and was worried I'd regret it. I'm in the Pacific Northwest so rain has been a real test for my tarp skills. So far so good, but has anyone else found a good way to keep your underquilt dry when packing up in a downpour?

That time my tent collapsed and I learned about guy lines the hard way

Last summer at Lake Tahoe I set up my old dome tent in about 10 minutes without bothering to stake the guy lines. Wind picked up around 2 AM and that thing folded in half right on top of me. I spent the next hour trying to untangle poles with a headlamp while my dog sat on my sleeping bag looking at me like I was an idiot. Has anyone else learned a basic camping lesson after a really stupid mistake?

Tried setting up my tent in a windstorm at Big Sur last weekend

I got to my campsite near Pfeiffer Beach around 5 PM and the gusts were easily 40 mph. My tent pole snapped before I even got the rainfly on, and I spent 20 minutes chasing my sleeping pad across the parking lot. Has anyone else just given up and slept in their car instead of fighting the wind?

I finally stopped buying into the $300 tent hype after a rainy weekend

Overheard a guy at REI saying 'you need at least a 4-season tent for any rain' and had to laugh, my $80 Coleman has held up through 3 straight days of downpours in Oregon without a leak. Anyone else think the gear industry is just upselling us on features we don't actually need?

TIL my 3-season tent hit 200 nights before I finally replaced it

I was flipping through my camping log book last night to plan a trip for next month. I added up all the nights from the last 5 years and that old REI tent I bought used for $80 had 208 nights on it. I always thought I'd swap it out after 100 nights but it just kept going. The zippers are sticky and one pole sleeve has a patch from duct tape but it still kept me dry in a storm last June up near Lake George. Finally ordered a new one this week but that number surprised me. Anyone else track how long their gear actually lasts before tossing it?

Appreciation post: Ditching my backpacking stove for cold soaking

I used to haul a full MSR stove setup on every trip, even short overnights in the Smokies, and it added nearly 2 pounds to my pack. After a rainy trip last April where I couldn't get it lit and ended up eating cold ramen anyway, I switched to cold soaking meals in a wide-mouth jar. Has anyone else made this change and found it works better for certain trips, or do you still prefer a hot meal no matter what?

My tent zipper blew out during a storm in the Smokies last October

I was camped at Elkmont around midnight when the wind picked up and my main zipper just split apart. Had to use paracord and a trash bag to jury-rig the door shut for the rest of the night. Has anyone found a reliable way to fix tent zippers on the trail or do you just pack a backup shelter?

I used to swear by my $80 coleman sleeping bag for years

For like 5 years I took that heavy green bag on every trip from the Smokies to Big Bend. I thought spending more was dumb, a sleeping bag is a sleeping bag right? Then last spring I borrowed my buddy's down quilt on a wet night in the Shenandoahs. I woke up actually warm and my pack was like 3 pounds lighter. That one night convinced me to drop $250 on a used quilt from r/geartrade. Now I won't go back. The weight difference is huge when you're hiking 8 miles to a site. Anyone else make the switch from cheap bags to something lighter and regret waiting so long?

Pro tip: don't cheap out on your tent footprint like I did.

Last summer I had to choose between a $30 generic footprint from Amazon or a $75 one from the same brand as my tent. I went cheap because I figured it's just a piece of fabric. First night in Olympic National Park, the generic one ripped along the seam after a light rain and soaked my tent floor. I spent the next morning drying everything out on a rock. Lesson learned. Has anyone else had a tent accessory fail on them like this?

Bought a $90 sleeping pad that leaked air for 6 months before I checked the valve cap

I was out near Lake Tahoe last month and woke up on the ground for the third time this year. My buddy Rob asked why I didn't just tighten the valve cap. I told him I always checked it, but he walked over and gave it a quarter turn and it sealed tight. Turns out the rubber gasket inside was loose from the factory and I had been blaming the pad itself for months. Has anyone else had a fix this simple on their gear?

