New Tent/Camping Gear

[juju]

My tent and other camping gear is about 15 years old. I've got a long camping weekend coming up and I figured it is time to get some new stuff. Was looking for recommendations on a 2-3 person tent, light sleeping bag, air mattress, and maybe a day pack.

There has got to be some avid campers on this site, so let me know what you like/dislike and if you know of any good deals.

TIA

[Torg]

How tall are you? What price range? What type of terrain and is winter camping in the cards?

[juju]

6'2", I usually buy the higher end stuff but I'm not looking for top top of the line. My last tent was a Mountain Hardware 3 season tent and got way too hot in the summer. I only ended up using it a few times in really cold conditions, so I'm looking for a solid 2 season tent. Looking to spend up to 300 on tent alone.

My camping mattress is toast, not sure how much those cost nowadays. Already have 0 degree sleeping bag, so I'm looking for a light weight, quality summer bag.

[juju]

Actually, maybe it was a 4 season tent.

[Dogma]

If you want a light sleeping bag I think down ones have a better temperature/comfort range than synthetic. They dont insulate well when wet, but for summer that shouldn't matter as much.

[mark12b]

If I was shopping for a tent these days I'd look at some of the newer designs that have funky pole setups to make the walls more vertical, seems like some smart thinking.

Those new thermarest neo-air mattresses are tempting weight-wise, but I tried one in REI and didn't care for the feel... they are more like old-fashioned air mattresses than traditional thermarest. I actually sleep just fine on a z-rest, but when I'm backpacking I usually carry a short ultralight thermarest since it's so much more packable, even though it's a few ounces heavier.

Sleeping bags: those "hugger" designs get pretty good reviews for their warmth:weight ratio, but I've never tried one. You can find super-light, high-quality down bags by Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends, Marmot, Mont-Bell, etc... I have a Marmot Helium for backpacking but for summer car camping I just use a cheap old synthetic Sierra Designs bag. The Helium is a beautiful bag though in warmer weather I wish for foot ventilation and in colder weather I wish for a draft collar.

[BradC]

Love my Big Agnes air core pad - http://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Pad/AirCore

Check out www.departmentofgoods.com, www.steepandcheap.com, sierratradingpost.com and the like to get some deals on last year's products.

[Fishy]

, http://www.steepandcheap.com

also try http://www.geartrade.com, I got my Osprey 70 Aether from there for about $100 (usually around $250), got my Kelty 0 degree down from steepandcheap,. tent is still an older peak1 cobra (4lbs) for a stove you can't go wrong with a Jetboil. Sleeping pad is and REI Ultra Light mid length My pack is just over 25 lbs before food. pretty nice for multi day treks

[MR. WICK]

Keep watching www.steepandcheap.com
They have had some great deals on tents the last few weeks.