Low Cost Backpacking Outfit, Can it be done?

[scrivner]

Hello,

I’m at a party in LA explaining the joys and benefits of backpacking/woods and mountain wandering to a friend. A guy who had been listening says, “That’s all elitist crap. I’ve been in those stores. I know how much that stuff costs. Poor kids can’t do any of that.”

This guy is a school principal in the inner city. He’s well meaning. He cares about his kids. Is he misinformed? I must admit that I had no idea where to tell him to go to get low cost gear. Nor did I have any idea how much it would cost to outfit a kid (teenager) with low cost gear that would be adequate. But, I gotta believe it can be done.

On a volunteer basis I’ve taught survival skills to dozens of teenagers, many of them inner city kids, taken them into mountains and forests with nothing but the contents of their pockets, or in some cases, a few odds and ends in book bags, and taught them to get by for fairly long periods. But those were kids who wanted to learn wilderness survival, a fairly small group. Backpacking is a different thing and could attract a larger group, which I think would be a Good Thing. Over the years I’ve seen the benefits of keeping kids feet in the dirt as much as possible, and off city streets.

I can teach a kid to get by (survive) with almost no gear. And I can take a kid shopping at, say, REI, and get him outfitted with decent fairly lightweight gear for we might think of as a modest budget. But how do I outfit a kid whose family has, maybe, at maximum and that’s a stretch, a hundred bucks to spend? Can it be done for a hundred bucks? How about less? Fifty bucks?

Not talking about making gear, that’s out of the skill set of this group. Nor do these folks have sewing machines, time to do the work after working two jobs, or a car to drive to wherever they would have to go get materials.

Donated gear is a non-starter. I was turned down by a number of well known companies a few years ago when I wanted to take a group of inner city kids to walk the John Muir Trail. Wound up financing the whole thing myself. Not in a position to do that now. Don’t think it would be any different today. Donating to high profile athletes seems to be OK, a group of poor inner city kids not so much.

I know this site is all about the AT. But in the short time I’ve been hanging out here I’ve seen more good will and expertise (and less frank rudeness) than on any other site.

Anyone care to offer suggestions?

Thanks,

Scrivner

I'll also post this on the lightweight forum.

[Skidsteer]

Got you covered:

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=206678#post206678

Lots of good ideas.

[scrivner]

Skids,

Clicked on link, got invalid link message.

Thanks,

Scrivner

[russb]

Steep and Cheap, Sierra Trading Post, ebay... so yes one can outfit a kid very inexpensively, I volunteer at a local BSA troop (inner city) and every summer when I go by a garage sale I pick up used packs for $5 to give to the troop.

I do agree with that principal though, the outfitter stores are way to expensive for gear. He is wrong with his conclusions though.

[Skidsteer]

Skids,

Clicked on link, got invalid link message.

Thanks,

Scrivner

Really? Try it now.

[scrivner]

Skids,

Link worked this time. WOW! Much info. I'm on it.

THANKS!!!

Scrivner

[Chatter]

“I’m at a party in LA explaining the joys and benefits of backpacking/woods and mountain wandering to a friend. A guy who had been listening says, “That’s all elitist crap.”

I’m just glad you didn’t ask how to convince your fellow partygoer about the joys of backpacking, etc. Now, THAT would be a challenge! :-?

[fiddlehead]

Thrift stores. The only thing you really need to worry about is the sleeping bag.
Everything else can be found in thrift stores if you know what you are looking for.
A sil-nylon tarp or any nylon tarp can be set up in many different ways.

California hiking is easier than east coast hiking because you don't have much rain. and it's usually easy to find a flat spot.

Pack, cooking pot, clothes, raingear, sleeping pad, maybe tarp, can all be found in thrift stores. Many are full of this stuff as people think hiking is cool until they find out it can be heavy and they don't like walking so much.

The kids could easily be taught how to make a beer can stove (whoops, i mean soda can stove) and it will mean more to them too. What else to you need? Empty soda bottle, toothbrush, sneakers, spoon, blah blah blah.

doesn't take much to find out if you like to hike. IF they do, they'll figure out how to get what they need if they can't find it in thrift stores.

