Wrote off those cheap tarps for years till a storm at Yosemite changed my mind

I was camped at Bridalveil Creek last July when a freak windstorm shredded my expensive name-brand rain fly in under 10 minutes. A guy three sites over loaned me his $12 tarp from the gas station and it held up through the whole mess with zero tears. Anyone else found a budget piece of gear that outlasted the fancy stuff on a real trip?

3 comments

3 Comments

robinmason10d ago

Funny how that works. Bought a cheap foam sleeping pad from a discount store years ago as a backup. It's been through three trips now and still works fine while my buddy's fancy inflatable one sprung a leak on day one.

paul_burns10d ago

Realized a while back that simple gear that's easy to fix or just works plain often outlasts the fancy stuff, kind of like how my cheap cast iron pan from a garage sale cooks better than my friend's expensive nonstick that's already scratched up.

miles_roberts2210d ago

Whoa wait, you're telling me a GAS STATION tarp survived a freak windstorm that took out your expensive rain fly? That's wild. I would've bet money the cheap one would disintegrate first.