Best Cheap Gear of 2013

J Dos,
Thx!
The Hadron is certainly a worthy competitor for that weight class when it goes on sale for <$100.

As for the Uniqlo piece — we'll see how its lifetime works out. I picked mine up lightly used, and have been wearing it 2-3 times a week for short urban errands and things, over the last 1-2 months. So far it still appears in like-new condition. But I haven't taken it backpacking yet, of course. That being said, I think your comment re: ultralighters taking better care of stuff should apply here. That, and I only manage to do 2-3 backpack trips a year, so this thing could easily last for years.

And, as an entry level option, as you said, it would be great. For any of these people, as it were:
"… college students, high school students, scouts, broke chumps, vagabonds, parents of triplets, and those exploring becoming a UL hiker, the initial cost of gear can be downright daunting."

Uniqlo on their website says that they only use 640 or below fp down that i recollect from reading it last.

Hadron has 850, so if that is a important to you, it's a consideration because of the quality difference.

I personally don't think it's a big deal, so what if i save 1 oz or something about that low in a jacket.

I just returned from hitting day 2 of the local REI garage sale. I scored perhaps the best deal of my life–an REI Base Camp 4 tent with a footprint, for just $27 (incl. sales tax)! Today, everything was marked down to 25% of yesterday's prices. It's a retired REI rental tent, with no stated flaws. My buddy liked the spacious quality of mine when we did a rainy week of truck camping a few years ago, so guess what he gets as a late X-mas present when we do NYE together?

Justin,
I seem to recall discussion here that the 640 rating is on the euro fillpower scale, so might be >700fp US equivalent.

But again, as you say — probably makes little difference at that weight.

I'm thinking I should compile all of the gear from this thread into a spreadsheet that users can quickly access without reading through the entire thread. I figure I can edit the OP and include it near the top line.

I can regularly update it as well. Maybe I can even read other threads and ask the posters if it is okay to include cheap gear they have tried and recommended. I constantly see people posting great deals they found.

Which brings to my question of what program to use that I can link via BPL. I have never created an outside document for this site and am not sure how to do it. I appreciate any suggestions.

A sincere thanks to everybody who has contributed thus far.

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There's also the approach of making a shared / public Google doc spreadsheet, which isn't any more difficult than using Excel. Once shared, anyone could either view it and /or edit it themselves, depending on what you wanted to do.

Damager,

It’s entirely manual, but if you want to post a static spreadsheet…

Look Here

When opened with a side-cutter type opener, the top of a large (28-29 oz) can of tomatoes fits the IMUSA 10cm cup like it was designed for it.

Just some more ideas:
1) DEC 2012 JCPenney down coat. $30. 8oz and keeps me warm at 25F sitting. That was the best coat find in 2012! Oops, this thread for 2013 :( Oh well, still using it.
2) Chrome Dome Umbrella. $20 on sale a lot. 8oz. I use this way more than my $1 plastic poncho (I still take it though). Plus it keeps me dryer (thus warmer). Very versatile shelter also. I used to use a fold-up umbrella until Wind Rivers WY shattered it.
3) If you don’t like to make stoves, Mechanic Mike on eBay sells a $5 stove that even starts at 0F at sea level (worse scenario) with one match.
4) The 14”x14” CCF kneeling pad. 0.5oz (cutup and free). That really saves the pants, your knees and butt. This item wears out the most since a lot of sharp pointy objects have been shoved through mine.
5) Nice Tarptent $50 24oz. Just keep your eye out on Craigslist and other backpacking forums. Daily monitoring pays off.
6) Quilts are usually cheaper than bags. Nice cottage industries here. I would splurge on this item though.
7) +4 on Gatorade bottles. I try to find strong 20oz soda bottles that are clear. I do not like dark bottles/bags so I can see if the water is clear. And using 4 of them instead of one big 2L bag is safer. If one breaks/leaks, you still have 3 more!
8) +1 on balaclava
9) I haven’t looked at mountsmith backpacks for a while. My wife still uses the Seraph (just like the Ghost but smaller). Then backpacking magazine pointed out their new HAZE 50. <2lbs for 30 lbs of gear. $130 list
10) Brand new decent tough tent $125. SMD Skyscape Scout. 34oz.