[Yahtzee]

Golite Gust Pack on Ebay $50 (Bought not bid on)
20 degree Marmot bag from outfitter $70
Eureka Spitfire Tent on Ebay $55 (Bought not bid on)

From walking around NYC, I would say even the poorest kids wear NorthFace these days, so I don't think clothing should be a problem.

Hiking is decidedly not an elitist activity. Those of us with excess cash can certainly spend it on gear, but that pursuit has nothing to do with one's ability to take to the woods.

Those kids will mostly likely need knowledge and security more than gear as it will be the first time in the woods for many of them.

[berninbush]

In my experience, it's a lot easier to get away with cheap gear if you're hiking in a moderate climate. I'm a short-distance hiker and most of my trips are in Texas in warm weather. I got a $25 summer-weight sleeping bag from www.sportsmansguide.com, and I used $15 tents from Walmart (until I just bought a slightly nicer one, used, for $50 from someone here on WB). Larger Walmart book bags can work, too. They won't have the most elegant getup in town and they won't be ready for a thru-hike with extreme weather conditions, but if you want to take them out on a nice spring weekend to get them exposed to backpacking, it'll work.

Then, if they find they love it, they can start gradually acquiring nicer gear. That's pretty much what I'm doing. I still refuse to spend more than about $75 on any one item.

[whitefoot_hp]

ive seen enough clothing at wal mart (during the right seasons) to outfit for a hike.

[Bob S]

I’ve seen backpacks for $5.00 to $15.00 at garage sales, I see 5 or 6 of them every summer. Also cook sets are $1.00 or less. Tents for $7.00

It’s not hard to find used camping gear at rock bottom prices. I walk by more gear these days and not even look at it because I have so much that I have bought used (and new) It’s out there is you look.

[hopefulhiker]

When you are going to be out there for six months you can justify spending more money because it prorates out..

Sgt Rock has a good article on backpacking on the cheap...

But here are some quick ideas... You can go backpacking with the cheap blue tarp or just a big piece from a roll of plastic.

You can use those cheap blue pads or air mattresses to sleep on. Plus the army navy store has poncho liners and field liners for jackets..

The Goodwill store has good fleece jackets and nylon shirts and shorts and used boots and other clothes..

For packs you can get large day school packs that will work at yard sales..

Trash bags have tons of uses too. Also zip lock bags are good.

For sleeping bags I would go with trying to get a relatively good used down one on the internet.. Probably where i would put the most of the money..

For a pot there is the Wal mart grease pot and a cheap alcohol stove....

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/wb_style/misc/progress.gif

[kayak karl]

learn to run a sewing machine and you will be surprised at what you can make out of old tents and cheap cloth. only limited by your imagination.

[Bob S]

learn to run a sewing machine and you will be surprised at what you can make out of old tents and cheap cloth. only limited by your imagination.


Your post made me think of a friend of mine, we were at Old Mans Cave area of Ohio and he pulls out this huge tent (like a 8 or 10 person tent) with broken polls out of a dumpster. He’s been using that tent fabric to make things for years.

[Wags]

much like anything in life, it can be done regardless of cost. it just depends on the sacrifices in comfort you're willing to take :D

300 clunker or 80000 benz?
hitchhike or fly first class?
route 66 or armani?
flea market or macy's?
flea bag hotel or trump plaza?
byob strip joint or secrets?

and on and on. most people here probably fall somewhere in between those things. easily translated to hiking/backpacking/camping

[DragonStar]

Needed some insulation layers. I just went to Thrift World in Durham and came away with the following:

$2 Berghaus heavyweight (feels like 300) polartec fleece (retail 80 pounds, or roughly $160)

$2 Baleno Balsport midweight fleece (retail $160)

$2 LL Bean midweight fleece ($60)

$2 Columbia lightweight fleece pullover ($30)

$2 Women's PatagoniaW's El Cap Jacket ($90)

$2 Black Diamond Cole Microfleece ($50)

Total Paid: $12 + tax for $550 worth of mid-to-high end fleece layers.

