*BUDGET* BACKPACKING GEAR AWARDS 2022 - 2023

🔥Best Budget Backpacking App

🔥Best Budget Backpack

🔥Best Budget Pack Liner

🔥Best Budget Sleeping Bag

🔥Best Budget Sleeping Pad

🔥Best Budget Pillow

🔥Best Budget Quilt

🔥Best Budget Tent

🔥Best Budget Cook Pot

🔥Best Budget Stove

🔥Best Budget Spoon
Ozark Trail Spoon (difficult to find - usually out of stock)

🔥Best Budget Freeze Dried Meals

🔥Best Budget Water Carry
Smart Water Bottle (every gas station ever)

🔥Best Budget Headlamp

🔥Best Budget Footwear
The Shoes You Already Own

🔥Best Budget GPS
There isn’t one…

🔥Best Budget Trowel
Trekking Pole or Stick

🔥Best Budget Camp Shoes
Crocs or flip flops

🔥Best Budget Puffy Jacket

🔥Best Budget Mid Layer
What you already own

🔥Best Budget Rain Jacket

🔥Best Budget Chair
Amazon (millions of them on there)

🔥Best Budget Way to Carry Food
Garbage bag
Stuff sack from a sleeping bag

🔥Best Budget Ditty Bag
Gallon Ziplock Bag

🔥Best Budget First Aid Kit

🔥Best Budget Multi Tool

🔥Best Budget Trekking Poles
Cascade Mountain Carbon Trekking Poles (not here)

🔥Best Budget Water Filter

🔥Best Budget Way to Inflate a Pad

[JulioCauthorne]

This is a good list!

For those who think this isn't budget enough, it's true. Fact is, backpacking ain't really a budget sport. But there are ways. 1. Find used goods; 2. Break into the hike while building up your gear - start w/ day hikes so u won't yet need half the stuff mentioned here, then go on summer overnight climbs so you won't have to worry about winter layers & R-value sleep systems yet. The more you get into the hobby, the more you'll willingly invest in advanced (a.k.a pricier) gear; 3. Join a hiking community, they'd be happy to share or lend you some items until you can buy one such as a bag, tent, cookset, etc.; 4. Explore Decathlon ; 5. If you don't mind the weight, your existing stuff will do for the timebeing - as Dan had provided some examples, a garbage bag for waterproofing and a dairy queen spoon will work just fine. That goes with all other gear. So far I've used a dead branch as a trek pole, my old school backpack as hiking bag, my house slip-ons as camp slippers, sewn fleece blanket as sleeping quilt, a car sunshade/windshield cover as sleeping pad, cooked meals from scratch, and worn a garbage bag as raincoat! Be creative.

[nancyst.john-smith]

Excellent video!!
Granny packer here. For those of you on a real budget just getting started, one word, COSTCO! My hiking poles, legendary down quilts, Mountain House Food Kits, dry peanut butter, Sailor Boy Pilot Bread (big crackers), trail mix, dried fruit… all came from Costco and perform great.
Garage sales in the good part of town are also a great idea. If you go backpacking and decide it’s not for you (ya sissy!) you haven’t broken the bank. If you ever find the legendary Costco down throws back in stock buy one or two for every member of your family. They stuff down to a tiny size, are covered in super light nylon. With an emergency bivy that you can buy for under $20 you could save a life. We used to carry them when cross country skiing in Alaska. They make excellent under quilts for hammock camping. I bought about 10 of them for $16 each. Great car kit blankets. I also carry the Stanley 2 cup cook set in the car with some basic “add water” food and water, of course! The Waypoint survival YT channel has 25 short videos of hacks and mods for the cook set.

[freeman]

So glad to see Paria getting some love. They’ve been a great company for years that focuses on getting people outdoors without breaking the bank.

[CBne]

Nitecore NU 25 is only a few dollars more than the Energizer, but it’s rechargeable, lighter, and brighter.

