Best Cheap Gear of 2013

You're welcome! As I mentioned, great value for car camping and with both bags and the bivy you'll stay warm down into the teens, maybe even into mid single digits. Past that and you'll start to get cold. The bivy is honestly the best part of the system but like most things military, it's very heavy. The worst part about the system is the bulk followed closely by the weight.

The military system weighs my pack, cold weather sleep system and 3-season shelter combined! For reference, I just weighed all three pieces in the provided stuff sack and it weighs in at 4170 grams!

Peter Vacco Headnet – Best headnet I've ever found – $15 shipped

There are several NWT Costco Kirkland down jackets for sale on EBAY for ~60$ with free shipping. They are 800FP down and I have seen mentioned on other threads that the size L weighs ~13 ounces. Reviewers have compared it favorably to the Patagonia Down Sweater for styling and performance. Could be a great entry-level down jacket for somebody on a budget. If I didn't already own my Stoic Anorak, I would seriously consider purchasing it.

I seem to grab one of these every time I stop by Walmart.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Outdoor-Products-Lashing-Strap-3/17017890

$1.95, and they have a ton of uses. They are great belts, for one. No need to remove them for airport security!

I didn't realize the Wal-Mart blue foam pads had inflated in price so much since I bought my last ones.

I noted my local store has some
Outdoor Products 1L soft plastic platypus-like bottles for about $3.
Sawyer Squeeze.
Coleman? Y Stakes like Grounhogs set of 6 for $3?
Dri-Ducks UL Raingear.
1.3 oz Energizer or Rayovac headlamps for $5.88.
Outdoor Products stuffsack daypack for $6.88 that doesn't weigh much over 3 oz.–Shoulder straps are a little lacking, but okay to carry along in your regular pack.

"For the weight and bulk it isn't very warm. The summer bag will keep you warm down to 50 degrees or so, not much past that. The 3-season bag will keep you warm into the low 30s at best. The -10 rating is for both bags together and the bivy."

This is not my experience with this system at all; I have hundreds of nights of use with it. I can only assume Eric's experience is based on a USGI Military Sleep System that was stored incorrectly prior to sale and that the insulation has degraded to a point it's no longer within specs. But as I'm not Eric, he'll need to explain in better detail what his history is with his gear.

Ft Drum is among the coldest Army stations. I've used this system to, at least, -20*. Important to note, and as Eric mentioned, it is a system so it's assuming that it's being used in conjunction with the bivy and polypro underwear among other things. When on a patrol, I would sleep in it in full BDUs, boots, etc. as a mission requirement.

I currently have the USGI bivy and patrol bag (the green one from the system). I'm fine in the patrol bag without the gtx bivy to 40* in a silk weight base layer. Throw on my down sweater and then I'm good well into the 30s. Remove the zipper and save 7oz. You can use it as a synth quilt and still have the option to use the snaps as a sleeping bag.

As I mentioned above, there's no way to tell how the equipment was used or stored prior to the purchase. You may get lucky and receive one which was never issued and sold through DRMO sales as surplus after the Army made the transition from woodland camo to the digi pattern. You also may end up with one that some chucklehead left completely compressed in the bottom of their wall locker when they weren't in the field. That's the problem with buying surplus gear, there's no way to know how it was treated or used. For example, never buy a tourniquet off of the internet unless you are sure it's brand new. The last thing you need is one that was attached to a GI's RBA exposed to UV light for a tour or two.

There are also some chinese knockoffs out there. For example, if you read through this thread, you'll see that probably half of the people commenting here are not using the genuine MSS:

http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=10&f=18&t=664441

How do I know? Because they are unbelievably roomy by design. It has to fit a GI who is sleeping in it with their gear on as is typical when you are on an extended patrol. I'm 6'3", have fairly broad shoulders, and I swim in the one I was issued in the military and the one I bought from Amazon.

For the record, I'm not recommending that you buy this system. At most, I'd buy the GTX bivy and patrol bag to have a 5lb sleep system/shelter combo that should take you down to 30-35* for less than $70 assuming that it's in fair condition.

$1.00 WallyWorld folding knife (Outdoor Products brand; now actually $1.50 locally…), ~1 oz, available at Wal-Mart

$0.00 GPS for road bike touring (Included in smartphone purchase; in reality…maybe $50?), 0 oz added to road trips (phone normally brought anyway; weight is ~4.75 oz for Galaxy S3), available at any cell phone company

$5.00 wallet/ID holder/knife holster/firesteel holster/key pocket, ~2 oz, ID badge holder found at Ingles (great for trail runs to keep crap out of my pockets and when I'm hiking in a kilt)

$1.95 widemouth Gatorade sport bottle (wonderful for continuing movement while driking), ~1.3 oz, any convenience store

$7.00 polyester balaclava (good for transition from inactive to active in cold weather, great for sleeping in), ~2 oz, found at local Army/Navy store

Ian you could be correct regarding the sleep system being stored prior to use, I have no way of telling although the bag looks fairly new (old woodland camp pattern) and I've had it for a few years now. It is genuine issue, same as my brother's issued gear (he's the one that told me to buy a few with him).

