[at-l] Inexpensive gear - can be just as good, or better

[Phil.Heffington@oc.edu (Phil Heffington)]

9afe wrote:

"FWIW, I did my "big" hike with a $45 Camp Trails external frame pack, 
and it served me pretty well."

My first pack, and still my favorite, was an old fashioned Kelty Tioga I
bought for $90 from Sierra Trading Post.  It fit perfectly right out of
the shipping box, and I have yet to find a reason to dump it.  I, too,
like the easy packing that an external frame provides.

My favorite nylon shirts come from Wal-Mart, as do my lined nylon
shorts.  They cost about $4-5 each if I remember correctly.  An aluminum
pot picked up at a garage sale is about as good as anything you can buy,
and usually costs about a quarter.

My favorite tent, and one I would highly recommend for one and a half
persons is the Exponent Inyo II (formerly the Peak 1 Cobra).  Retail on
that tent is usually around $80.  You can make a footprint for it, if
you think you want/need one, from a 4 ML piece of plastic.  I saw
someone with a Bibler tent last year that cost several hundred dollars,
and, for the life of me, couldn't figure out any reason it would have
been any better than mine.

I use a 1.5 qt. plastic bottle that was once a "Clearly Canadian"
bottled water. Picked it up off the table at Hawk Mtn. shelter after
leaving my own thick plastic water bottle in my ride's car.  That bottle
now has about 1,190 miles on it, and I wouldn't trade it for all the
fancy hydration systems at the outfitter's.

WTTW (Word To The Wise), though, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).  I bought
a Kelty woman's pack for my wife and it never fit her well, even after
having an outfitter re-fit it to her several times.  It was enough,
though, for us to get through a long hike and showed her that
backpacking was not her cup of tea.  The misfitting pack was only a
small part of her decision.  I think her body is just a misfit for
backpacking.