[leogoughmtbs]

Bin bags, or trash bags are great, however in the uk they have been made really weak so they are eco friendly. Good old dry sack for us 👍

[noahmcgehee]

For me the air pillow is worth it. After using a jacket or backpack as a pillow for about 12 years, I finally gave in and I'm never looking back. And that specific pillow is great!

[TheWillRogers]

An alternative to the Decathlon Forclaz Trek 100 Down jacket is the Decathlon Forclaz MT100 Synthetic Jacket. Not quite as warm, but it makes a great mid layer / pillow, and it's synthetic so you can just wash it with everything else and occasionally hit it with some nikwax. It's about $30 cheaper and i've loved this thing for the past few years.

[CaseyWatchin]

I came back to this video just to let you know that this video is what finally got me into backpacking and now I go at least once a week! thanks for making this!!!

[russellhowells]

Dan, thanks for listening to what some of us are asking. This was appreciated. Yes, you can't test every piece of gear that's on Amazon, but you did give us your take on it. Some stuff is worth the extra money, but like you've shown there are numerous ways to go backpacking without breaking the bank.

[nathanlewis]

I actually took the Forclaz trek 100 on my expedition up Mount Kilimanjaro in the back end of last year. Was super happy with it, certainly kept me warm and rolls into its own pocket. Great piece of kit!

[johnschmalbach]

There are two models of the lanshan. The regular and the pro. The pro is single walled where the regular is double walled. The double walled is a little bit cheaper but keep in mind if people buy the Pro that one does not come seam sealed you'll have to do it yourself.

[MB-qxvn]

Yes to the trash bag pack liner. I’m a seasoned hiker and still use just a garage bag. I actually pack a few to hold wet things, separate smelly things, or just garbage.

[jacklystackly]

The best budget anything is the gear you already have. It might not be pretty, or lightweight, but you can probably go backpacking with stuff you already own. I’m an Eagle Scout and an avid outdoors person and have litterly never owned a ground pad, Granted I don’t go winter camping super frequently, but I’ve still had lots of fun without an inflatable pillow, or a metal tracking pole (sticks work just fine). No hate towards the video. You Definitely need most everything that he talks about but just a reminder you don’t need to spend money to enjoy the outdoors

[nisouchi]

A great diffuser to turn small bright lights into a hanging lantern that you may already have is the microfiber pouch for your sunglasses if it is a lighter color, especially the bright yellow pouch for Suncloud glasses, but any lighter color will work, and means you can customize the tent glow color your choice

[jond]

Decathlon makes a great Backpacking chair (called the Quechua mh500) that occasionally goes on sale for $25. It weighs right about 2 lbs and has stood up to everything I've thrown at it so far. Normal price is usually $40 or $50 - Which is still a great price for the quality and weight. 5 yr warranty too

[ballwizz]

I have an excel sheet with all the backpacking essentials so I can list and budget for what I'm going to need. Each item has a "Recommended, but expensive" column and a "Budget option" column. The Granite Gear Crown2 is my Recommended but expensive option. We are clearly multiple tax brackets apart lol. Though I'll admit, it cost over $200 when I first added it.

[NickJensen]

I enjoy your videos simply because you are down to earth and for that I respect your opinion on gear.

Less content but better quality focusing on the things that YOU want to do won't result in any loss of subscribers especially with the quality that you put out.

[ELMANTEC]

OK, this is budget. Now can you make a cheep list for poor people like me. Cut all these prices at half and choose gear for that amount. Can you? :)

[justinsnider]

Thanks for the coupon code for Flextail products. Just got the Tiny Pump Ultra Mini for $22! I thought a huge benefit for using a pump on the trail is actually deflating the air mattress way more effectively than rolling it through the dirt. 🤣

[MB-jjjw]

These videos have been so helpful! I bought a few of these pieces before I even started watching your videos after constant research and deal watching so I feel even more justified in my purchases now. This helped me decide on a few more items that I was on the fence about buying