c/camping-gear-reviews

Figured out I was pitching my tent with the rainfly too tight for 8 years

I was on a trip in the Smokies last month and a guy walked past my site while I was struggling with condensation inside. He just said, 'loosen up your fly, there's no airflow.' I thought it had to be drum tight to keep water out, but he was right. I let out about 3 inches of slack on each side and woke up dry for the first time in forever. Anyone else have a basic setup habit they only caught by accident?

Wish someone told me years ago: cheap sleeping pads lose their R-value fast

I bought a $30 foam pad from a big box store back in 2018 and used it for maybe 10 trips over two years around the Smokies. Last spring I borrowed a friend's Therm-a-Rest and slept warm on a 40 degree night, while my old pad left me shivering. The cheaper pads just compress down to nothing after a few uses, they don't bounce back like the good ones. Anybody else notice their budget gear failing way sooner than expected?

Vent: Spent $40 on a fancy camp stove that barely boiled water until I tried using a wind screen from an old pizza box

I was about to give up on cooking dinner after 20 minutes of watching my pot sit there lukewarm at 9,000 feet near Estes Park, but folding up that greasy cardboard actually blocked the gusts and had my water rolling in under 5 minutes, has anyone else MacGyvered their way through a stubborn stove issue?

My buddy the park ranger told me I've been treating my tent wrong for 10 years

Was out at Shenandoah last weekend with my friend Dave who works there. He saw me packing up my tent and just shook his head. Told me I should never roll a tent up the same way twice because it wears out the same crease spots every time. Said to stuff it loose in a sack instead. I've been rolling my tent tight like a sleeping bag since I was a kid. Makes sense when you think about it but nobody ever told me. Has anyone else heard this or is Dave just being extra?

Why does nobody talk about sleeping pad R-value being a lie?

I spent three nights shivering at 40 degrees in Yosemite last month on a pad rated for 20 degrees. Turns out most brands test R-value in a lab at like 70 degrees with no wind. My buddy brought a $60 foam pad and slept fine. What brand actually measures under real conditions?

Burned through a cheap tarp in one night at Big Sur last month

I was camping near the coast last month and slapped up a $15 tarp for rain cover. The wind picked up around 2 AM and the grommets ripped clean out, smacking me in the face with wet nylon. Had to pack up at 3 AM and drive home soaked and grumpy. I'm wondering if silicone coated tarps actually hold up better for coastal trips, or is that just marketing hype? Has anyone tested one against a standard poly tarp in real wind?

That rainy week when my tent seam tape peeled off completely

I was out at Lost Lake campground for 5 days straight and on day two the seam tape inside my tent just started curling off in sheets like old stickers. By day four I had water dripping on my sleeping bag and had to rig up a tarp inside the tent just to stay dry. Has anyone else had a tent fail on them during a long trip and what did you do to fix it on the spot?

That moment a guy named Dave at REI told me my tent was too small for my needs

Last summer I walked into REI in Boulder looking for a new tent. I had my eye on a two person model, figured it'd be light and easy. This older guy Dave came over and asked what I was using it for. I said solo trips, maybe four or five nights at a time. He just looked at me and said "you'll hate that tent by day two." He spent the next ten minutes showing me how my gear and a wet pack would crowd me out. He was right. I bought a three person model instead and it was the best camping decision I ever made. Anyone else had a store employee give you advice that saved you a headache?

Tried a hammock setup for the first time last weekend and it was a disaster with the bugs

I was near Asheville, North Carolina, and thought I'd skip the tent to save weight. But I didn't bring any bug netting for my hammock, and within an hour the mosquitoes were everywhere. I ended up packing up at 2 AM and driving home early. Has anyone else had a bad first experience with hammock camping that put them off?

Switched from a sleeping pad to a cot last season in the Smokies and I'm never going back

I know everyone swears by inflatable pads for weight savings, but after 3 nights on my REI Trailbreak cot, my back actually felt decent in the mornings. The pad let me sink into the ground and I woke up cold no matter what R-value I used. The cot weighs about 5 pounds more, sure, but for car camping that trade off is totally worth it. Has anyone else ditched pads for good or am I the odd one out here?

Pro tip: ditch the paper maps for downloaded offline trail apps

I used to print out trail maps and stuff them in a Ziploc bag before every hike. They'd get soaked, torn, or I'd drop them in a creek near the Smokies last fall. Now I just download the AllTrails map to my phone before heading out, and it works even with no signal. Has anyone else found a good backup system when your phone dies halfway through a long day?

