Absolutely the cost of “Staycations” or “Nearcations” are relatively low. For the price of gas money and campground fees, your family can easily spend a week away without destroying what is left of your savings. But what if you don’t already own all the necessary “gear”?
Given my affinity for numbers and camping, I decided to outline what it would cost to outfit a family of four with my family’s camping gear. This only includes the actual camping gear, not the clothes, bikes, fishing poles you likely already own. So, below I have listed the exact camping gear we take. Not the cheapest, nor the most expensive, but in our experience perfect for our family based on cost, durability and comfort.
My list below totals just over $2,200, again this could be done much cheaper or more expensive given your preferences.
Updated 4/14/09 - Thanks for all the comments below, and I apologize if my title was a little misleading. I certainly don't expect every family to shill this out for their first foray into the woods. This kit has taken us 10+ years to pull together, and is merely presented as a quality middle of the road solution. Perhaps a future blog post will present a great budget starter kit...
So here goes the camping list:
- Membership to Leave No Trace - $20 or more, your choice
- Tent – 4 person, 3 season Big Agnes Big House 4 - $300
- Little Kid sleeping bag & pad – $100 + $45 Big Agnes Wolverine Bag and Air Core Pad
- Big Kid sleeping bag and pad - $150 + $45 Big Agnes Lulu Petite and Air Core Pad (rectangular)
- 2 Adult Sleeping bags - $190 each, REI Radiant 25 degree bag (ok our bags are so old at this point, but if I were to buy new, these are probably what I would get for our typical summer trips)
- 2 Adult pads - $150 each, Thermarest Luxury Camp XL (there are many cheaper pads out there, but good sleep goes a long way when camping with the family. Also we are not fans of the bed size air mattresses that many big box retailers carry, we’ve had bad experiences, and judging on the number I see in campground trash bins, others have as well)
- Bring your pillows from home - $free
- 4 headlamps - $20 - $35 each, Petzl Tikka Plus LED headlamps and Black Diamond Kid’s Wiz
- Stove & Gridle - $200, Any Coleman 2 burner propane stove with griddle, also a 5 lb refillable propane tank and conversion hose to avoid using the disposable propane canisters (Leave No Trace members can get great Pro deals on Coleman gear, see #1 above)
- Cooler - $50, any 36+ quart, Coleman makes great ones
- 4 Camp Chairs – $20 apiece, for relaxing after a day of playing with the family!
- Rest of the kitchen - $300, includes aluminum cookset, plates, bowls, mugs and silverware for 4, cutting board and a couple sharp knives, dirty dish bin, sponge and soap, Rubbermaid bin to hold it all, another Rubbermaid to hold all your food, etc. Much of this could be taken from your home, but the ease of grabbing the kitchen bin and putting it in the car make this so worth it for us.
You are an obvious gear-head like myself, but you are in the 10X over to get started. We have a lot of beginner families in our cub scout pack and price is always a big concern. People can always upgrade, but encourage novices to start at Wal-Mart or Target and see if they like it. They will, and they will grow the LNT ranks a lot quicker than if they have to fork over 2 grand just to "get started".
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Kevin! Our personal gear has taken many years to reach its present state. I do believe that the quality of gear has a huge impact on the perception of enjoyment, so a balance must be reached. But agree that it is far better to take a chance and get out there, than to not get out at all. Cheers!
ReplyDeletemy family consists of minimalist, ultralight, DIY backpackers
ReplyDeleteDo REI or other adventure stores rent any of this equipment? Seems that might be a good way to avoid shelling out the dough.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing we do is camp with another family or two. Not only is it fun to camp with friends, we also share our resources, so one family does not have to bring everything. For example, I bring a big dutch oven, which is great for dinners and cinnamon roles, and one of our other friends brings the hand-crank margarita blender. It is all about sharing!
As a leader of a cub scout pack in Texas your gear list would kill most of my families. We recommend they buy a Coleman sundome line of tent. It is a basic two pole dome tent with a nice bathtub bottom. We suggest people use a fleece blanket to line a Wal-mart Coleman bag and get an extra 5 or 10 degrees. I do recommend at least a $5.00 closed cell foam pad. For kitchen gear we suggest a $40 propane stove, a 10 inch cast, iron skillet, and raid the rest from your kitchen or the dollar store. We suggest two coolers, one for cold food and one for drinks. We target getting a family running for $250. I am always looking for sales and deals at the sporting good stores and pass them on to the pack.
ReplyDeleteI'll pretty much reiterate what everyone else is saying: this list is not for novices. A family can get started at a fraction of this cost, and won't be disappointed at the garage full of expensive gear that's gathering dust because it turns out they really aren't all that enthusiastic about camping.
ReplyDeleteYour list looks similar to my car camping set-up (even our dogs have their own Thermarest and camp chairs), which was built up over years. We made this kind of investment only because we're hard-core explorers who go on frequent trips, year-round. Additionally, much of our gear serves multiple purposes and environments (e.g. desert, mountains, boating, scuba, etc.).
Great article, but perhaps it should be spun as a set of recommended upgrades for folks that are already serious campers. An article with recommendations for getting a family started on the cheap (rent or borrow big gear if possible, inexpensive Coleman-level gear that will last a season--longer if cared for, cook over an open fire, cold dinners, styrofoam or cheap cooler, etc.) would be welcome and useful to all these newcomers to the outdoors.
I'd agree. For me, camping has been a gradual relationship - a new sleeping bag here, a new backpack there... and just about everything has an integral piece of duct tape somewhere on it! Consequently, I'm always shopping for deals.
ReplyDeleteOne great thing about your Leave No Trace membership is that ALL members get up to 40% off at the Coleman Online Pro Store. This means that if I absolutely cannot resits the "need" for a new stove, a camp chair, cooking pots, sleeping bag, tent or some other piece of gear... I don't have to break the bank.
If you're a member - feel free to email me for your Coleman password!
Sara
Membership & Development Manager
Leave No Trace
For car-camping, we often use sections of egg-crate foam overlaid with blankets instead of expensive pads. We actually got the piece of egg-crate that we cut to fit our tent free from a fabric store that had leftovers. Also, I just bought a Thermarest pad for $40 that I find quite comfortable. I recently used that in combination with the egg-crate and blankets on a car-camping trip, and, boy, was that comfy!
ReplyDeletewhile i see that a lot of the comments recommend less expensive gear to start, i just love that you've posted the best stuff you love. that's the hardest thing to determine without a lot of expensive (and uncomfortable...and heavy...and cold....) trial and error....knowing what to aim for is awesome. thank you SO much for posting this....now i'll start looking for amazing locations...thank you.
ReplyDeleteKurt- I love your list. Yes for many this would be very expensive. But most don't go out and buy this all at once. I agree better gear does make the trip, I've probably spent more that that amount with bad choices or gear that doesn't last. Everyone needs to find what works for them this was just ideas and good ones.
ReplyDeleteSomeone asked if REI rents equipment, yes they do rent some equipment. Some places will rent with the option to buy with your deposit going towards the price of the item. For Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts they should check with area director they sometimes have gear for troops/ dens to barrow. Looking for a place to donate camping gear in Michigan. The rubbermaid totes are the best if you have the luxury to have the stuff to leave packed. These are nice to to just grab for a day at the beach. Couple items to add old shower curtain. Also the cheap table cloths with flannel on one side have many uses. Wrapped up in one to stay warm and dry at a track meet one time in the pouring rain when the rain coat wasn't enough. To all Happy Camping and a safe return home.
Kim