By Michael Lanza
You need a new backpack, backpacking tent, rain jacket, boots, or a sleeping bag. You’ve read reviews. You’ve winnowed your short list to a handful of possible choices—with a significant difference in prices. That’s when you struggle with the question that pushes the frugality button in all of us: Why should I spend more?
This story will explain why some gear is more expensive and give you specific advice on buying five big-ticket items: packs, tents, rain jackets, shoes and boots, and sleeping bags.
Over the past three decades of reviewing gear, including the 10 years I spent as the lead gear reviewer for Backpacker magazine and even longer running this blog, I’ve learned what separates the expensive from the moderately priced from the cheap.
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Should you always spend more? Certainly not, and this story will explain why and when it’s worth spending more and when it’s not. The insights below will help you make smarter buying choices, stretch your gear budget farther, and feel better about it when you do spend more. And my “10 Tips for Spending Less on Hiking and Backpacking Gear” shares specific strategies for saving money—even sometimes without compromising on quality.
Before you spend another dollar, read on.
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Please share your thoughts on my tips or your own, best gear-buying advice in the comments section at the bottom of this story. I try to respond to all comments.
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What Makes Some Gear Expensive?
• Lightweight: Lighter gear is often more expensive because of the materials used, like wafer-thin but strong fabrics in jackets, tents, and (sometimes) packs, and carbon fiber or high-grade aluminum tent poles.
• Construction: Superior workmanship, materials, and technologies raise the price tag. Expect to pay more for, say, cutting-edge waterproof-breathable membranes in jackets and footwear, boots with one-piece or full-grain leather uppers, a super comfortable backpack suspension available in multiple sizes to achieve an optimal fit, or lamination used instead of stitching in jackets and footwear. But that also translates to high-level performance and, often, improved durability—which can save you money in the long run.
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• Special Features: You want a rain jacket hood that stays in place in strong wind and when you turn your head? A pack with multiple backpacker- or climber-friendly features? Shoes with sticky outsoles? Or a sleeping bag or down jacket with the lightest and warmest insulation? Open your wallet.
• Durability: Sometimes a higher price tag equates with materials and construction that translate to greater durability, but not always. Some lightweight materials are very strong and some are not. Especially with big-ticket items that receive heavy wear and tear—your pack, tent, shoes, and rain shell—low weight is sometimes achieved through, for example, the use of thinner fabrics that will tear more easily, or zippers that are less burly and will break sooner. Find out why one product is lighter than another and choose based on whether you’re willing to swap durability for lower weight.
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Packs
Why They’re Pricey The top pack makers—whose backpacks and daypacks generally cost the most—compete with one another primarily to make the most comfortable packs to carry. Beyond that objective, they try to distinguish their products through specialization (packs for specific purposes like climbing, ultralight backpacking, distance trail running or ultra-hiking, etc.), and through features, weight, and certainly superior construction that results in greater durability.
When They’re Worth the Price How important is comfort on the trail to you? How important is weight? How about specific features? Yes, you can make do with a pack whose fit is imperfect or that lacks a supportive hipbelt, a zipper offering quick access to the main compartment, or convenient, external pockets on the hipbelt and elsewhere.
But if you hike a lot of miles, the hours spent wearing and using a pack add up.
As anyone who’s upgraded knows, once you have a backpack that’s comfortable and designed for the way you use it, you’ll never go back to an inferior pack.
Get the right pack for you. See “The 10 Best Backpacking Packs” and “The 10 Best Hiking Daypacks.”
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Why Spend More?
If you can’t afford more-expensive gear, just get cheap stuff and get outside. You’ll be fine. If you can afford better gear later, you’ll appreciate it that much more.
But if you’re an avid outdoorsperson and you can afford good gear, why settle for less?
No, price does not always correlate directly with quality—but it often does. Whenever a friend who can afford good gear asks for my advice, I always say that he or she would be foolish to buy cheap, because they don’t need to put up with inferior comfort or performance.
And ultimately, if you’re out regularly and buy good gear, the cost per day of use over the life of that gear will be low, more than justifying the enjoyment you gained from it.
See all reviews of backpacks, daypacks, backpacking tents, outdoor apparel, rain jackets, hiking shoes, backpacking boots, sleeping bags, down jackets and insulated jackets, and backpacking gear and hiking gear at The Big Outside, plus “5 Smart Steps to Lighten Your Backpacking Gear.”
And don’t miss my popular reviews of “25 Essential Backpacking Gear Accessories” and “The Best Backpacking Gear” of the year.
NOTE: I tested gear for Backpacker magazine for 20 years. At The Big Outside, I review only what I consider the best outdoor gear and apparel. See my Gear Reviews page at The Big Outside for categorized menus of all of my reviews and my expert buying tips.
Michael,
Curious if you have any experience using a quilt rather than a sleeping bag? It seems that there may be a considerable weight savings with quilts, but I’m wondering if that comes at the cost of comfort. In general, a decent night of sleep in the backcountry is priceless in my book, if a quilt can achieve that at a low weight, that’s a win-win. Thanks as always.
Hi Brett,
I have used quilts and they typically do provide a considerable weight savings compared to a sleeping bag with a similar temp rating and type of insulation. See my review of one ultralight quilt I like, the Sierra Designs Nitro, which is about a pound lighter than many otherwise comparable, high-quality ultralight sleeping bags.
I know backpackers who swear by a quilt and say it keeps them perfectly warm and comfortable. I find that I often shift position in my sleep enough that I’ll leave myself uncovered in a quilt because it lacks a zipper, which eventually wakes me up. So I personally will only use a quilt when I expect very mild nights, with lows not much below around 50° F, because I won’t get awakened repeatedly if the quilt slips slightly off my torso (and I produce a lot of heat when sleeping, anyway). So it definitely comes down in part to how you sleep.
Thanks for the good question. I hope that answer is helpful.
Great info. Actually, I never go before hiking. I have a plane to hiking with my friends. Your hiking info gets my hiking easy. Thanks.
Thanks, Steven, and good luck.