Blow your dough on good goose down, back pack and your tent. Buy a ceramic-filter water filter. Buy the best you can afford, then just a bit more. If you actually use your gear, you'll thank me later.

skimp on: backpack, sleeping bag, cookware

splurge on: stove, tent, waterproof boots

don't forget: head-lamp, sleeping pad, bootwarmers (those things you rip open. throw them in the foot of your sleeping bag, the generate quite a lot of heat.)

i have to disagree

skimp : tent, stove
splurg : boots, jacket, sleeping bag ( in that order)

BOOTS : if your feet hurt or you get blisters, then the camping trip is over.
JACKET: a good jacket will protect you from the elements. if you're cold or wet then the trip is over too.
SLEEPING BAG : you can use a tarp or bivy sack instead of a tent. but if you're cold at night in your sleeping bag, you're going to be miserable. also, the better sleeping bags are more efficient & therefore pack smaller given comparable temperature ratings. i'd look at the synthetic fill only because they will insulate even when wet. goose down, although a better insulator, is useless if it gets wet. a nice alternative to a tent that some adventure racers opt for is the hennessey hammock. it's nice to sleep off the ground with no mosquitos.

i made an alcohol stove out of 3 coke cans which worked fine, although i wouldn't rely on it for boiling water. plans are all over the internet. i also carry the $10 esbit stove in my patrol pack which works great. also, if they allow campfires where you backpack then what better way is there to cook? nothing tastes as good as fish over a wood fire. however my stove of choice is the snowpeak titanium auto gigapower stove. 10,000 btu's and only 3 oz. paired with the snowpeak titanium mini solo cookset. the stove & fuel fit inside the pot.

titanium is the way to go. as light and more heat resistant than aluminum & stronger and more corrosion resistant than stainless steel.

PETZL ZIPKA HEADLAMP : all you need for lighting. 3 AAA batteries last for about 120 hours so you don't need to pack loads of extra batteries. 2.3 oz with batteries.

MSR MIOX WATER PURIFIER : kills viruses, bacteria, giardia & even cryptosporidia which iodine or bleach won't kill. weighs only 3.5 oz about the size of a sharpie marker.

WXtex PNEUMO DRY BAG : my favorite dry bag. light weight and they have a release valve so you can compress the air out of them. you can also blow them up if you need to ford a stream. you can also fill them up with water if you need an backup water carrier. easily repairable with duct tape or seam sealer if they get punctured. i like the 5 & 15 liter sizes.

all these are available at rei.com or campmor.com as well as other camping websites.

Here is a link that might be useful: hennessey hammock

Thanks for the tips.
I got some good Vasque Clarion boots, Thermarest sleeping pad, North Face Cat's Meow +20 sleeping bag (synthetic). I also have a REI Half Dome tent, is that too big for backpacking? Looks like something I wouldn't want to hump around, but if the difference is only two or so pounds, I can deal with it.

The stove is definitely something I need. Was thinking of the Whisperlight multi fuel.

Vasque, definitely top shelf! The sleeping pad too, but if it's still new and you have the receipt, take the sleeping bag back for goose down. Otherwise you'll need a liner to add 10-degrees for cooler weather. What's the weight of your tent? If you're camping together, possibly splitting the body/poles will make the load reasonable. I've had good luck with simply a $ 20.00 one-burner propane stove vs. monkeying around with my old Svea. YMMV.

whisperlite stove is a good stove. nice to have the flexibility of multi-fuels especially is you're backpacking in another country where white gas is rare.

you should really test the stove out to see if a jet stove is really for you. using a liquid fuel stove is a little more work than a canister stove. pressurizing the fuel, priming the stove & cleaning the jets make this kind of stove a chore. my camping friends are 1/3 for jet stoves, 2/3 for canister. jet stoves have the advantage of working better in really cold weather ( below 30 degrees), but watch out for spilled fuel on bare hands....it can cause frost bite at those temperatures. this stove has the shaker needle so it claims to clean it's own jets. you have to prime the jet stove by opening the valve to let a bit of fuel out & lighting it until the manifold is hot enough to vaporize the fuel as it sprays into the burner.

i have the msr dragonfly multi fuel stove, but think the whisperlite is a better choice. the dragonfly is really noisy and a bit cumbersome. works great in the snow but now i choose to bring my snow peak gigapower canister stove with a isobutane/lpg canister fuel mixture canister for use in cold weather. you also have to keep the canister warm for better results.

as a backup, i also carry the esbit stove. i tried to use it exclusively to see if it would work as a primary stove. it works great, although because the fuel tablets burn for about 12 minutes, you have to get everything ready for your meal beforehand. then after your food is done, you have to switch out & heat some water as the fuel burns out. that way you can have your cup of coffee or cocoa after dinner. some meals will take up the entire burntime though. contrary to reports, you cannot put it out & relight it because what's left of the fuel after you put it out takes too long to light & doesn't get up to the temperature as a straight burn. also, the esbit hexamine tablets are much better than the cogland brand. it took 2 cogland tablets to boil the same amount of water. avoid the trioxane tablets you get at army surplus stores. they are toxic & i couldn't get them to boil the water with 1 tablet. all my tests were done at home : 1780' altitude, 78 degree temperature (didn't get the humidity reading). your actual results will go down as you rise in altitude & drop in temperature.

tablet / burntime / practical cooktime / 20 oz water boil time

esbit hexamine / 12 minutes / 10 minutes / 8 minutes
cogland (2 tablets) / 13 minutes / 9 minutes / 9 minutes
trioxane / 5 minutes / 4 minutes / did not boil water

a bit more information than i you wanted, but as you can tell i like to test my gear so i can pack efficiently. campers tend to form opinions on gear based generally on only what they own or what's offered at walmart. i try to look at all gear & try to accumulate gear that works efficiently & has been tested in the field. the 3 worst things that can happen are gear that works great at home or in the store, but fails in the field; carrying bulky gear only to find there was a more efficient gear out there or getting a newfangled piece of gear that does many things mediocrely and then going back to your old trusty piece of gear you've camped with for years.

