$300 Challenge

[SGT Rock]

A good question about going cheap came up on the thread Shoestring Budget. One of the neatest threads I ever saw was called the $300 challenge over on www.thebackpacker.com. Since that thread had been dead a while, I figured I would start a new one here.

The rules - you have $300 to spend on a pack. Temperatures expected should be about 40 degrees F and above - maybe good enough for an AT thru-hike starting in April. The goal is to build a complete pack with clothing, shelter, cookware, first aid, etc. You can assume that certain things may be already owned by a non-backpacker like a toothbrush, spoon, etc, but these weights must be included. The base pack weight (weight without food or water) should be less than 15 pounds.

Who is game?

[SGT Rock]

My entry, as it looks like I am the only one on right now:

Items listed as such: GEAR - ITEM - WEIGHT IN OUNCES - PRICE - LOCATION YOU FIND IT - NOTES IF ANY
1. backpack - Granite Gear Virga Ultralight Backpack - 22.0 - $51.96 - Sierra Trading Post
2. pack liner - 3 garbage bags - 3.0 - Freebie - under your kitchen sink
3. sleeping pad - cheap blue pad - 8.0 - $7.99 - Wal-Mart - Trim to needed size
4. sleeping bag - The North Face Long 40° Sleeping Bag - 38.0 - $47.96 - Sierra Trading Post
5. ground cloth - emergency space blanket - 2.0 - $3.99 - Wal-Mart - Trim to needed size
6. poncho/tarp - Ultralight sil-nylon poncho/tarp - 8.5 - $44.99 - Campmor
7. cord - Colored Mason Twine - 3.0 - $1.50 - Wal-Mart - Trim to needed size
8. Stakes - 6 Aluminum gutter nails - 3.0 - $5.00 - Lowe's
9. socks - nylon dress socks x 3 - 3.0 - $9.96 - Wal-Mart - these may be free if you already have them
10. shoes - Wear your old sneakers for now - 25.0 - Freebie - your closet
11. shorts - nylon swim trunks - 3.5 - $6.96 - Wal-Mart - these may be free if you already have them
12. t-shirt - Terramar® EC2® Short Sleeve Tee - 6.5 - $6.97 - Campmor
13. bandanna - cotton bandanna - 1.0 - $1.00 - a lot of places - these may be free if you already have them
14. long underwear - Dufold - 15.5 - $15.93 - Campmor
15. insulated jacker - Military Field Jacket Liners - 11.0 - $5.00 - Army Surplus Store - Warmer, lighter, and more compressible than fleece
16. insulated pants - Military Field Pants Liners - 9.3 - $5.00 - Army Surplus Store - Warmer, lighter, and more compressible than fleece
17. nylon pants - nylon athletic pants - 6.0 - $7.86 - Wal-Mart - you may want to rip out the liners on some models
18. scarf - fleece scarf - 1.5 - $4.00 - Wal-Mart - these may be free if you already have them
19. knit hat - wool cap - 2.0 - $6.50 - Wal-Mart - these may be free if you already have them
20. gloves - silkskins silk glove liners - 3.4 - $4.97 - Campmor - these may be free if you already have them
21. warm socks - Diadora Trekking Socks - 2.0 - $5.97 - Campmor - these may be free if you already have them
22. pot - Wal Mart Grease Pot - 4.0 - $6.00 - Wal-Mart - foil lid
23. stove - Soda Can Stove - 1.0 - Freebie - trash make it yourself
24. fuel bottle - Soda bottle - 1.0 - Freebie - trash make it yourself
25. lighter - Bic type lighter - 0.5 - $1.00 - Wal-Mart - get the 1/2 sized
26. spoon - kitchen spoon - 0.5 - Freebie - kitchen drawer
27. iodine - Coolands Drinking Water Tablets - 1.0 - $4.99 - Wal-Mart
28. water bottles - 2 1QT Gatorade bottles - 3.0 - Freebie - trash
29. toilet paper - 60 sheets - 1.0 - Freebie - bathroom
30. zip locks - 6-1 gallon zip lock type bags - 3.0 - $3.00 - Grocery store - these may be free if you already have them
31. pack towel - Lightload towel - 0.5 - $5.49 - Campmor
32. hand sanitizer - 1 ounce bottle alcohol base - 1.2 - $1.00 - Grocery store
33. tooth brush and paste - regular toothbrush & travel paste - 1.5 - $1.00 - Grocery store - cut down the toothbrush you already have
34. flashlight - LED light - 0.4 - $3.00 - Anti-Gravity Gear
35. Stuff Sacks - 10x20 Campmor stuff sack - 1.8 - $4.99 - Campmor - clothing bag
36. Food Bag - 12x22 Campmor stuff sack - 2.0 - $6.99 - Campmor
37. knife - Wenger Esquire Translucent Knife - 1.5 - $8.97 - Campmor
38. compass - Coghlans Four Function Whistle - 1.6 - $3.99 - Wal-Mart
39. Stove fuel - 12 ounce bottle of HEET - 9.8 - $1.50 - Wal-Mart - yellow bottle
40. first aid kit - make from spare parts - 4.5 - $4.50 - Grocery store - also parts you may already have
41. Cup - Gatorade container - 1.5 - Freebie - trash - make it yourself