The $5 tarp trick that kept my tent dry during that freak storm at Lake Tahoe

Last weekend I was camping near Emerald Bay and the forecast said clear skies, total lie. Around 2 AM the wind picked up and rain came dumping down. I had this cheap blue tarp I always bring as a footprint, but I never used it for anything else. So I grabbed some paracord and strung it up over my tent like a lean-to, maybe 6 inches above the rainfly. The water just ran off the sides and my tent stayed bone dry inside, no leaks at all. My buddy in the next site had his tent soaked through, wish I thought of this sooner. Has anyone else tried rigging a secondary tarp over their tent for extra protection?

Discovered the shocking truth about tent waterproof ratings while soaked in a rainstorm last June

Last summer I was camping near Lake Tahoe when a sudden storm hit. My tent was supposed to be waterproof to 3000mm, which I thought was plenty. But after 3 hours of heavy rain, water started seeping through the floor and walls. I looked up the rating system on a gear forum later and found out most brands test in controlled lab conditions, not real rain with wind pressure. The 3000mm number is just a column of water pressing down, not sideways rain slapping against the tent. That stat really caught me off guard because every product description talks about those numbers like they're absolute guarantees. Now I always check for taped seams and a good fly design instead of just the millimeter rating. Has anyone else had a similar experience where a tent's rating didn't match real world use?

Used to just shove my tent into the stuff sack like an animal

For years I'd cram my tent back into that tiny bag and it took forever plus the zipper started failing. Finally tried rolling it up tight using the fold method and now it packs in 90 seconds flat. Anyone else stuck in the old way for way too long?

Bumped into a retired ranger at Yellowstone last month who changed how I pack my bag

He said I was carrying way too many backups for things that barely ever break on a 3-night trip. Has anyone else cut down their gear after talking to someone with way more trail time than you?

My old sleeping pad setup was a total disaster compared to now

Back in 2019 I used this cheap foam pad from Walmart that was maybe a half inch thick. Woke up every time on the cold ground at Lake Tahoe in June. Finally switched to an insulated inflatable pad last summer and honestly it's like sleeping on my bed at home. Has anyone else gone through three different sleeping pads before finding one that actually works?

Had a talk with a park ranger in Colorado that made me rethink my whole tent setup

He told me my 3-season tent was basically a death trap above treeline in a summer storm and showed me the damage on someone else's poles from a similar model, so has anyone here actually tested their gear in genuinely bad weather or do we all just hope for the best?

Overheard a ranger at Yellowstone talking about tent stakes...

I was hiking near the campground last weekend and caught this ranger telling a group that most people use cheap stakes that bend in rocky soil. He said just spend $15 on some titanium ones and you won't wake up with your tent in a ditch. Made me think about the three times I've had to re-pitch after a windy night. Anyone else ever had a tent collapse because of bad stakes?

Switched from a foam pad to a cheap inflatable sleeping pad for car camping - night and day

After three miserable nights on a foam pad at Lake Tahoe where I woke up sore every morning, I grabbed a $30 inflatable from Walmart and slept like a baby the next trip out. Has anyone else found that even the basic inflatable pads beat the expensive foam ones for comfort?

That popular ultralight camp stove everyone loves almost caught my tent on fire

I've been using a cheap Coleman stove for years and thought the hype around those little titanium burners was just marketing. Borrowed my buddy's for a trip to Joshua Tree last month. First night the winds picked up and the flame kept kicking sideways. My tent fly was about 3 feet away but the heat still melted a small hole in the side wall. Luckily I caught it before things got worse. I know people swear by them for the weight savings, but has anyone else had a near miss with these during higher winds?

Talked to my grandpa about his old canvas tent from the 60s

Last weekend my grandpa pulled out his old canvas tent from storage and showed me how he patched a tear with wax and a sewing awl back in '68. He said modern tents are lighter but won't last a decade like his did, and it kinda made me wonder if we've traded durability for convenience too much. Anyone else have a piece of gear that's held up way longer than the newer stuff?

That cheap tarp finally failed, so I went with a silnylon one instead

Had a $15 blue tarp from the hardware store rip to shreds during a storm at Lake Tahoe last month. A guy at the campsite told me silnylon packs way smaller and doesn't soak up water. Any of you made the switch and regretted it?

Cheap tarp vs nome shelter in a downpour - I learned the hard way

That moment my tent nearly flooded on a rainy night in the Smokies

I set up my tent on a slight slope for 6 years thinking it was fine, then a storm hit and water pooled right under my sleeping bag. Turned out I was pitching the rain fly too loose and not staking out the corners properly. Anyone else realize they've been doing a basic camping skill wrong for way too long?

Just crossed 200 nights in my hammock this year and realized I stopped using my tent completely back in April.

It was that rainy weekend at Lake Tahoe when I set up the hammock in 5 minutes while everyone else was still wrestling with poles that it clicked for me, has anyone else just ditched their tent for good after a certain number of trips?