Sounds great. If you're hunting tarps, I have a Chill Gorilla. Hex shaped so plenty of coverage and only $35 when I bought it. Look into those. I use a loofah as a snake skin.Originally Posted by CaptainGravity
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Leave it to Shug to put things into perspective!
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5K for a 7 day cruise for 6 people. Imagine all the gear that would buy.
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I tend to invest in hammocks, underquilts and tarps. Everything else you can find at walmart or costco or army surplus stores. If you purchase good underquilts in the 0* or 20* range you can use an inexpensive costco down blanket or walmart sleeping bag for most summer temps.
I don't know why everyone is comparing backpacking to taking a cruise. I can't afford a cruise (not do I want to go one one). I can hardly afford to take my family to Alaska from Oregon for the week much less on a cruise.
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I feel the pain of the OP (minus 1) because I had to outfit myself and my wife at the same time. We started with budget stuff because initially we didn't want to heavily invest in something we didn't know if we'd continue doing long term.
The good thing about going that route is this: You learn where you can save money and where you need to prioritize investment.
For instance:
insulation- yes you can get by with a pluck, cheap sleeping bag, etc, but if you want maximum comfort and packability (in most situations) down insulation is superior. Subscribe to the vendors' email lists who make them and take advantage of sales throughout the year, and check out the economy lines offered by some of the different vendors.
I found that once I DIY'd my own table cloth hammock that I slept perfectly in it and I don't feel a need to spend a lot of money on a hammock. My wife didn't sleep as well as I did so we decided to try a bridge hammock (WBRR) for her, and now she loves it. We bought it during their Black Friday sale.
I've learned to splice Amsteel and sew basic things like stuff sacks and hammock straps, so that's a way to save as well. My goal is to keep learning, and be able to sew my own hammocks and tarps eventually.
As far as other gear, you can do some research and get some pretty good gear pretty inexpensively. Keep an eye on the "for sale" forums to save money on some slightly used gear.
Clothes- thrift stores, Goodwill, Walmart clearance racks, I've never spent a lot of money on any clothes and I'm definitely not spending a lot of money on clothes that I'm going to be "homeless" in haha! I have great lightweight performance clothing for really cheap by looking for bargains.
Lots of ways to shave the cost, but in the end it's still not cheap.
IMO it's worth it = )
I started hammock camping way before either kid was ready to do any camping. As time went on I ended up upgrading some of my gear. Fast forward a decade now I have hammocks, tarps, UQs for both kids (my old stuff). I re-purpose their sleeping bags for TQs. One is using a slightly blemished WBRR so in a pinch he can use a pad or cram in an old blanket for insulation.
We've done a few short hikes and some car trips where they've both hung. However, they're still much more comfortable being ground dwellers. Try as I might I haven't really been able to convert them. So, we have the gear but that's no guarantee they'll want to hang. Pads, sleeping bags, etc. work fine on the ground or the hammock so it's not a big deal.
Going on "The Cheap" when it comes to kids gear isn't bad. It gives you a chance to try out gear. The snugpak jungle blanket DIY UQ along with the Costco down throw TQ are in my arsenal along with plenty of fronkey nets and tablecloth hammocks. All that stuff was cheap to make or buy and it fills a gap for the kids or friends that are curious/interested in getting into hanging. Throwing a $1000 in down and silnylon goodness in front of your friends and telling them they need this to "get started" hanging is kind of a conversation killer.
Took my kids camping a few times, and the idiots just wanted to stare into their **** "smart"phones. Never again. Now I get out in the Pine Barrens alone for some blessed peace and quiet.
Haha. Luckily mine haven't gotten to that age yet. No smart phones.
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I refuse to let my daughter bring her phone home from her fathers house. She is 13. I have decided she can talk on a phone like I did at 13....one with a cord....
I get mad when my friends kids bring their phones and dont participate in the trip cause they are buried in the phone. The smart a** that I am, i try to pick sites with very little cell signal
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