So today I went to Dick’s Sporting Goods to look over some things that I might need. Since Sheldon and I will be taking a short camping trip to get the hang of that aspect of backpacking, we’ll need a lot of equipment for that type of world.

I found some excellent sleeping bags, tents, flashlights, backpacks, all that stuff. Here is a little info about the type of equipment I might buy.

Backpack 
I found one that weighed about six pounds, empty. It has an internal frame. It’s 5,600 cu in.  The cost is $179.99. However with a quick Google search, I’ve found the same model $40 less. So I’ll be buying my backpack online. I’m not sure if this is the one for me, but it’s a good starting point to bounce from.

Tent 
While doing any camping, I will obviously need some form of shelter. A tent seems about perfect for that. I specifcally looked at a few bivy’s. If I have my own tent, I will be getting a two person bivy. A one person would fit me just fine, but not my equipment as well. I’d like to keep the equipment with me inside the tent.

The one I was looking at was a 2-person, 3-season bivy. It was about three pounds. The 1-person bivy was much smaller and weighed about half as much. It was also $30 cheaper. The 2-person bivy costs $99, but I’m sure I can find a 4-season at the same price or cheaper on something like Amazon.com.

Sleeping Bag
Whether I am camping or not, this is an indispensible item to have with me. I won’t have to worry about sheets if I carry a sleeping bag. This makes staying pretty much anywhere possible. I could even go about doing some stealth camping, but I probably wont. 

I found a 0 degree bag for $79. It would be a bit oversized for me, but that’s plenty OK. I had a lot of trouble finding anything reletively small when rolled up, which might be an issue depending on what other equipment I have with me. This is the most important piece of equipment I was looking for, so if you have any recommendations, I’d love them.

Compass
Well, this was easy. I just needed to find a working compass that was small and lightweight. I did just that very quickly. Dick’s had a compass for $20 that was about an inch in diameter. The arms flowed very freely, and it’s guaranteed to work for life. Granted I thought $20 was a bit expensive, but I can find something online super cheap. Again, today was just about finding things to guide me in the right direction.

Cooking Tools
So the last item I wanted to look for was cooking tools. I plan on building fires and cooking mainly on those, but just in case the weather goes sour, I’ll be bringing along a small burner. I found a tiny propane burner that stands about six inches high and is about 4 inches wide. It’s very small and has about 60 minutes of burn time. The flame is adjustable too, which makes for a nice bonus. The cost for this item is $40. Again, cheaper online I’m sure.

I also found some excellent pans and plates and things for $8. They are extremely small and less than a pound altogether. I will definitely grab that up when I get around to buying these things. Having something that light will help a lot.

If you have any recommendations on what brands to buy, I’d love to get your opinion. I haven’t been camping since I was about 10 years old, so I have a long way to go. Wish me luck!