walmart

[jeff woods]

dale, you’re just upset because you’ve spent umpteen thousands of dollars on gear that you could have bought at walmart for next to nothing

[cary bertoncini]

i’ll support anyone’s decision not to spend money there

[EndoftheTrail]

Jeff wrote: “Dale, you’re just upset because you’ve spent umpteen thousands of dollars on gear that you could have bought at walmart for next to nothing.”

Jeff — I think you need to discern that there are many reasons for the different price scales. People who shy away from cheap tents may in fact be doing so for good reasons.

There are countless inexpensive family tents (Coleman tents come to mind) that are perfectly fine for family / car camping. These tents will keep you dry when a rainstorm hits for a couple of hours. And in the worst case, even should the tent fail, it’s a mere annoyance and not anything life threatening when the car is parked 1/2 a mile or less away.

You mentioned that you’re OK with a cheap tent that doesn’t last long. Again, I think that depends on the type of camping you do. On a multi-day hike to colder climes, you would NOT want to risk condensation steadily building inside a poorly designed tent — and soaking your sleeping bag. Stating the obvious, that can lead to serious consequences!

Maybe you believe that a cheap tent still has its place. And maybe you are correct — but there’s no need to be defensive about it — or to put down Dale or anybody else who thinks differently.

Hope this helps.

[Benjamin Smith]

jeff – I’ve spent more money at Walmart on gear than at any other store(fabrics and supplies, mostly), and I couldn’t agree with Dale more on the tent. As countless other people have pointed out, Walmart is great for certain items, but the types of tents they carry don’t cut it – some of us have the experience to prove it.

Ben

[Dale Wambaugh]

No gear guilt for me! I’m CHEAP :) And I have painted myself in a corner. Live and learn. Part of it is the challenge, part hobby, part trying to save a buck. If I don’t succeed overall, I generally learn something about gear, economics, Life– or my own nature.

I’ve had Coleman car camping tents that worked just fine and were a good buy. I had a 10’x12′ dome with a full rain fly that withstood wind and rain like you wouldn’t believe. I spent $100 on that tent and it lasted over 10 years. I’m still using the fly as a tarp for keeping bikes and lawn furniture covered. Picking a good design (like a full fly), seam sealing, and proper pitching go a long way too.

A lot of my gear (clothing) has come from thrift stores and yard sales. I like the thrill of the hunt, getting a bargain, and I sure don’t feel bad about the recycling factor.

I live 5 miles from the REI flagship store and I usually go there to get those odds and ends that I can’t find elsewhere. I always start at the garage sale department too.

I do a lot of trading with a small moutaineering shop that sells used gear. If I find a high end yard sale or thrift store item that isn’t my size or liking, I can take it there and get cash or better yet, store credit, to get gear I need. So I find a Marmot rain jacket in a thrift store for $5 and get $30 credit for it, etc, etc. That’s why I have stuff like a titanium pot. There’s no way I would drop $50 cash for something like that!

My other source is Ebay– buying and selling. If I get bored with a toy, I can Ebay it and buy something else. I’ve been lucky enough to buy an item for $3 and sell it on Ebay for $300 (software in that case). Little windfalls like that buy a lot of gear. The family is well outfitted too– computers, electronics, clothes, camping gear, bicycles, all bought used on the unter economy.

I went to Goodwill this weekend and got a new Nalgene Go Cup for $0.99. The things sell for $19 at REI and there is no way I would drop $19 for a plastic bottle, but I’m tickled to have one for $0.99. Multiply that times 1000 and that’s what I’ve done for the last 20 years or so.

It’s 50 mile round trip to the nearest WalMart, so I don’t shop there much. The only thing I’ve bought there was a new DVD/VCR combo that was on sale for $50. There are plenty of sports discounters in the area that I’m happy to pluck sale items from and get a good look at gear I might want to get on Ebay. If I have objections about WalMarts and discounters, it isn’t the stuff they sell– that is soley my choice, but I really don’t like the way they treat their workers. They hire mostly part time to avoid benfits, the wages are low and the management is poor. I’ve learned that first hand.