Here is a link that might be useful: how to choose a backpacking stove

You really should test ALL your gear. Preferably in your tent, in rain.

Best way to see, if you can stay dry and warm. I tried a cross country trip with a lady whose tent leaked. She was quite miserable, and thus, we were too.

She also ended up leaving home without all her stove parts. Annoying, yes, VERY. LOL... she whined a lot.

Sleeping bag, mine was not quite up to par a few nights, but I would not take down. If it gets wet, you have a miserable wet night. Yes, it packs down (smaller) but the more often you really compress it, the more you crush the down, and the insulation gets compromised.

Moni

with regards to your rei half dome tent, it won backpacker magazine editor's choice award in 2002. my concern for weights is only for ultralight camping. at 5 lb 9 oz pack weigh, your tent should be fine.

i have the same 20 degree cat's meow sleeping bag. i really like it & have used it for years with great snoozes. i only switched recently to the 0 degree after a sudden & unexpected drop in temperature up on the mountain. the cat's meow is nice especially if you plan on sleeping with someone. if they get a northface bag with the zipper on the opposite side, they can zip together. nice & cozy!

i'm still a thermarest fan, but with the new pads by big agnes, insul mat & outdoor research i am testing out how they compare. i carry the pro-lite 3/4 pad. it only goes down to my thighs so you have to lay out some extra clothes to lay your feet on to keep them warm. not a big concern since it packs small & light.

your boots are fine, just wear them whenever you can to break them in. i read about these insoles in oct05 OUTSIDE magazine & plan on trying them out. you stick them in your oven for a couple of minutes, stick them in your boots & wear them around for a bit. they mold to your feet. turns out the nike acg adventure racing team prefers them instead of their own nike brand insoles.

like i said above, try out the canister stoves & compare them to the jet stoves. if you're only planning on backpacking in moderate weather the canister stove will make cooking less of a chore.

have fun camping!

Here is a link that might be useful: heat moldable insoles

What does compromised down look like? My Marmot Osprey bags are 650 fill, 20 years old and have GoreTex covers. They expand the same as when they were new. You'll never go back once you go down. Consider a small tube of seamsealer in your pack, and of course seam seal once each year before the season begins. As Nordic80 states above, REI offers some great gear at fair prices. Of course, you can also buy over the 'Net to save on serious backpacking gear.

Great tips and great discussion! Those heat moldable insoles sound fantastic. I've had my Vasque boots for years, only wore them for snow days, short hikes and a three day trip to Whistler, BC. They still have a spot on the right foot that gets uncomfortable. I can just double up on the socks. I'll have to push the Cat's Meow to see how cold I can comfortably sleep in it. I turned into a hot bird, so I can tolerate pretty chilly temps.

How about the backpack though? Any thoughts? Brands, features you can't live without? I'd never think of buying online for that piece, I can go to the REI flagship store in Seattle and get the sales people to fawn over me, and get it fitted properly. :o)

backpack & boots shouldn't be bought over the net. you really need to try them out firsthand. just to get the price break, i bought boots over the internet after trying them out first at my local store. but i had some fitting problems regardless. had to return them.

a backpack is the same. you have one of the most incredible rei stores up there in seattle. have the salespeople help you put on a pack, but make sure you fill it up with weight. figure how much you normally carry + 5 lbs for water. don't just fill it up with those bean bags since your gear won't settle so well. gear is cumbersome so attach your sleeping bag, tent, sleeping pad & trekking poles. walk around the store for at least an hour with it on. you'll feel like a dork, but the seasoned backpacker in the store will know what you're doing. i was looking at a lightweight pack until i attached my sleeping bag & tent to it. it simply became uncomfortable & torqued to one side unless i attached everything symetrically to the centerline. i filled an arcteryx bora 80 which was a bit more than i wanted to pay, but it was far more comfortable. i used my dividend to cut the price. needless to say it later won backpacker's reader's choice award 2004. i guess plenty of other backpackers felt the same way i did.

i now have 3 arcteryx packs : bora80 - for backpacking, rt35 - for snow camping/patrol pack & the bora35 - summer packing. i also have the northface recon day pack which i have almost worn out. i also have a golite pack which i keep in the truck. it's really light, but the lack of support for weight savings makes it a second choice for me. i got it when i was out of town & needed a light pack for an unexpected hike. the rei in alaska didn't carry (or were out of stock) of arcteryx, black diamond, northface or mountain hardware packs in the size i needed. the search & rescue guys all swear by their black diamond packs.

i only wish we had an rei store like you do in seattle. adventure16 in west la comes close. the rei stores in los angeles have started to shift floorspace in favor of clothes rather than camping gear. even their camping gear is on the car camping side. cast iron cookwear, table & chair sets more for rvs, propane grills, huge ice coolers. tents are up in the wall, sleeping bags are in a tight corner and their lighter titanium gear is usually in low or not stocked at all (snowpeak, primus, evernew). i understand why (to appeal to a broader range of customers including non-campers), but they should at least keep a lightweight backpackers section like A16 does. for me, another titanium fork or spoon is more of an impulse item than the racks of carabiner keychains that are all over the registers.

so now backcountry.com is where i shop. they limit their stock to some really nice & light gear. their paper catalogs are nicer than their website and we look forward to them in the mail every season.

Here is a link that might be useful: backcountry.com - backpacker gear store