PACK WEIGHT = 179.4 oz or 11.2 pounds

CARRIED WEIGHT (CLOTHING AND STUFF IN POCKETS) = 31.9 oz or 2.5 pounds

TOTALS = 218.5 oz or 13.7 pounds From Skin Out (FSO)

TOTAL PRICE = $299.93

PACK WEIGHT WITH 5 DAYS FOOD AND 2 QTS WATER = 25.2 pounds

Food weight assumes 2 pounds food per day.

I was very close on price, but very under on weight. The prices these items are available change from time to time, but it does show it is possible to build a packing list that will work if you shop around. It wouldn't be the most comfortable in the world, I would probably want a better shelter myself. This also didn't include things I consider essential like maps, journal, pen and camera. Those are personal choices that people must make.

[magic_game03]

ok, here it is:

MAIN 4---------------------------------

32 pack (homemade ripstop sil-nylon)
03 pack liner ( .5 mil plastic trash bag ) free
16 tarp (homemade ripstop sil-nylon)
02 two stakes $2
04 ground sheet (tyvek) $5
14 fleece sleeping bag liner (NWT ) $10
10 3/4 sleep pad (ridgerest type) $20
-- ---------
71 oz $37

COOK SET-------------------------------

02 lighter $1
08 aluminum cook pot w/lid (coleman type) $7
02 aluminum foil wind guard free / homemade
02 sm. stainless steel spoon (from home) free / home
01 alcohol stove (homemade cola can type) free / homemade
01 fuel bottle (8 oz plastic cola bottle type) free / home
08 100% alcohol ( gas anti-freeze ) $3
02 food sack (homemade ripstop sil-nylon)
-- --------------
26 oz $11

CLOTHES--------------------------------

04 duofold ss shirt $10
06 duofold ls shirt $15
14 fleece sweater $30
07 shell jacket $30
04* wool socks(wear 1 pr/carry 1pr) $15 (buy in 2 pack)
02 bandanna $1
--**NB 605 shoes $45
--**desert gaiters (homemade ripstop sil-nylon)
--**convertable pants $30
--**synthetic skull cap $3
(or) [depending on my gut feeling]
rain/sun hat
-- ------------
37 oz $179 [darn clothing is expensive]

EXTRAS---------------------------------

01 Iodine (potable aqua brand) $3
04 swiss army knife free / home
03 (2x) 1 liter wt. bottle (plastic cola type) free / home
05 camp shoes $5 (maybe free / home)
05 20 ft 4mm nylon cord $2
05 head lamp $15
06 data book $5
03 duct tape free / home
03 tooth brush & mini travel tooth Paste free / home - $1
02 toilet paper free / home
02 1 gallon ziplock "extra's" storage bag free / home
-- ------------
39 oz $31

$258 (if my math is right)
leaves $42 for ripstop nylon and webbing

this is off the top of my head. it's around 10 pounds now and should be good for 40 degrees and up. I've calculated it to be under $300 most of it is the same as STG rock who i see has nearly the same equipment.

[smokymtnsteve]

heck this is America..work some extra make $$$ buy the gear you want..save some $$$$ up and spend a little ..have a good time.

[SGT Rock]

magic_game03 good list. Making gear could save more money on my list. Like I could have includes homemade backpack that would be about $6-$18 and less than 1 pound - and you don't need a lot of skills. More than one way to skin that cat http://hikinghq.net/gear/rock_ruck.html

Steve, save money on gear, be less connected to the gear - more connected to the hike. Have more money for the ultralight muscle relaxants.

[smokymtnsteve]

my ole down sleeping bag is over 20 years old...

my titanium cook set is over 5 years old...(comes out to something like 15 dollars a year,,,little over a dollar a month..cheap ain't it)

my titanium coffee press is one year old...

my old kelty pack is on it's second rebuild....(me too)

my legs and knee joints are well connected.

as far a my connection to the AT..well wingfoot is a johhny come lately.

who needs $$$ for Ultra-light muscle relaxers...