You could also be a warm sleeper and better fitted to your bag. As you mentioned they are very roomy which is good if you're a big guy but horrible if you're not. I'm 5'6" and 160lbs and swim in the system so there certainly is a lot of dead space to try to heat inside the bag. Also note that for someone used to fairly high end down bags the sleep system isn't remotely warm for it's weight. A good down bag will be good to 0 degrees on it's own and lighter than the patrol bag or a 30 degree would be a third the weight and offer more warmth.

Back to the topic at hand, I have looked at the costco down jackets and they appear decent. They also have thin, form fitting gloves that my wife and I have loved that were about $10 a pair.

I never pulled the trigger on the costco jacket because I picked up a Marmot Odin from STP for $80 shipped. STP with their 40% coupons that come out every month really has great prices on decent gear.

Smartwool PHD socks on there for $7 a pair was a good "cheap" score (they're $22 a pair at REI) and they're some of my favorite socks. As were $40 montrail runners and a $12 irregular Thermarest Sol Lite.

I also use the wall mart dry bags, can't be beat for the price.

Costco used to have (will be back I'm sure) a nice samsung enloop set with AA and AAA batteries along with a charger for cheap. If you're looking to save batteries and do night hikes the rechargeable are the way to go, not to mention they are much more eco-friendly. Along with that they had a three pack of LED flashlights for $19 that worked great. I'd pop the rechargeable batteries in them and then hand them out to friends when we would go on trips. For around $40 total it was really a decent setup for a broke college kid that wanted to take his friends who had zero gear on hikes and camp outs.

Coghlans solid fuel tablets for cooking. They are less than half the cost of esbit and are smaller cubes so it's easy to use one or two.

Dollar plastic ponchos at Wal-Mart. Waterproof, and about an ounce. I usually use my windshirt but when it starts dumping I use this and stay dry.

Lawson klines stakes: they have the best backbend and are painted red. Best wire stakes period.

Sawyer squeeze, I just got a mini too, but it's a good cheap filter.

Some dirt bagger items I use:

BLUE FOAM: For three season backpacking, and those who don't mind a ah, firm, sleeping experience, it works greats. Very light when cut down. The scraps make a good sit pad, stove stand (covered with foil) and a pot cozy when cold weather or snow camping.

THRIFT STORE SHIRT: The poly-cotton (65/35) dress shirts work great. The short sleeve is my shirt of choice for day hikes. The long sleeve for backpacks. Dries quick enough even with the cotton. Costs $5. If I am with the wife, I bring a nicer shirt ;-)

WOOL LINER GLOVES: Work great for all four seasons. Fairly durable, warm when damp, less than $5/pr

CONTRACTOR/SAFETY GLASSES: ~$5-$6 pr. UV protection. Very light and durable. Wrap around lenses. The frame is flexible to takes a beating. Meant for construction and industry, but works beautifully for the outdoors. Comes in amber and dark lenses.

ARMY LINER PANTS: Synthetic puffy pants. Not as light as down pants, but ~$15 (or less) you don't mind the stray spark from a camp fire. :)

FLEECE JACKET: My beater fleece that I paid $20 for. My jacket of choice for cold, dry ski touring.

BOONIE HAT: To the left in my fried chicken eating avatar photo. The hat works.

Are the USGI BIvies 100% Gore-Tex or are they like most bivies with a non-breathable polyurethane bottom?

Eric,

I'm a warm sleeper.

Stephen,

It's Gore-Tex on the bottom as well.

OP,

When I go backpacking, there are a few items I like to carry from my wallet at all times in case I have to bail early due to an emergency and have to hitch a ride back to my truck.

Driver's License
Health Insurance Card
Cash
A couple checks

I received this from my bank with my debit card:

.

Not sure what the weight is but it's less than a gram and holds all of the above mentioned items.

As Paul said above, I use safety glasses for my normal sunglasses for hiking and biking. I did a bunch of poking around, and lots of road biker riders recommended Pyramex Ztek glasses. They wrap around, are pretty distortion free, come in lots of colors, and are UVA/B. And at about $1.50-2 each, it's a good deal. I baby the hinges, but I'm very happy with them. I got a small boxful of clear, grey, brown, orange, and yellow, and couldn't have spent over $20.

The vendor I used:
http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/ztec.html

Pretty sure I found a 10% off and free shipping coupon by Googling company name + "coupon" also.

Nice! Even less expensive! :)

Ian,

I really appreciate this detailed response. With all of the great used options for down bags/quilts, and cheaper new options like the Kelty Cosmic Down 20 (around 120$), it seems like the military sleep system is not a good bet for backpacking. I'm still glad I posted it just to get the info from you. After doing some more research, my curiosity has flickered out, though the bivy might be a good emergency shelter to toss in the back of my truck.

And after reading all of these responses, my 'cheap' purchases may start adding up.

"And after reading all of these responses, my 'cheap' purchases may start adding up."

That's inevitable to a some extent due to the trial and error that happens to most of us over time with our gear (I'm still tweaking my kit here and there) but I think it's wise to invest more into your sleeping bag up front. An uncomfortable backpack sucks but something I can tolerate. Freezing at night is a personal Hell for me that I do everything I can to avoid.

