Have you ever had a purchase, that really disappointed? It’s too late to return it the store, so it gathers dust in your garage, or have you managed to flog it on Ebay?
I asked readers to tell me what their dud purchases were in regards to camping. Answers came in via email and our Facebook page.
You may agree with some or all, or even none!
And its not too late to add your own dodgy purchase in the comments section below.
The toilet seat stand
This was a popular choice from Facebookers – some thought it was a waste of time, others liked it.
Which goes to show, that when it comes to camping everyone has an opinion on what works for them.
Toileting is a big issue for many campers (see the story from another reader about what toilet to take camping)
The picture below shows one with a plastic bag – others don’t even that option.
Camp Kitchen
This one was rated a bad camping gear choice, as its one more thing you need to set up upon arrival.
For one of our readers they thought it was a bad camping purchase, and to stick with plastic tubs (with lids) for food storage for your camping kitchen.
What do you think?
Showers
This one got a couple of mentions on Facebook as not the best purchase.
Lucy and Nerina on Facebook, didn’t like the solar bag shower (the one that you leave out in the sun to heat), and Martin didn’t like the 12V shower.
Which leads us to another potentially poor camping gear choice that was raised………
Pop Up Toilet/Shower tent
I can announce to all, that I cannot put that pop up shelter back into its non-pop-up form.And it seems I am not alone. Camping Know How and Carol (both on Facebook) have had issues!!
The recommendation was to purchase the shower tent which has poles – longer to put up, but less likely to break (and easier to put away)
Toaster
Divided opinion on this one.The toaster that you cook food over the campfire, makes a great toasted bread…..for some of you. Others thought, not so.
Our experience, was that it was ineffective and fell apart.
Cheap camping gear
There were a few reminders from many of you about purchasing gear because it was cheap!
We all love a bargain, but sometimes, the cheap camping gear, is cheap for a reason – because it will fail you when you need it the most, and poorly constructed.
So what camping gear was purchased by some of you cheaply, and you now regret?
- Sleeping bag (“bought from a variety store and didn’t keep us warm at the temp it was rated for”)
- Tent (“be wary of some of these bargain tents”)
- Rechargeable Lanterns (see what happened with ours here)
- Air mattresses
That is just a selection of camping gear that readers (and us) thought were not good camping purchases.
If you can think of another, please add your comment below!
