BUYING TIPS

Equipment Buying

Your initial cost is as low as the price of rental gear. Once you know you enjoy intimate touch with nature you can buy a complete camping outfit for less than the cost of a week's lodgings and meals at most resorts. It's just a couple of hours on the road to getaway camping trips from almost anywhere.

Good gear guarantees good times.

START FOR LESS

You can start with a rented sleeping bag and pad. Add a camp stove and cooler if you can't borrow one from a neighbor's garage. Consider a tent to keep the rain and bugs off too. Don't worry about the fine points. If your tent leaks, bugs bite or you blow dinner, you can hit a motel or the Golden Arches!

Once you discover the joys of camping you should buy gear from well-known manufacturers such as Coleman, Eureka or Primus that also make house brands for Montgomery Wards, Sears and other discount outlets. Used lanterns, stoves, coolers, jugs and tents offer good value. Check Sports Renter, consignment shops, ads in newspapers and lists on college or mountain shop bulletin boards.

You need neither buy a complete outfit your first season nor in a single shop. List the gear you need and compare prices.

SELECTIVE SLEEPING

A good night's sleep is basic. So buy a sleeping bag, pad or air mattress first. Semi-rectangular bags with good warmth to weight ratios suit most buyers. Rectangular bags open flat to serve as extra blankets at home, but mummy bags that suit backpackers seem too confining to many.

Bag warmth depends on loft, or thickness. Batting bags with sewn-through seams work down to 40 degree night temperatures. Fill packs more compactly so suit colder evenings and those who backpack. Down, the traditional and still most compressible fill, costs more than artificial fills, the budget choices which clean most easily and retain insulating value even when wet.

BUYER'S QUALITY KEYS: even seams with bar-tacking at stress points and large tooth zippers.

Avoid cots unless you tent in 100 degree weather as pads and air mattresses are warmer. Closed foam pads tend to be thinner and a bit less supportive, but warmer on frozen ground. Open foam pads roll more compactly. Combination foam pads work well. Pick a pad with a washable cover.

Cheap air mattresses let you down. Models with multiple insert tubes or that combine open foam and inflation such as the Air-Lift work best.

BUYER'S QUALITY KEYS: sturdy valves and stout material on air mattresses; well-sewn covers on pads.

CAMP STOVES AND LANTERNS

Stoves and lanterns that use a single fuel cut transport problems. With propane, the cleanest, quickest starting fuel, a single refillable take with hoses to stove and lantern costs more to buy but less to run than individual containers. I prefer cheaper and more widely available Coleman fuel, the most common form of white gas.

While double-burner stoves suit car campers, single burner stoves meet self-propelled needs best. Consider deluxe finishes in double-burner stoves and the handy Coleman Peak 1 model in singles.

Lanterns come in light single-mantle with enough light for camp chores and double-mantle models for those who like to read after dark. Extra mantles, a repair kit and a carrying case keep camps bright at night. Electric lanterns, hopefully with built-in rechargeable batteries, work for weekend trips.

BUYER'S GUIDE: name brand stoves and lanterns made from metal rather than plastic that offer widely available replacement parts.

Note: most "broken" used stoves and lanterns gain new life if you simply replace their generators.

COOLERS AND JUGS

Coolers cut food costs because you can buy food for less near home. And water jugs insure pure water when today's stream or lake water is so often unfit to drink. Metal-clad coolers are sturdy, but heavy and may eventually chip and rust. Plastic coolers cost less. Jugs with solid lids and recessed drain spigots work best.

BUYER'S GUIDELINES: Look for solid hinges and secure latches on coolers and recessed spigots and drains on both coolers and jugs.

TENTS

You can camp without a tent in fair weather away from buggy bogs, but decent two or three man geodesic dome or other compact designs protect you from buzzing bugs and dripping rain so you can extend your camping season. Tents in waterproof yet breathable materials such as Gore-Tex or Evolution II eliminate the need for separate rainflies while improving ventilation. Pass inexpensive tents under $50 or so that rarely last for more than a few trips. If your budget is tight buy a decent poncho for emergency shelter and pull up stakes and head for home if it gets really wet.

BUYER'S GUIDE: check the tent entrance door for tidy sewing and bar tacking on the bug mesh, zipper and door seams.

ODDS AND ENDS

You can enjoy camping with this basic outfit. Bring plates, pots, spices and incidentals from home. Don't pack everything to start. Keep notes on gear you wish you'd packed, and note items you don't use so you can change your outfit to meet your needs. That's the secret to quality camping.

If new to camping, begin with close-to-home overnights at convenient suburban campsites before you move on to longer stays at more remote locations and you'll enjoy your money's worth. Don't try to go too far, spend too much or stay out too long. As the Greeks noted and today's diet pundits proclaim, "Moderation in all things."