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Gear in this video:
Featherstone Granite 2P Tent:
Ampex 2P Tent: (if listed for more than $150 look at Bass Pro Shop)
Klymit Static V Mattress:
Flextail Zero Mattress:
Flextail Zero Pump:
Nevo Rhino 60L Pack:
Teton Sports Hiker 3700 Pack:
Aegismax Sleeping Bag:
Kelty Cosmic 20 Sleeping Bag:
CampingMoon XD-2F Stove:
BRS 3000T stove:
AOTO stove :
TOAKS titanium cookpot:
NiteCore NU 33 Headlamp:
NiteCore NU 25:
CNOC Vecto Water Bag:
UCO Spork:
UCO Collapsible Camp Cup:
I’ve spent the last six months searching Amazon for backpacking gear that would work for people who want to go on real backpacking trips, who want to trust their gear, without spending a lot of money. I have made three different videos documenting the gear I’ve put to the test, each time trying to improve the quality of the gear. It all started with a simple idea: most backpackers are not interested in spending a small fortune on good backpacking gear. I’ve heard from many people who are frustrated that most YouTubers, myself included, only review super expensive gear. So I gave myself a challenge, to scour Amazon to find a quality backpacking set up, tent, backpack, sleeping bag, mattress, stove, cookpot, headlamp, and more, all for under $500 dollars.
This video highlights the gear that has been the best.
Interested in working with me? You can reach me at erichanson@thestation.io for collaborations.
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I bought almost all my gear off Amazon. Except my tent and backpack.
I have been trekking, hiking , backpacking (whatever you want to call it) for 30 years (4 seasons)…I never bought the higher price equipment ever…..I found moderate price gear was better, more durable and more comfortable…$200 and more doesn’t mean better and most of the time the cheapest isn’t good too…..I never spent more than $120 for anything…..
17:35 I just assume that if they don’t advertise ethically sourced down may have very unethical practices. I’ve used a cosmic 20 for at least 5 years. It’s my above freezing go to
That little pump is pretty nice to have. Bit noisy, but it is AWESOME for getting fires going. No leaning over firepits in the early morning blowing into a fire that’s more smoke than flame. It comes with a bunch of different fittings for blowing up all sorts of inflatable gear. And it inflates my pad in less than a minute without me getting light headed. 8/10, would buy again.
I’m a big fan of Featherstone products. I have three of their tents and their closed cell foam mat. My first Featherstone tent was the Peridot (a couple of years ago) which is essentially the Granite in green (with a slightly deeper bathtub floor). Featherstone no longer sells the Peridot, and after receiving it, I wished I had bought the Granite instead because the Peridot’s bathtub floor is a little too deep for easy entry and exit; however, I’ve used the Peridot a lot and am very happy with it. I had problems with the Peridot’s poles, though they’re still useable, so I finally decided to order a Granite as well and received it a few days ago. The hubs are much improved, so poles can’t slip out of them as the Peridot’s poles sometimes will.
I then bought Featherstone’s two person, Backbone trekking pole tent. It’s much lighter and very spacious for one person. It’s not much more trouble to set up with practice, but it’s not freestanding and requires quite a bit of space because of its two, large vestibules. It’s only 43 inches wide at the foot end, so it’s not ideal for two people though it would fit two, 21″ pads and may fit two 25″, mummy style pads. I almost always backpack alone, and it’s a palace for one person. It’s $200 at Featherstone at the moment, so it may not be in your budget category.
I’m very happy with my Light Tour, 25″, mummy style, R7.5 inflatable pad. I read somewhere that it’s very popular in the U.K., so I bought one and now use it routinely. It weights 24 oz. and has a very large pump sack requiring only 3-4 sacks of air to inflate, so I need an electric pump. Amazon and other U.S. retailers don’t stock it, so one must order from AliExpress in the U.S. where it currently sells for $127, but it’s worth the wait. Amazon sells similar pads from NatureHike that look like they could be from the same manufacturer. The 23″ wide, R5.8 version is only $84 on Amazon at the moment. It doesn’t offer Prime shipping and takes as long to arrive as a pad from AliExpress, but at this price, it definitely falls into your budget category.
I have a larger, less expensive but very comfortable pack (Forclaz MT500) from Decathlon, but my 35L Recyclops pack from Garage Grown Gear plus a 5L waist pack is all the space I need even for multinight, backpacking trips. It’s not in your budget category either, but it is over two pounds lighter than the Decathlon pack.
For a stove and cookpot, I love my FireMaple Petrel G3 pot and FireMaple Greenpeak 1 stove. The Greenpeak stove meets all of my needs, and it costs only $16 with Prime shipping on Amazon at the moment. It costs less than the BRS 3000t and has an igniter. I also have the larger, Petrel G2 pot, and I usually take it now though it’s a little bulkier. Both pots boil water practically as fast as a Jetboil at a fraction of the price. They’re definitely in your budget category, and I much prefer them to my 750 ml Toaks pot. The titanium pot is lighter, but “750 ml” is filled to the brim, so it’s effective capacity is more like 600ml. The 600ml FireMaple G3 pot is more like 700 ml to the brim, so it can actually boil 600ml of water. The G3 is a 750ml pot, as advertised, but it’s more like 850ml to the brim and will actually boil 750ml of water. Calling the Toaks pot “750ml” is very misleading IMO.
My headlamp is a RovyVon Aurora A5 G4 flashlight clipped to a visor, currently $27 on Amazon. I have two, budget headlamps from Amazon (WARSUN brand, currently $26 for two), and I usually take one in addition to the RovyVon as a backup, but the RovyVon has never failed me.
I have the same CNOC bladder and always take it backpacking. It easily holds 2L of water which is what I typically carry. I’ll sometimes carry what’s left unfiltered in the bladder too. My cup is a collapsible, 12 oz. cup from Sea to Summit. It’s light and takes negligible space in my pack. I have a similar, collapsible bowl from Sea to Summit, but I don’t use it much since I’m usually eating a reconstituted meal from a bag.