TIL that my $45 tent from Walmart has a hydrostatic head rating of only 800mm

Found it on a gear spreadsheet someone posted in a backpacking sub, and after 3 hours of rain last weekend my sleeping bag was totally soaked has anyone else tested theirs and found it way lower than you thought?

That cheap tarp I bought for $15 tore on the second rainy night

I always thought tarps were tarps, but after a storm in the Smokies my cheap one shredded and soaked my whole tent. My buddy's $40 Kelty tarp held up fine. Anybody have a brand they swear by for heavy rain?

Hit 100 nights in my hammock setup last season - here's what surprised me

I finally hit 100 nights sleeping in my hammock instead of a tent over the course of last summer and fall. What got me was how much warmer I stayed compared to a ground tent, even with just a basic underquilt from OneTigris. The real game changer was realizing I never woke up with a sore back like I used to on the ground. Has anyone else tracked their nights in a specific setup and found something unexpected?

Question about down vs synthetic bags in wet conditions

I tested a 650 fill down bag against a synthetic one on a 4 day trip in Olympic National Park with rain every day. The synthetic bag stayed warm even when damp, the down bag turned into a wet mess by night three. Am I missing something with treating down, or is synthetic just the way to go for PNW trips?

My old sleeping pad was fine for years until I camped on actual rocks

Used that basic foam pad for like 5 years and thought it was fine. Took it out to Joshua Tree last spring and woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. The ground there was so uneven and hard I could feel every little pebble through the pad. Finally broke down and bought a 3 inch inflatable one after that trip. Anybody else have a piece of gear that suddenly stopped working for them after a change in terrain?

Overheard a guy at REI say his $40 tent lasted 8 years

I was browsing sleeping bags last Saturday when this older guy told the clerk his budget Coleman tent has survived 60+ trips without a single tear. It made me rethink my whole approach to gear because I've been chasing ultralight stuff that costs 5x as much. Has anyone else had a cheap piece of gear totally hang in there way longer than expected?

Cheap tarp vs. the fancy branded one - did a side by side last weekend

I've always used the $10 blue tarps from the hardware store for rain cover over my tent. But last weekend it poured for like 8 hours straight and water started pooling on top. My buddy had one of those heavier duty Kelty tarps, the 10x10 kind that costs like $60. His stayed tight and dry underneath the whole time. I had to go out at 3am and poke a stick up to drain mine. The grommets on mine ripped out too, so now I gotta buy a new one. Has anyone else had that problem with the cheap blue ones where they just don't hold up in real rain?

Finally found a way to dry out my tent after a rainy weekend

I've been fighting with tent drying for years after trips. Last month I came back from a 3 day trip in the Smokies and everything was soaked. I tried hanging it in the garage but it stayed damp for 4 days and started to smell. Then I read a tip online about using a box fan and a cheap camping clothesline setup inside my basement. I set up the fan on low pointed at the tent draped over the line and it was bone dry in about 6 hours. No more mildew smell and it saved me from buying a new tent. Has anyone else tried this method or found a better way?

My old camp stove took 12 minutes to boil water, but the new one does it in under four.

I finally swapped out my 10-year-old single burner after a cold morning in the Adirondacks. The difference in fuel efficiency and speed is honestly shocking. What's the biggest performance jump you've seen from upgrading a piece of gear?

Found out my old tent fabric loses half its waterproofing after 5 years, even stored in a closet

I was reading a report from a gear testing lab in Colorado, the kind that puts stuff through crazy weather simulators. They said the PU coating on most basic tent rainflies breaks down over time just from air exposure, not just sun or use. They tested a bunch of tents and found a big drop in waterproof rating after about five years, even for gear stored dry. I checked my own 6-year-old two-person tent from a big box store, and sure enough, water started beading way slower than it used to. It makes me think we should talk more about gear lifespan, not just initial reviews. Is it better to buy a cheaper tent and plan to replace it, or spend a lot more on a fancy fabric that might last longer? What's your take on when a tent is truly done?