Walmart Ultralight buys

[leaftye]

^^ It must make a big difference as I have found very little in the thrift stores here. With all the gas I wasted, I could have bought some nice name brand gear.

Hairbear mentioned putting up ads. That's a great idea. Do that, plus Craigslist, forums, and whatever else is available and free. There's a guy around here that sells gear his buddy buys from tourists in Mammoth Lakes. His prices are pretty good, so considering that shipping is involved, people must be practically giving their gear away.

[Connie]

I am surprised no one has mentioned the gear boxes and barrels near the trail at trailtowns: people are giving gear away. Isn't that still going on?

[Bucho]

If you're looking for something ultralight and want to go the cheap route, you may want to look at making a tyvek tarp.

While most of us probably aren't going to be able to produce something like this: http://www.tarptent.com/sublite.html#specs

Check this out, here's an option that should be within reachtyvek.JPG

[tammons]

A blue pad is about all I would buy from walmart or maybe a sawyer water bottle with filter.
Better options for the other stuff, if you can live with a blue pad,

1.25oz Tyvek MYOG Bivy (you can glue tyvek) $30. 8 oz
MYOG climashield M55 quilt. 2.5xp good to 45dF $100. 12-14oz. Add $15-30 for heavier insulation.
Find a used Golite Jam II and strip it out - $50-75. 18 oz
Ground cloth - frost king sliding glass door insul film. 2oz

Used 8x10 silnylon tarp. I found one for $35.
16oz silnylon campmor 5x9 poncho tarp $60. 9oz

[starbright]

The Junior Tent is very small. My son is 6'2" and was going with that one until he discovered that his feet hang a foot out of it and could not fit his pack inside with him.
He decided on a tent from ebay for $19 plenty big enough for him and his stuff. We did have to add waterprofing and the tub floor is not waterproof but a good ground cover fixed that problem. It only weighs 2.5 lbs with the ground cover. We went with the external pack from Campmor a little heavy but everything fits with plenty of room left over.

[ljcsov]

Being a student, I had to take the frugal path to gearing up. First off, I'd like to say its better to buy nice stuff first, preventing you from rebuying in the future and totaling a greater overall gear cost. After trying some cheaper alternatives, it didn't take long before I wanted to try something else, even for simple day hiking. Not to mention, the good stuff will prove to be an investment that will last for some time. To find good deals, check out many of the close out sites (sierratradingpost.com) and use their coupons (up to 35%). I found that by waiting for the right piece of gear and applying the best coupon, I could acquire all my big 3 for no more than $100 a piece. Best of all, the gear boasts name brands and great quality. Just keep hunting deals, it will be worth it.

[tammons]

Will Add.

Dry Star compression shorts and T shirts are decent. Been trying some out for a couple of days and think I will buy a few more.
About $8 each.
2 years ago, bought a fleece balacava that was pretty nice for the price, Fleece mitts.
Looked yesterday and they had a lightweight camo poly fleece sweatshirt that looked decent.

I looked all through the camping dept and it was all junk.
You think they would at least carry one decent tarp.

[Drybones]

The Coleman pack is fairly heavy for ultralight. A better choice would be the Outdoor Products Arrowhead 8.0 which weighs just over 2 lbs before stripping. You can then reduce the packs weight further by removing the aluminum stays, cutting off the handle on the back, removing the waist belt which doesn't fit many people due to torso length, and shorten most straps. I've used one for several weeks on section hikes and have seen a few others on the trail.

Rather than the tent, Walmart near me carries a 5X7 Outdoor products tarp which weighs about 7 ounces and takes up less space than most rain jackets. Speaking of which, grab 1-2 $1 disposable rain ponchos which are also ultralight and suitable for the A.T. and could double as ground cloths.

Other ultralight Walmart buys would be their blue foam pad and their $3 Coleman head net, and 50' nylon cord for rigging the tarp and bear bagging.

Then I'd grab a bottle of yellow HEET enroute to the food side to get a can of cat food to make an alcohol stove from and two 1 liter bottles of water. Some Walmarts are carrying a good, but inexpensive aluminum cup (not mine in Little Rock) suitable for the stove. Grab a $2 hand hole puncher from school supplies on your way back to the checkout lane.

I'd use the money you saved to buy a good, ultralight down sleeping bag elsewhere.

Great advice for a hiker starting out...wish I'd gotten it few years ago...would have saved me a lot of money.

[MDSection12]

+1 on the UL tarp. I have one that was less than $10, is 6x7 and weighs only a couple ounces... It packs down smaller than a baseball. Can't argue with that. In fact I plan on buying 2 or 3 more next time I go.

As for the pack I don't see the point. I bought my Kelty Coyote for just over $100 brand new... It may not be UL, but it's a beast in terms of durability and features. Why settle for a savings of only $20?

