Starter Gear

Running Total - $424

You have to walk before you run, so I decided we should start with a camping trip to see if we liked that. A coworker offered to loan gear, but he had car camping supplies and we don’t have a car. I compared estimates for renting cars and buying our own supplies + taking the Metra train. The cost was about even, so we decided to buy stuff. I looked for used things and gear that we could hopefully use on future backpacking trips too. I was surprised how hard it was to find good deals on used gear, and in many cases, new on sale was the same or cheaper than used.  

Here’s the list, with (listed) weights when I have them, since people seem to love that:

$45 used Kelty Tempest 2 - 5 lb 4 oz packed 

$40 used Big Agnes Lulu 15 sleeping bag - 3 lb 1 oz

$40 new Ledge Sports Featherlite 20 sleeping bag - 3 lb 8 oz

$113 new two Klymit V Insulated Lite pads - 20 oz each

$109 new Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor 40-60L backpack - 2 lb 9 oz 

$0  owned EMS 32 L backpack (a normal one) - ?

$0  loaned old school Coleman single burner camp stove - heavy 

$5  new 16 oz propane Fuel - heavy 

$3  new Plastic silverware - light

$2  new Plastic target plates - light 

$15 new two GSI backpacker mugs - 3.5 oz each 

$20 new MSR alpine 775 ml pot - 16 oz

$9  new two Gearlight LED headlamps - 3 oz each (incl batteries) 

$24 new two compression bags -  3 oz each (Only used one first trip)

$0  owned cookie tin + bungee cords (to store food from critters) - not the lightest

$0  owned travel towels and hand towels

$0  owned clothes and shoes, incl fleeces, rain jacket, athletic clothes etc. 

$1  baby wipes; other travel toiletries, sunblock, bug spray, first aid etc owned 

Total: $424 Prices include taxes and shipping where applicable.

We don’t own any plastic Tupperware or plates and our travel coffee mugs are ceramic, which is why we bought $2 plastic plates and the $7 each camping mugs instead. Otherwise we would have used stuff from home. Same situation with the headlamps. DH liked the long handle on the MSR pot and we decided against a x2 price titanium pot until we see our commitment to this hobby. If we upgrade in the future, it will be a 900 ml pot so we can have more coffee at once. The cookie tin for food is probably overkill. But having googled keeping raccoons from camp food too much, I’d rather be cautious. Plus it’s good practice for carrying a bear can? 

We tried to avoid buying packs in case this all went down hill, but as we collected stuff we were concerned about it all fitting it in our pre-owned backpacks. (DH’s 5 lb 45 L travel backpack that is like a suitcase + my 32 L backpack.) We watched a bunch of YouTube videos on measuring torsos for packs and how they should fit, plus we tried some on at REI. We bought the SD Flex online and DH loves it. I’m very jealous of his compression straps and easy zip lid.