My $20 tarp vs my friend's $150 tent in a downpour

Last weekend we camped up near Lake George and a storm rolled in around 2am. I was under my cheap blue tarp with paracord and stakes, he had a fancy tent with a rainfly. His tent leaked at the seams, mine stayed bone dry. What's your best budget gear hack that held up better than the expensive stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia26214d ago

Ha, I've had the same thing happen with a Walmart tarp that outlasted my buddy's expensive tent.

jadej5014d ago

Wait, is it just me or do cheap tarps somehow have supernatural durability? Ngl, I've got a $5 blue one from a hardware store that's been through three camping trips and still looks brand new, but my friend's fancy tent got a rip on the second use. Honestly feels like the universe is just testing us with that luck.

the_susan14d ago

My buddy Mark swore by his fancy tent too until a freak hailstorm hit us in the Adirondacks last year. His rainfly tore clean off the zipper track, and I just tightened my $10 tarp down more with some extra rocks on the corners. Ended up letting him crawl under my tarp with me, both of us huddled on the ground while his "high end" tent was basically a pond. Now he brings a tarp as backup every single trip, cracks me up every time.