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My $30 Ozark Trail tent lasted longer in a storm than my buddy's $200 North Face one
We were camping up near Lake Placid last September and a nasty squall came through around midnight. His fancy tent had a pole snap in the wind and the rain fly ripped. My cheap blue dome from Walmart just sat there soaking wet but totally fine. Makes me wonder if we're all just paying for brand names or what. Anyone else have a budget piece of gear that outlasted the expensive stuff?
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amy_craig281mo ago
Oh man, that's rough for your buddy but honestly kind of hilarious too. I've seen the same thing happen with $50 Coleman sleeping bags that kept people warm while their expensive down ones got wet and useless.
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ivanbell1mo agoTop Commenter
My buddy Jake took his $600 Western Mountaineering bag on a Rainier trip last summer and woke up shivering at 3am because he'd sweated into it during the night. Meanwhile I had some old synthetic bag I got for like $40 on clearance that kept me fine. He ended up hiking out early while I finished the trip, still don't think he's bought another down bag since.
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amy_west1mo ago
That Coleman comparison is a bit unfair though. High-end gear really does work better when you take care of it, just like anything else. A cheap bag can keep you warm but it weighs twice as much and packs down to the size of a small car. The down bag will outlast the synthetic one by years if you treat it right, and it breathes way better for cold weather hiking. So sure, your buddy had a bad night, but that's more about the conditions than the gear itself.
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