Good find on that toaks Ti 600mL pot!

May everyone find good deals,

-Barry
-The mountains were made for Tevas

Thanks for the replies regarding spreadsheets. I think I'll try my hand at creating and linking a Google docs to make it easier to keep updated. Not sure yet if I will leave it open for other users to update, since I tend to be an organized person and would want the spreadsheet to be formatted in a similar manner throughout the document. This weekend I will have some free time to experiment.

Barry,

Thanks for the great additions. I have never heard of the down coat from JCPenney. Great find!

Here's a deal I found on BPL's SUL forums.

An Ozark Trail 32F sleeping bag from Walmart. Weighs ~21 ounces and costs 80$ new. Not sure if it offers a long version.

BPL thread and reviews:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=77655

WalMart link:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-32-Degree-Adult-Sleeping-Bag-Peacock-Blue-Black/22008955

I read about this product originally via a thread started by Dale Wambaugh. He always posts a ton of good deals.

http://www.discountdance.com/dancewear/style_701.html?camp=Froogle_701&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=701&utm_campaign=Pro

They are very similar to Montbell's Dynamo windpants in weight and performance according to this thread:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=64702

I own a pair of Montbell's Dynamo pants and they are a great piece of kit. I think I might purchase a pair of these warm-up pants from Dance World as a backup.

Montbell Dynamo wind pants – 69$ 2.72 ounces (size M)
Dance World warm-up pants – 20$ 3.5 ounces (size L)

Gorilla Grip gloves, $5. Great grip for ropes, rocks, sticks, cold things, hot things. Works with touch screen devices.

Those plastic dipped nylon gloves work for hot? This I did not know. I thought the dip part (or the nylon) would melt and possibly give a burn, so I've never even tried.

Edit: Suspect the dip material may be Nitrile.

Odd discussion about cyanide in Nitrile gloves here, of no consequence to us, but interesting:
http://www.firehouse.com/forums/t111570/

Edit again:

Aha! You appear to be correct, Nitrile works for hot things:

"… NBR's ability to withstand a range of temperatures from −40 to 108 °C (−40 to 226 °F) …"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrile_rubber

AND, nylon goes much higher than I thought:

"…The 428 °F (220 °C) melting point of nylon 6 is lower than the 509 °F (265 °C) melting point of nylon 6,6…"

So, after a quick check, it appears you are quite correct. These gloves should easily manage the hot handle of my Imusa mug.

They don't melt at boiling temps, but I did touch my Caldera Cone once and the coating melted but fortunately I was not burned. So if your mug handle is hot from being exposed to hot gasses from your stove, be careful! Don't expect silicone-like performance.

And even if they don't melt while holding a mug of hot water, they may not give enough insulation to hold it for very long. On a recent trip where I was using a Jetboil, I could grab the bare cup (neoprene cozy removed) and remove it from the base and set it down (or pour the water into something else) before it got too warm.

Maybe I should have said "very warm things" instead of "hot things".

EDIT: Sorry, I went off topic. Imposing some thread discipline on myself.

Please carry on. This is one of the best threads of last year, and I don't want to distract.

I'm sure that the Fancy Feast stove has been mentioned- $0.65 for a can of cat food, $2.59 for a Fiskars Hand Punch, both on Amazon. And you can feed a cat!

A quart of S-L-X for fuel is $6.50 on Amazon. ($23 for the gallon can.) Even if you cook two huge meals a day a quart will still last you at least 16 days. Contains methanol so if you suffer from methanol anxiety get Klean-Strip Green instead- it's $10.79 for a quart and still has methanol, but very very little.

At $25 with a 100,000-gallon guarantee (easily over 100 years of daily use!) the Sawyer Mini sure looks like a best-buy among filters. I am truly, truly puzzled why all of the people walking around with crappy $80 hand-pumped fiber or ceramic filters don't buy a Sawyer instead. They are CLEARLY superior, irrational fears about undetectable leaks aside.

Of course, Aqua Mira is rather cheap, too. And the tablets are damned easy to use.