[Anonymous]

Folks, let’s not forget that we are talking about backpacking gear, stuff for a hobby, for heaven’s sake. Not exactly life and death topics. There are people who are dying out there from real problems; our kids dying in Iraq, etc! Lighten up! (And I am not talking packweight this time) Who cares, as long as you are enjoying yourself! Isn’t that what the “Hike your own hike” thing is all about??? “Peace” :)

PS– Had to post anonymously so that I don’t get hate mail from the “Waltonites” faction of backpackers, which are somewhere between “Jardinites” and “Jordanites” in their devotion to their philosophy of UL backpacking… ;)

[jeff woods]

i was just joking, dale and everyone else. i couldn’t care less what kind of gear people carry. i’ve spent more money than i care to recall on stuff. just ask my wife.

[Dale Wambaugh]

I wasn’t offended in the least. I guess Ben wants to be my guardian angel. He can haul my pack for me next time out :)

Forums are for sharing opinions. If we all agreed, why bother! Sometimes a perfectly innocent statement comes across weird in print. I’ve put my cyber foot in my mouth more than once :)

[EndoftheTrail]

kumbayah, kumbaya….

[Dale Wambaugh]

Mr. Tang said, “kumbayah, kumbaya….”

Like I said, sometimes a perfectly innocent statement comes across weird in print….. {{{{{{{{snort}}}}}}}}

[Brian Kelly]

OK, hate to bring back what seems like a touchy thread, but I actually bought two of these tents the other day. Why 2 of them? They were clearance priced at $4 ea. For $4 its worth it for the trekking poles alone (to me at least).

Here’s the real scoop (all weights done on USPS postal scale):
Tent body: 3lb 4.4oz
Stakes in bag: 7.6 oz (10 steel pins)
trekking pole: 11.2 oz
carry bag: 12.1 oz.

Notes:
Tent body appears to be lightly coated polyester taffeta. The floor is a grey polyethlyene, the same stuff they make the cheap blue tarps out of. Suprisingly enough, the seams are all taped! I didn’t expect to see that on this tent. The front door screening is a low grade mesh that is quite a bit more porous than what I was used to seeing even on cheap tents. One tent already had a small hole in the screening upon opening it for the first time.

The body does have some minimal venting, with low vent at the foot of the tent and a “high” vent on two sides of the peak. The high vents aren’t the most functional, and don’t stay open and clear for air movement very easily.

The trekking pole is not the same as the $10 unit that is sold individually at WalMart. The unit that comes with the tent lacks the compass in the head, and the shock feature found on the more expensive pole.

Overall, it’s not terrible, but I wouldn’t count on it lasting for very long. At the $4 ea that I paid, it will make a fun toy to tinker with. I may try and remove the current floor and replace it with some $1/yd coated fabric that I purchased from walmart. Anybody know the wt/yd2 of polyethylene? The material I have measures out to about 2.3 oz/yd2, so maybe I can get the body under the 3lb mark. I don’t normally hike with trekking poles, so I may also add a means of using a tent pole instead.

[ian wright]

Make that ” metric to imperial “

I tend to do all my travelling/hiking overseas on trips that usually last about 3 months. Now that all this (supposedly) lightweight and (definitely) ‘cheap’ gear is available, I see the possibility of buying said items and using them for a part of my trip then giving them away or whatever when they aren’t needed anymore. My last lightweight and expensive tent was stored away for too long and fell apart on my trip last year so to buy a elcheapo for a short term use is tempting for me.

[John Rowling II]

Forums are made up of thousands of personalities. I left off “FT.” after abreviating 6k in reference to attitude and someone was all over me making jest. That’s OK and fun. This forum is full with incredible knowledge and experienced hikers. That’s why we are here. Cheers!

[David Lewis]

Well… I admit John… the 6K thing really confused the heck out of me too… although I didn’t say anything about it. I live in a metric country… so the first thing that came to my mind was 6 Kilometers… which made me say… huh?!? Anyway… no big deal.

[Eric Noble]

I hope you know it was good hearted jest. I wasn’t going to joke about it until someone though of something I hadn’t, and now David comes up with something else. Too funny.

[Author]

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