The other day I was sitting in my car, in the parking lot of an REI, reviewing the receipt from my purchases. I bought 5 items, including hiking shorts and a water filter. The grand total…$349 USD. Now, this is not a knock on REI, they are specialty retailer where high-end prices are to be expected. You'll always get great gear with exceptional warranty. However, as good as the quality may be, that kind of bill is outside of many backpackers' budgets. This got me thinking and inspired another shopping spree, buying Walmart hiking gear.
I wanted to see if I could get some essential gear at a substantially lower price. I'll walk you through the pros and cons of my experiences as they unfolded so that you can get an idea of how some common shopping priorities actually translate into backcountry realities. As you can also see from the title, it was a bit of a mixed bag. Let's get into it.
Walmart Hiking Gear List
An hour and $195 later, I returned to my parking lot basecamp with 9 key pieces of camping gear. I ended up grabbing a 1-person tent, a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, a stove (plus gas), cook set (plus cutlery), a headlamp, and a technical hiking shirt and shorts. The one biggie that I ended up passing on was a backpack for all this stuff. They had one that was 45-liters, but I immediately sensed that it would be inadequate.
The other big question I had while humming and hawing in the camping aisle was about the sleeping bag. It came rated for 30-degrees Fahrenheit. The Walmart sleeping bag was larger than the other sleeping bags I have used. Also, despite my protests over the years, I bit the bullet and got a foam sleeping pad. So overall, with a few basic concessions and omissions, the initial shop proved quite fruitful.
Full Receipt:
Shirt: Wrangler Western $14
Shorts: WearFirst River Shorts $29
Sleeping Bag: Ozark Trail 30-Degree (3.5 LBS) $35
Tent: Ozark Trail 1P (also 3.5 LBS) $30!
Headlamp: Ozark Trail 300 Lumen Headlamp (incl. 3 AAA Batteries) $10
Stove: Coleman Peak 1 $10
Fuel: $6
Cookset: $15
Sleeping Pad: Ozark Trail Sleeping Pad $15
Walmart Overnight Camping Gear Test
I set out with my Walmart bounty, plus some socks, underwear, extra clothing, my Outdoor Vitals 45L backpack, and some standard camping food (all of which I already owned or purchased separately).
After a decent hike into the backcountry I was excited to set up my tent and see what 30 bucks could buy. Aside from accidentally plunking down on a cactus, the setup went well. I think about 2 out of the 3.5 pounds came solely from the steel pegs. They were beefy! The entrance of the Walmart tent isn't great, but once inside, I was pleased to find how spacious it was.
I was able to sit up comfortably and stow my stuff easily. There was a vent on top to keep things fresh and liveable (or so I thought). Other things I noticed were the thick floor, signs of proper sealing on the roof seams, and a little mesh cellphone holder. I used the Walmart gear on a standard dry/sunny Arizona Spring day.
I can't speak to this tent's ability to weather the elements. But in terms of what I saw upon setup, I was kind of amazed with what I got for this low of a price.
Walmart Ozark Trail 1P Tent Review
The first con presented itself during the night. I stepped away from my tent (for unspecified reasons) and realized that it had no reflectivity, whatsoever. This made it difficult to spot on the return trip, especially when half-asleep.
The night unfortunately brought further tent-based woes. The top vent was a bust. The inside gradually built up more and more moisture until I had to start reaching for my emergency layers. Even then, I still got pretty chilly and the atmosphere was noticeably stuffy. Both of these things led to a sub-optimal sleep. I'd probably give the tent a C- or a D. If they could improve the ventilation a little bit then it would be a different story. I know, you get what you pay for, but I'd easily pay another 10 bucks for a boost in air-quality.
Walmart Ozark Trail Sleeping Pad Review
In fairness to the tent, my thin, lousy excuse for a sleeping pad definitely played its part in my restlessness. I've been spoiled. I noticed the lack of padding and tech as my back chilled and my hip bones ached. I would actually go so far to say that if you can splurge on one thing, make it the mattress. This will make the biggest difference in your overall comfort and enjoyment out of any other single piece of gear. Pinch those pennies elsewhere, but make sure you don't have to wrestle with the cold hard ground every night.
Walmart Ozark Trail 30-Degree Bag Review
The Walmart sleeping bag is rated to 30-degrees. It reached 32-degrees the night of my experiment. Usually, if the temperature matches the peak rating of the bag, the person inside can expect to be pretty uncomfortable. This was true in my case but I was still pleased that for just $35, this sleeping bag got the job done. I'd say that the inexpensive Ozark sleeping bag was the best bargain piece I bought out of the whole lot. It's bulky but it still fit in my pack and did what I needed it to do.
Walmart Hiking Clothes and Headlamp Review
Other positive shout-outs have to go to my sweet $43 outfit and the $10 headlamp. I felt comfortable (and stylish) on my hike in, and I even went for a bit of a night stroll to test the torch. Other than not being able to spot my tent for a minute (fault of the tent, not the headlamp), I thought this cheap light, with multiple settings and batteries included, was a great find.
Walmart Camping Cook Set Review
The cook set also got me through without any issues. The pots were a little big and I actually ditched the largest one. You'd only need a larger pot if you were making a stew for the whole family. I liked the little cup it came with and the cutlery was…well, it's cutlery, so it cut and poked my food without breaking. What more do you need? Definitely worth the 15(ish) dollars.
Walmart Cook Stove
The stove cooked my breakfast without issue but it looked really cheap, which it was, but I mean cheap like it would also break in no time. Obviously there are trade offs to be had in exchange for a bargain. A bulky sleeping bag or poorly ventilated tent are two that come to mind. At least most of the other things will last for a while. If something is a good deal up-front but you have to replace it every few uses, then you'd be better off just spending more out of the gates and saving money in the long-run.
So all in, I think I did pretty well. Like I said, treat yourself to a better sleeping pad/mattress (if you can). Everything else was somewhere between adequate and surprisingly good. Maybe you can make some tweaks to my example gear list, borrow a few remaining pieces from a friend, or utilize some of my other price-saving suggestions, and before you know it, you'll be all set to go camping/hiking for somewhere in the neighborhood of $200.
It shouldn't take a holiday bonus to get started in the great outdoors. It's nice to have quality gear, but that stuff can be added in over the years as you see fit. Know that you can totally get started with a quick and relatively inexpensive trip to your local big-box store.
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