[magic_game03]

earl shaffer did all this and probably for less than $100. Puts in prespective the difference in goal oriented people. Also, EZ1 makes alot of his gear and the rest is rather unique, all this on top of the fact he's 81 years old. 81 years old, made a homemade tent that weighed just over one pound, that sets up in 2 minutes, and makes me feel foolish for carrying around my 4 lb NF canyonlands tent(its bigger, nicer design,and looks wicked cool). what a great charcter.

hey, does anyone know if EZ1 is still on, off, or finished?

[hustler]

I saw EZ1 and all of his light weight gear in Maine, this would have been around July 1st or so. He was about to head south to finish up some sections down there that he skipped because of cold. Then he will head north again (probably already has) and finish up.

[magic_game03]

many thanks for the update, hustler.

[SGT Rock]

Anyone else have some entries besides Magic and me? I thought there would be a little more interest in this.

[orangebug]

Not from me. I will occasionally shop the Army/Navy store, Tuesday Morning, Big Lots, Salvation Army, yard sales and such - but more to help a newbie. It is real tough to do it for yourself once you've spent a few K's on gear, with most of it in the gear closet.

Bill....

[ga>me>ak]

Still figuring out my setup, so I can't reply.......yet

[SGT Rock]

No rush take your time. It might take a while to build a really good list anyway if you do this in real life. Mine was done off the top of my head and hitting some good site I know about.

By the way, if you are trying to save some money building a gear list for yourself for this exercise or real hiking, here are some excellent sites to do it cheap:

www.sierratradingpost.com - great deals on closing out gear from various places.
www.campmor.com - always a great place to find deals on camping gear
www.rei.com/outlet/index.html - REI's clearance site for gear
www.walmart.com - good place that everyone can go to t get the basics
www.fatiguesarmynavy.com - if you don't have a surplus store near you

[kncats]

I think it's not so much that no one has anything to add, but for me anyway you already pretty well covered it. I'd just add a couple other places to check out that haven't been mentioned yet:

www.ebay.com – CAVEAT EMPTOR!!! That being said. You can pick up some really great deals on equipment here, especially used stuff. Also, many smaller outfitters that can't afford a web presense of their own can and do set up shop here. Outfitters that pick up the last of the previous year's model frequently put them up for sale here. But regardless of whether you're buying from a dealer or a private individual be sure you know what you're actually purchasing. Watch out for off name brands advertised as “like” Mountainsmith, Gregory or whatever. A zero degree sleeping bag for $18 that sounds too good to be true almost definitely is. I picked up a used Mountainsmith pack four years ago for $70 that retailed new for $200 and it's still going strong.

www.northernmountain.com – The Killer Deals section can save you up to 80%. Especially good place to look for closeouts on last year's (and earlier) models.

www.mec.ca – Mountain Equipment Co-op in Canada. You don't usually see too much in the way of sales there, but their regular prices are very good. Particulary on their own branded items. Prices are all isted in $Cn, there's a converter to let you know whsat the price is in $US.


Also, keep an eye on your local outfitter. Pretty much all of them will have sales and particularly toward the end of a season they'll be looking to clear out last years models. Larger places like REI, Galyans, etc change their focus as the seasons change. As hiking season winds down they're wanting to move that equipment out to make way for snow season gear. If you keep your eyes open you can snag some good bargains.

[TDale]

I'm glad y'all picked this idea up. I posted a starter list in the one at backpacker. That thread was started in response to another where a man was asking how his wife and he could get started for less than $600.

My main interest in the idea is because a lot of new people could get discouraged by some of the numbers thrown around for some of the premium gear out there. I think my solution for the core equipment was pretty good.

$70 -Integral Design sil-poncho (shelter and raingear) weight 10 oz.
$70 -Golite Breeze packs weight 14 oz.
$8 -Packlite foam pads weigh 8 oz.
$30 -Campmor fleece camp bags weigh 27 oz.
$20 Liberty Mountain Trangia Westwind burner weighs 6.6 oz.
Add antigravitygear's 3-cup non stick pot pot($8/3.8) and tyvek($10/5) and I'm at I'm at $216 and 74.4 ounces.

New people need to know this isn't just a gearhead activity.

Thanks!

[eyahiker]

Sgt Rock, what a great list, comprehensive and a good read. I have learned a lot! And have spent mucho $$$ on xlite gear, will have to dump the bag and reconoiter the whole thing.............

[Jersey Bob]

at least 10 characters

[eyahiker]

Perhaps it's me.....but the whole idea on skimping on the footwear seems like a mistake. Thoughts?

[SGT Rock]

Switching from my expensive Asolo boots to my $35 Nike running shoes was one of the best decisions I ever made.

[eyahiker]

I'll have to try that, have Asolo's myself.......and some merrells, but they're mostly mesh, any trouble with stuff in yours sitting lower on your feet than boots?