Costco Gear

[KFarm]

I am not recommending, just merely showing them as I thought they were a good bargain and Costco always sell decent stuff.


Bivy Tent $99.00



The Selk Bag $199.00



Lamp and Stove $44.99


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Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday.

John Wayne

[Matt Hoffman]

[Tommy]

[steve]

jeeze-louise, relax already! i don't believe kfarm meant any harm by his post maybe some of the items he mentioned in his post might be great for someones needs, skill sets and/or budget. sorry, for the interjection as i have never posted on here before but thought matts reply was a bit harsh. not everyone posting on here is a professional hiker. i've been reading posts on this site 3-4 times daily for over 2 years. BTW matt i have a lot of respect for most of your previous comments, feedback and accomplishments.

[fairweather8588]

I think we all need to let this post waste away into AZH history with no more posts
(and for the record, I'm on matts side, WOW)
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But let the mind beware, that though the flesh be bugged, the circumstances of existence are pretty glorious


Kerouac

[Hikngrl]

[Davis2001R6]

Heck I want that Selk Bag for car camping. I can see myself now sleeping in a chair somewhere, fire or no fire. Worst case I have a Halloween costume, little work and I could really look like Gumpy Definitely not paying $200 for it though.

That is probably the ONLY stove and lamp your going to find for $45 though.

I hate bivy's so I didn't really even look at that.

Matt, one slightly harsh post in 384, I think we'll let you slide. Once you reach 10 per 100 or something more like me, then we need to talk

[Matt Hoffman]

Ok, Ok. Maybe in retrospect that post is a little harsh. But I think you guys missed my point because I didn't take the "long-winded" approach when responding.

I am not elitist. I don't think there is anything wrong with outfitting at Walmart if that is all that your budget allows. Heck, with the slumping housing market directly affecting my job, I may very well be buying gear at Walmart soon enough. With that said, the equipment shown above is Walmart quality at REI prices. I want to see people get the most for their money, and the "bargains" shown above sort of go against that. I would hate to see someone buy that silly Selk Bag, only to realize that it weighs 10lbs, packs down to the size of a Volkswagon, and doesn't keep them warm below 60º. (That's really not that much of an exaggeration.) By the way, I am not pushing the "ultralight" philosophy either.

I want you all to have the best gear that you can get, because ultimately, having better gear means having a more comfortable (better) experience in the wilderness. Yeah, some of you will say gear doesn't matter, it's all about being with the wilderness. To that I say: Why do you even bother bringing gear then? I'm sure the equipment above will meet somebody's needs perfectly. I'm pretty sure that that "somebody" is not on this site.
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"Your day-glo ballet days are over." Ancient chinese proverb.
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[Suz]

This reminds me of I hike I did in the Superstitions back in December when temps were below freezing at time at my house (I think it had been about 18 degrees the night before). We ran into some folks that had wheeled their luggage/backpacks up the trail for about 4 miles. We made a little conversation and I mentioned the night time temps and they told me that they suspected it would be about 40 or 50 degrees. At that point they decided they would build a fire and a shelter....just couldn't stand to see what they had with them. It was a bit like an urban survivorman show in the works.

[sbkelley]

And that's just the thing: I think most of the seasoned folks on this site do not own and will never own some of aforementioned gear. BUT, to the hikers who may stumble across this site with no gear in hand and no clue what to get, Costco or Wal-Mart gear will definitely get you started, no doubt. There's no need to go out and start shelling out cash for gear that you haven't tested yet. Start small, figure out what you like and don't like, then start slowly making purchases. Gear helps, but until you do your homework, having the newest, trendiest, fanciest piece of whatever won't help. I applaud the old external frame packs, along with the non-ultralight gear-carriers out there!

Shoot, I carted around an old school pack (from Target), canteens, duct tape, a first aid kit, a lighter, and an emergency blanket when I first started out hiking. And there is nothing wrong with that. You learn after awhile what to add or subtract, but you have to start somewhere.

[MikeInFHAZ]

hey! you cant bring a wheeled device into a wilderness. I would have given citizens' arrest!
I dont know about a "good deal" for those items, that Costco "always" sell decent stuff either. Ive seen plenty of junk there, and now Ive seen more. Im thinking wal-mart is cheaper for the same quality
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bridge hammock, quilts and tarp (all DIY)

what i do

[GTG]

We've all owned bought gear that we no longer use because it sucks. Those of us that make gear, have all made gear that sucks. KFarm was just posting up some stuff that he found that he though we might be interested in, and apparently we are. The items posted above may not be for everyone here but for someone first getting their feet wet in hiking/backpacking/camping, it may be just the ticket.

I'll guarantee that most of us in this for more than 5 years probably don't use ANY of the same gear that we started with because it was heavy/cheap/bulky/unuseful. That doesn't make it junk anymore than we are and it doesn't make us stupid. We all have to start somewhere and if you start with a Coleman propane stove and you're happy with it and it works because you know how to use it, your wife knows how to use it and you can get fuel for it at Frys as you head out of town, then darn dandy for you! Hike on!

Also remember that some of us have chosen this form of recreation as just that, RECREATION. Not all of us have chosen to make it our lifestyle/everything we spend random thoughts on/spend all our spare time on etc. Not all of us can make our own gear or shop 18,000 different sites to find the lightest, most advanced, newly designed gear out there.
I say FARM OUT! to you if you can though.

I'm not trying to knock anyone here but we have to remember that we have all ranges and styles here from the Hooli's to the MikeInFHAZ's to the KFarm's to the Goats etc.

Who knows, that Backside bivy with fully taped seams, waterproof zippers at 2.2 pounds may very well be a great deal, does anyone here know? It sure looks interesting to me.

Also keep this story in mind...
About 6 years ago I ran into a group of three people that had been on a backpacking, overnight trip in Sycamore Canyon on the Parsons Trail. They had big flannel sleeping bags tied with cord, enamelware pots and pans, big leather hunting boots, big heavy packs and JEANS! They were crossing swift moving water and one person could barely walk on her own on the trail much less crossing the creek with her load. You know why?
She was blind.
The gear doesn't make the person better, being able to get out there and your experiences out there does.

Now get out there and hike y'all.

</soapbox>

GTG
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Good things come to those who walk.

[BoyNhisDog]

[MikeInFHAZ]

[wrongway]

Mike,

You shop at Target? I thought you got everything at Goodwill.