Camping gear?

[motoman]

I'm starting a search for camping gear, a tent being the big thing right now, and I'm out of the loop when it comes to this stuff. I know of REI but where are the other places to get this stuff? What are the better brands to go with? I know Dicks has some of this stuff but I'm guessing the quality they carry isn't quite the same as what REI would carry.

[Sean88gt]

RV world.

[motoman]

RV world.

Is this the place you're talking about? http://www.campingworld.com/stores/stores.cfm?store=41

[Jose]

I'm starting a search for camping gear, a tent being the big thing right now, and I'm out of the loop when it comes to this stuff. I know of REI but where are the other places to get this stuff? What are the better brands to go with? I know Dicks has some of this stuff but I'm guessing the quality they carry isn't quite the same as what REI would carry.

How often will you be going camping and in what kind of weather? How big of a tent will you need (how many people). If you don't camp to often and won't be in cold or wet weather I would just go with a cheap Walmart tent. No sense spending more money on something you won't use to often or can't benefit from a more expensive model. My cheap Walmart tent has kept me fairly dry in a pretty intense rain storm that lasted a couple of hours and has kept me fairly warm down to the low 40's but really lacked good ventilation for real hot weather which I was miserable in.

[Strychnine]

https://www.backcountry.com

https://www.geartrade.com

https://www.gearattack.com

[Chopped54]

Cabela's

[mustang_revival]

Academy. REI is overpriced, but good for specialty items.

[Falcongunner]

How often will you be going camping and in what kind of weather? How big of a tent will you need (how many people). If you don't camp to often and won't be in cold or wet weather I would just go with a cheap Walmart tent. No sense spending more money on something you won't use to often or can't benefit from a more expensive model. My cheap Walmart tent has kept me fairly dry in a pretty intense rain storm that lasted a couple of hours and has kept me fairly warm down to the low 40's but really lacked good ventilation for real hot weather which I was miserable in.

This is good advice. I do some serious backpacking and good and light gear is expensive. My base pack weight is around 8bs. That’s pack, seeping bag, tent, stove. For car camping I have a few tents from wamart and academy that work just fine. Cheap tent, cheap but heavy bag, coleman stove should total out about $200 from academy for a two person setup. Rei has quality equipment and is well stocked. They also have better stock online. I buy most of my gear at Campsaver http://www.campsaver.com/ or Backcountry http://www.backcountry.com/ but if you go for quality gear do some research before ordering. For serious backpacking try the forums at Backpacker.com

Wayne in FW

[Cobraman]

Bass pro shops my dude.

[Chuck]

REI has a lot of quality stuff, but it's pricey. I'm cheap, so I purchased most of my gear from Academy and Dicks.

I have a Field & Stream tent I bought from Dicks. Aside from being a pain to put up by myself, it has held up well. I’ve probably spent 60+ nights in it in the last two years and it doesn’t have a lot of wear.

A lot of my other gear is just Coleman, and most will last forever if cared for properly.

[SlowLX]

Get an alice pack, poncho liner, shovel, knife, hatchet, and camelback and you're g2g.

[motoman]

How often will you be going camping and in what kind of weather? How big of a tent will you need (how many people). If you don't camp to often and won't be in cold or wet weather I would just go with a cheap Walmart tent. No sense spending more money on something you won't use to often or can't benefit from a more expensive model. My cheap Walmart tent has kept me fairly dry in a pretty intense rain storm that lasted a couple of hours and has kept me fairly warm down to the low 40's but really lacked good ventilation for real hot weather which I was miserable in.

Definitely once a month, trying to make it twice a month. Looking for at least a 3 season tent with a nice rain fly. Won't have to worry about the cold too much because we don't have a long winter around here. Probably a 2-3 person would work.

Thanks for the replies, I'll start checking some of this stuff out.

[motoman]

What should a decent 2-3 person 3 season tent cost? I'm seeing them from $70 to over $200.

[ThreeFingerPete]

Depends on what you consider decent. I have one that I no longer use that I'll make you a good deal on. it was ~180 From REI. I'll sell it for 60$ I now camp exclusively in a hammock.

[JimD]

Jeep and camping, cool we do that too, but fuck a tent, motorhome,a/c, stove, tv, generator....did i mention a/c? What you planning on doing in summer. It was hot in that motorhome with the ac full blast, can't imagine trying to sleep in a tent.