I don't think anyone has mentioned the Open Country aluminum pots. I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that- although I seem to own an awful lot of it- titanium probably isn't worth the price. A decently made aluminum pot is barely heavier than a titanium one, rather cheaper, and aluminum conducts heat better so is useful for more than just boiling water. The 3-cup Open Country pot is $15.95 at TrailDesigns. On the Open Country website they are even cheaper- about $10- but have bails which add weight… but also functionality, especially when cooking over open fires. So, not as cheap as the old Grease Pot but I've heard that Wal-Mart changed the Grease Pot or something, and they've gotten hard to find?

The Olicamp hard anodized 24oz pots are going for ~$14 on eBay and are within .5oz of a Ti version.

Wow! This is an amazingly good deal on a nicely made down jacket. Thanks to Ian for announcing this deal. It's hard to believe you can get this decent of a jacket for $60, shipping included. I did some research on the 640 FP down, which is apparently "on the Japanese scale," and have found sources that say it's equivalent to 740 FP down on a US scale. I haven't been able to verify this one way or the other. Even at the lower FP rating, it's a very, very nice jacket for the price. And unexpectedly fashionable; you could wear it in town with no apologies. You might look a tad 'uptown' on the trail, however. Mine's a medium, it does not have the "boxy" cut I've come to expect in inexpensive down clothes, it's nice and trim. Cut fairly low below the waistline. The nylon shell has DWR of some sort. Weighs 7.6 oz without the included stuffsack. I don't know what the fill weight is. And the zipper is "reversed" (carriage on the left) compared to US men's clothes.

Thanks again Ian.

I think all of my votes have already been mentioned, so I'll just note my favs and/or the least noted (ie most underrated :)).

+1 on Mason's Twine as guy lines (or any other rope application)… its pretty slick so you have to be careful w/ knots, but dirt cheap at $5 for 250', and very strong but light still.

+1 on the polycro ground cloths from GG. I've turned mine into a tarp thru strategic placement of packing tape. 6.5oz and ~$12 for a basic shelter.

+1 for construction safety glasses as sunglasses. Dirt cheap, super light but good enough quality. Better than what you'll pickup for the same price at a convenience store counter at least! $5 and minimal weight.

+1 for "turkey bags" to be used as dry bags. don't remember cost by can't be more than $5 for two at any grocery store, probably cheaper if you search the net.

just skimmed the thread again and not sure anyone mentioned this actually…
**TYVEK for ground cloth (or myog tarp even). Often available FREE as scraps from a construction site, but even if you have to buy, its not too expensive at many hardware stores, or various online sellers…

I know Golite doesn't get much love these days, but the Jam series of packs are a great bargain, in my opinion. I got my Jam 50 for under a hundred bucks, and use it all the time. I originally thought the "Compacktor," feature was just marketing hype, but i use it a lot, and it converts what for me is a weekend pack to a daypack. I'm considering getting a 70L version when I catch a good sale for a trip to Glacier this August, (Hopefully). $130 list, but frequently on sale for under $100.

http://www.golite.com/Jam-70L-Pack-Unisex-P46813.aspx

This should go on the "Best of 2014 list," but it is available now. I was in Lowes yesterday and found this Utilitech LED flashlight for $3— with the batteries! It weighs 3oz, runs on three AAA's, rated at 65 lumens and 2 hour run time.

As with all cheap stuff, it has some caveats: although it has an o-ring at the base cap, there are no seals for the head or lens, so don't expect any level of waterproofing. I guess a little silicone sealer could improve on that. It should be good for kids and loaner for a buddy without. It is bright and has a very useable beam pattern. The on-line reviews are overwhelmingly positive. I would class it as the DriDucks of flashlights :)

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The Remington headlamp RHML-2AAA-B is still available for under $16 + free shipping on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Remington-RMHL2AAA-B-LED-Headlight/dp/B008YNCR60/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391129644&sr=8-1&keywords=Remington+RMHL-2AAA

Very sleek, Cree LED, plenty of light on medium with integral diffuser in place.
Lights up every ripple on the trail for >2 hrs on ER lithium Ultimates. One fault-because there is no low setting, it goes dark when lithium cells drain on medium, and replacing the 2 batteries requires a back-up flea light to see what you're doing.
Review is on this site.