Mitchell Sports Photography

Camping Gear

On this page I would like to list the main pieces of gear we use to successfully enjoy a weekend in the woods. It has gone through many years of refining and investing in the gear we have today, but it is well worth the money considering every ounce saved is an ounce of pain saved on your joints and skeletal system!

This will be a work in progress, with constant fluidity as our gear changes every year as we become familiar with new products and lighter versions of old products.

If you're just starting out there are several big ticket items you need to consider. Items such as a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, backpack, water purifier, stove and cooking pan. Then there are the lower cost necessities such as a pillow, fuel, lighter/matches, food, water bladder, camelbak water bag with tube and a myriad others that can be acquired slowly.

Item #1 - Tent

Here is the tent my son and I currently use, it's an REI Half-Dome lightweight tent. It is a 3 season, freestanding fairly lightweight tent. Excellent bang for the buck here at $169 USD (April 2009) and weighing in at a meaty 5 lbs. 11 oz. it is still a great deal. Sure there are lighter, but you have to consider value as well here. Some can do without the main shelter and just use the fly and a ground tarp, I'm not one of those kind. I like to sleep well without worrying about spiders and centipedes crawling over my face, so I prefer the enclosed tents.

The last tent I bought was a Big Sky Evolution 2P and aside from waiting almost twelve months and many emails to customer support, and the price, this in my opinion is the creme of the crop. The girls use this tent.

And here is that tent. It weighs in at a measly 3 lbs. 2 oz. complete with stakes, poles, rainfly, bag and guy lines. But at a price, currently selling for $349. So, either tent works great, go with what your budget will allow. We have no complaints at all with the heavier REI tent, but shaving almost three lbs. off the weight of a tent is HUGE! Consider wisely.

You can't go by weight alone, although that is a major factor, you also need to consider floor sq.ft. area, peak height, # of doors, vestibule area, and ease of setup. Both tents here fill all of those roles very well.

Item #2 - Sleeping Bag

Another large investment you'll need to make would be your sleeping bag, this could easily exceed the price of your tent. There are quite a few options here but the biggest decision would be down-filled vs. synthetic. In the end I chose a down-filled, 850-fill goose down, Marmot Helium 15 degree bag. Both my wife and I have one, and they weren't cheap at $350 each, but they should last us a very long time.

The bag weighs 1 lb. 15 oz. and packs down really small. We can't say enough good things about this bag. The full length zipper is very nice as I sometimes like to poke a foot out when we're in the heat of the summer. Make sure you compare the specs on the bags you're considering, the three measurements are chest, hip and foot circumferences. Also be sure to watch for the "long" version of the bag if you're over 6' tall.

Our two kids both use REI Sub Kilo bags which were very reasonably priced, considering. I understand these are no longer available. Bottom line, the kids sleep very well and the weight is almost imperceptible.

Item #3 - Backpack

And the last major cash dump would be the backpack. The choices are many, but we finally decided on GoLite's Odyssey 5500 bag which weighed in at a measly 3.5 lbs. A full 3 lbs. lighter than my original Kelty RedCloud 5600 at 6.5 lbs. My wife upgraded to the GoLite Odyssey 5000, tipping the scales at 3.3 lbs, replacing the 2.9 lbs. heavier Sierra Designs 4600. So she upgraded the capacity and lowered the weight considerably. The packs are a very welcome relief and we really enjoy them. There is a built in whistle on the sternum strap in case you get lost or become immobilized, and the zippered pockets on the waist strap are very handy for snacks and knives... anything you need quick access to.

This pretty much will get you started, there still are many items you will need such as a water filter, food, stove, hammock... which I'll cover on page 2.