Save money by sticking with essential gear

When I look back on the various outdoor sports that I’ve been involved with over my life, I tended to jump right in with both feet and buy a lot of superfluous gear that I didn’t really need. I still have a dry suit out in the garage somewhere, from my scuba diving days and there is a smattering of snow skiing gear out there, as well. If you are just getting your family involved in camping, sticking with the basics and avoiding non-essential gear, can save you a lot of money.

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Weaver Grand Slam, Minox BV and Vortex Diamondback - 3 value model binoculars at the top of their class

There is a lot to see when you go camping, particularly in the early morning and evening when much of the wildlife is out-and-about (but the people aren’t!). A good set of binoculars can enhance your wildlife viewing experience and these three models from Weaver® (strangely, no information on their website), Minox® and Vortex® are all great binoculars, even though they are considered low to mid-range by their respective manufacturers.

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Like most outdoor recreational activities, camping is one of those things that seems to draw the snake oil salesmen out of the wood, or probably cubicle, every time you turn around. I’ve never seen any of this stuff in the woods, so I’m not sure who they’re selling it too, but these are all actual products so someone must be buying them.

Coleman Propane Fry Well

Coleman® Propane Fry Well

Why don’t we just start letting McDonalds setup shop in our parks? Seriously, how intricate does your camp kitchen have to be before you start wanting a deep fryer to round it out?

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When it comes to the camping stove, there are lightweight backpacking models and large multi-burner models for car camping and base camp use. Camping stoves are further segmented by the kind of fuel that they burn. Some stoves burn liquid fuels like kerosene, alcohol, or a pressurized liquid like propane or a mixture of propane and butane. Solid fuel stoves burn wood, or a solid tablet like hexamine or trioxane.

All of the different types of fuels have their plusses and minuses. Propane is the most popular type of fuel, due to its ease-of-use and the readily available 1-pound canisters. Those canisters are heavy for backpacking, though, so manufacturers have introduced lower-pressure isobutane and isobutane / propane canisters that are much lighter, at about 5 ounces.

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It’s no secret that the best time to buy camping gear is in the dead of winter and, with Christmas just around the corner, there’s no time like the present to take a look at some of the hottest ways to go camping in 2009.

Mountain Hardwear Casa 4 Tent – $325

The Casa 4 from Mountain Hardwear - www.mountainhardwear.com

When it comes to tents, you truly do get what you pay for, and the $325 Casa 4, from Mountain Hardwear, is no exception. What makes the Casa 4 such a great family camping tent is its unique two-pole support system.

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