I bought my kids the Kelty Cosmic Down 20* sleeping bag and I think it's an incredible value.

While heavy for UL backpacking, the USGI bivy is a bomber option, truly waterproof, reasonably breathable as long as you don't actually breathe into it, and a very affordable way to test out a bivy to see if it's worth buying a lighter and more expensive one down the road.

Happy trails.

Another military type surplus item..

Polypropylene glove liners. Durable enough to be worn alone in warmer cool temps, and next to wool the only thing which stays somewhat warm when wet.

Since our hands don't secrete much, if any, oils, the stink factor is less of an issue with PP gloves verse other PP clothing i've found.

…

ROGER,

There's an REI Roadster available on Ebay right now and I'm tempted to pick one up. Do you have experience with the tent? I read through a few old Gear Swap ads and it seems the tent may be too small for me. I'm 6'1"ish 186 pounds for reference.

I have been very happy with my Cosmic Down 20 and at least for now it's my go to bag for general backpacking during the warmer parts of spring through fall. I picked it up for $80 on sale and unless you're buying used I think it's a hard bag to beat.

sawyer mini water filter $15
FF Vireo Nano (dam near waterproof) and Helios hooded (not cheap but 1/2 the cost)
landsend aircore fleece

…

Roger,

Thanks for the info! The Roadster sounds like a tight fit for me, and I think I will pass. I was thinking of purchasing it for car camping, but at this point, I want to save money and put it towards my primary shelter system. Every 50$ or so helps.

To all posters:

I feel this thread has turned into a great resource for those new to the world of UL, as well as more experienced hikers. As I have assembled my gear over the years, I have constantly been amazed how much money I can save by foregoing purchasing a brand name with a logo.

I think we must be close to covering the entire spectrum of gear necessary for a decent UL kit, and we haven't even delved into the world of MYOG.

Some thoughts from outfitting friends and scoring a few deals of my own …

REI Packs
The REI brand makes a lot of ho-hum gear, but their lightweight pack series has gotten better and better over the years. Both of these were available throughout this year for as low as $30 – $50. The Flash 45 is still at a good price point presently. I got my Stoke 29 for $25 IIRC

Flash 45:
http://www.rei.com/product/844660/rei-flash-45-pack

Stoke 29:
http://www.rei.com/product/848005/rei-stoke-29-pack-2013-special-buy

Addendum — REI Lookout 40:
http://www.rei.com/product/854158/rei-lookout-40-pack-mens
This is a heavier one but for <3 lbs is a panel loader with ~40L capacity, has tons of organizer pockets, and a beefy steel frame. Not bad for a pack that comes down to ~$60 on sale. Or $80 right now for at least one color.

Clothing

Windshirt – Montane Mountain Star – $45 at time of purchase and still on sale here:
http://www.campsaver.com/mountain-star-jacket-men-s
This is an interesting piece which splits the difference between a 'hard' windshirt like the Houdini or Cirrus, and a 'soft' one like the Boreas or Zephyr. Clocks in at about 7oz. I haven't had a chance to use mine on a trip yet, but trail-running and biking usage has been encouraging so far.

UL down jacket – Uniqlo down parka – $60 on sale now:
http://www.uniqlo.com/us/store/lifewear/style/079122
I am a big, vocal fan of Uniqlo's ultralight down series. They've got a hoodless jacket and a vest as well. The longer 'coat' is no good. But this parka is fantastic, probably the best value on the market right now in terms of bang-for-buck. It nears the efficiency of e.g. a MB UL Down Inner Parka, but costs less than half as much. Mine weighs 8.4oz in size small (equivalent to a normal size medium).

Other stuff
Solo titanium pot – TOAKS 600mL Ti pot – $28 on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/TOAKS-POT-600-Titanium-600ml-Pot/dp/B009B5E39O
One of the best deals around for titanium anything. Their larger stuff is also quite cheap as compared to most of the competition. Comes with an open mesh stuff sack that A) holds the lid on tightly while in your pack, and B) is absorbent enough to use as a wipe / towel for your pot after eating.

This is too fun, I love finding deals for legitimately high-quality gear. Might post more later. Great OP, J Dos!

Ian,

Thanks for taking the time to chime in. I've enjoyed reading your posts in regards to testing down jackets.

Last year, I seriously contemplated buying the Uniqlo down jacket and passed on it when I saw the Stoic Hadron on sale on BC.com.

I contacted Uniqlo several times regarding the quality of their jacket, and to their credit they responded in a prompt, courteous, honest manner. I no longer have the e-mails on record, but the company rep I wrote back and forth told me he didn't think the jacket was durable enough for extended backpacking trips. I got the impression from our exchange that he was not particularly outdoorsy. And he never did answer my questions in regards to fill, fp, and total weight for a large.

However, many of us here on BPL are used to taking care of our gear more so than the average heavy hauler, so durability might not be as much an issue for us. Since I am currently happy with my 3-season down jacket, I have no reason to buy the Uniqlo and experiment with it.

Still, it seems it could be a great option as an entry-level 3-season jacket for somebody new to the world of UL hiking.