The Best Affordable Camping Gear You Can Buy for Less Than $50
Camping essentials like a tent and sleeping bag may cost well over $100, but the rest shouldn’t have to.
Given the comforts that we’ve created for ourselves in modern civilization, camping can seem a little inane. We rationalize the endeavor, though, don't we? We go camping to get away from it all, to get in touch with nature, to find ourselves — or, like Thoreau, “to live deliberately.”
Or, unlike Thoreau, to get dirty and drink beers next to a roaring fire.
The common denominator here is a notion of simplicity — but camping gear can easily become complicated and expensive. Most of the essential items — a good tent, a quality sleeping bag, a decent sleeping pad — typically cost over $100. Sadly, there's no real way around that. And yet, quality items for exploring and enjoying the great outdoors can still be found on a budget. For the purpose of this story, we set a per-item limit of $50; here’s some of our favorite camping gear you can buy in that range.