[brooklynkayak]

Brand new at Walmart won't give you value that used and thrift store will.
Post what you are looking for and how much you are willing to pay on Whiteblaze and/or backpackinglight.
Check out the make your own gear forum on BPL.
A damaged silnylon or Spinnaker tarp is easy to repair.
If you need a bugnet, a used Equinox Mantis can be ad for $20.
Lots of top notch hiking clothes for cheap if you are willing to make repairs that others won't fix.
A down jacket leaking down is easy to fix.

A lot of people have more money than they know what to do with. They have to have the cutting edge stuff. Y
ou can buy a used last years model for cheap.

People complete thru-hikes with such gear. I wouldn't want to trust an inexpensive freestanding dome. I've heard to many sories and seen a few disasters myself.

[swjohnsey]

High quality barely used gear frequently shows up on eBay, 'specially in the winter.

[keepinitsimple]

Walmart has some gear for UL'ers for sure. That Arowhead pack mentioned earlier is ok, I still have it and am keeping it around for my kids. It has it's limitations, I and I agree you could strip it down a bit. I recently purchased a Talon 33 by osprey, the most awesome pack I have ever owned, ironically very similar to the OP Arrowhead, just build better and lighter, cost was $125. The used pack theory is not a bad one.

I would say forget all the stove options and go with an esbit tab and a few rocks, it's all you really need. This system has never let me down. Walmart carries the Couglins version which I have never used . I also use the smallest aluminum pot I can find, currently that is the one from the simple mess kit that folds/clamps together.

The tarp suggestion beats those cheapo tents for sure. Actually, go to the harware section in walmart and pick up that film they use to cover patio doors inthe winter. grab some gorilla tape and some plastic washers and make your own tarp. Throw it in a tyvek postal envelope from the post office and the whole system was under 10 oz if I recall
.
Walmart has a special place in my heart. Search old posts, I started a bit of a fire when I suggested Walmart for UL's a few years back- actually it was specifically about that Arrowhead pack. The way I see it is I lost my right to buy REI and EMS stuff when we had 3 kids in 3 years, wife stopped working etc.. I scrounge thrift stores and used resources as best I can. Avoid the snobish attitudes surrounding UL. No one person knows everything. Its about learning how to find out what works for you. And walmart works for me, so does making my own gear.

Hike on !

[tammons]

Walmart Eq is mostly junk.

Better to do something like this....

Golite Jam2 used $50 - stripped 18 oz
MYOG Climashild M50 quilt $100 - 14-20 oz depending. 2.5 XP 14 oz for summer, 5xp 20 oz for mild winter.
5'x10' hammock, MYOG as low as $20 if from walmart 2nds. Single layer 1.9oz about $24 and 11oz
Suspension MYOG whoopies and Harbor freight straps - cheap 5-6 oz
2 walmart pads if on the cheap for bottom insulation - 16 oz $20. Wilderness logics Down 3/4 underquilt (the real deal) $180 and 20 oz.
A double layer hammock is better with pads so a double 1.1 oz ripstop. Edge sew a huge rectangle, whip it and good to go. Leave one side partially open.

Wilderness logics Tadpole tarp, 11.5oz and $85.

$275 with pads and this will be real equipment that will last.
4.8# with a 2.5 climashield quilt.

Another route, same as above, but instead of hammock and UQ and tarp, substitute a Eureka Spitfire, 2#6oz with titanium stakes $100 or shell out another $100 or so for a tarptent Moment etc or occasionally you can find a used contrail for about $125.

Another route instead of hammock and UQ and tadpole tarp, 8x10 sil tarp, MYOG 1.25oz tyvek bivy with net.

If you want to be really comfy on the ground count on buying an inflatable. Lightest and best right now is the X-Lite 12oz $160 for a regular.

[christoba123]

I have never seen any camping gear at wal-mart that was worth having. I have seen a few maytag incidents involving campers out by lakes using wal-mart tents. So other than entertainment value, wal-mart tents are a no-go.

[Likes2travel]

I have never seen any camping gear at wal-mart that was worth having. I have seen a few maytag incidents involving campers out by lakes using wal-mart tents. So other than entertainment value, wal-mart tents are a no-go.

Guess I better take back that bottle of hand sanitizer I bought at Wall World the the other day.

[Ladytrekker]

If the tent doesn't have a bathtub bottom it could be a wet night your tent/shelter is important. I was in a monsoon practically in a inexpensive gander tent and stayed dry my friend was in a Walmart tent and was swimming most of the night remember bathtub bottom

[lvnv1212]

Check this out http://www.geartrade.com You can always offer less than asking price, I sold a some really good stuff here very reasonalble

[staehpj1]

I usually cowboy camp or tarp/bivy camp these days, but have found the Eureka Spitfire 1 to be a great tent for when I want to use a tent. It is big enough for me and my 50 pound dog. It can sometimes be found new for under $100 and I have found no reason to replace mine with anything more expensive. Do ditch the oem stakes in favor of something lighter and better. Also you probably only need 4 stakes rather than the full complement of 8.