Have you been to your camping supply store yet?

If you haven't been to your local camping supply store then you're missing out on half the fun already! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love spending money on camping gear. Shopping for it is part of the camping experience for me. When I walk into one of these stores it's like walking into my own piece of heaven. I look at everything and can visualize how I will use it or how it may change the way I pack or the way it will lighten my load on the trail.

You can go to your favorite department store and do some of your shopping there. I prefer to shop at stores like that for such things as plates and cups, spices, soap, toothbrush covers and things like that. I've even purchased my (very handy) folding 9 inch frying pans from Wal-mart. You obviously can't beat their prices on most items that are more generic and can be used for everything from backpacking to RV camping. For the family going camping in a "car-camping" environment or tent and trailer park, most of the items that you find at these stores will prove to be handy for you.

Now I'm not a big fan of tents and sleeping bags purchased from these stores. That type of thing is better bought from a specialty camping supply store. It's easy to spend too much money there but you're usually getting what you pay for. These stores are more suitable for the backpacker or paddler, maybe even fishermen, that need to travel and move more deeply into the woods to find that isolated lake. Equipment bought at a specialty camping supply store is almost definitely smaller, lighter, more durable, more usable, and a better overall quality than what you'll get at Wal-Mart or some such place. It's not that you can't use the stuff from the department stores, but consider whether you would be bette offf in the long run spending money there or if you would be better at the specialty store. I know that I can forsee how much I will like an activity before I even try it so I often just spend the money on the the good stuff. I think it helps my trips to go more smoothly as well, using good equipment.

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