[scrivner]

Guys,

Thanks for all the info. I'll put it to good use.

Scrivner

[tlbj6142]

learn to run a sewing machine and you will be surprised at what you can make out of old tents and cheap cloth. only limited by your imagination.Sewing your own gear is rarely (if ever) the cheapest option (it is tough to beat China). Almost everything I have made (pack, 3.5 person tarptent, synthetic fill vest, down bag and breathable bivy sack) I could buy a similar item for much, much less than I paid for my materials alone (labor is free :D). Assuming, of course, I waited for the right deal. What sewing does allow you to do is build something with the features (or lack of features) you want.

[Bob S]

Camping clothes (all the names mentioned above) is more a way to impress others then it is for camping. Regular gym shoes will work fine, as will all the clothes you have right now.

The coat that keeps you warm walking & working around the city works just as well on the trail. It’s a coat, it doesn’t have any idea it’s not trendy and not suppose to keep you warm on the trail because it’s not made by Columbia or North Face.

As far as camping gear, pots & pans can be bought at the Goodwill or Salivation Army stores for .50-cents to a buck or two. If you are on a really tight budget a few old blankets can be used in place of a sleeping bag. What do you think mankind did for all of its existence other then the last few years? They used blankets.

And a decent stove can be made from a tin juice can (I made one and it works well.)

Garage sales are a great place to find tents & backpacks for a very low price.


Don’t get caught up in trendy names. :(

[shelterbuilder]

More than a few years ago, I remember a kid on the AT who used a wool blanket and some big blanket pins as a sleeping bag. Not terribly lightweight, but serviceable. Cheap backpacks (frame, mostly) are always popping up at yard sales and flea markets for a couple of bucks. The thrift stores always have small (mostly aluminum) cookpots and spoons for next to nothing. Trash and compactor bags work wonders for keeping stuff (and people) dry.

Trendy?? NO. Usable?? Definitely.

And, if you've been teaching suvival skills in the past, then you can teach these kids the skills that they would need to know in order to "get by" with almost nothing.

Good luck with this.

[Locutus]

I picked up this pack at Sams Club, used it on a weekend hike, thought it worked great. Large, lots of pockets, well padded, seems well constructed, and comes with a rain cover that stows in a zipper pouch on the bottom (didn't even discover that until after I bought it):

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=378831

I am sure will snub their nose at this pack, but hey, it seems to work for me. :)

[Bob S]

It looks like a nice pack, for an internal frame (I like external frame packs.)

[JAK]

Looks too heavy, but at that price I wouldn't complain.

[mudhead]

Another option: Rental.

Might find a place that will give you a good entry price.

Future customers, blah, blah. Sell it!

I would think a few messages to student organizations might get some donations. College kids throw out piles of good stuff. Plenty of people out there to ask, if you can get the message in front of the right eyeballs. Maybe one of them could put it on their Myspacepage thingy.

[Grumpy5280]

"elitist!" Ha! What a joke!!!

Inner-city kids buy $100-150+ sneakers. They get nice cell phones, game boys and plenty of bling. They acquuire name-brand expensive clothes (North Face) I've seen them with this stuff in Detroit, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Miami, Philly, Atlanta, etc. If they want it, they'll find a way.

If they want to go hiking, they can find a way to pay for that.

Truth is, they are urban creatures, and a night camping in the woods is about as scary a prospect as a night for a suburban dweller living in a low-rent tenement in Brooklyn. "Nature" is not part of their cultural world (broadly speaking). Doesn't mean it can't be, but it's not the cost of things that is the hurdle. It's the frame of mind.

Sounds like the principle was playing the "guilt" trip on you for being a productive citizen with some discretionary time and income.

[awestberry]

For a cheap, lightweight, and surprisingly warm sleeping bag, I bought two fleece blankets from Dollar General ($3 each) and had one of the alterations places here in town sew the two long sides and one of the short sides together to make a large bag. Total cost was $11 and it is a perfect sleeping bag for spring and summer and a great winter bag liner.