Seems to me that when camping or backpacking, you need to find a balance between comfort/safety and cost. After all, I can sleep on the ground without a sleeping mat or with a cheap closed cell foam one from Walmart for $6, but my back will hurt in the morning. I prefer to have a lightweight self inflating sleeping mat. It costs a lot, but it's cheaper than a chiropractor. I can camp, hike, and backpack without a flashlight or headlight, but the odds are that I'd get hurt walking around at night without one. A decent $30 headlight is much cheaper than a trip to the emergency room.
Any gear that I plan to use for years, I try to find the best and most durable at a decent price. That makes it the cheapest in the long run. Instead of shopping at bargain basement stores, I shop online and compare prices. REIoutlet.com often has top of the line gear at great discounts. I have a Costco and Sam's Club card and sometimes they carry gear and food I need for a trip at the cheapest price. Walmart carries freeze dried food for backpacking at a good price. Costco carries 4 lb. bags of trail mix for around $10 and 1 lb. of beef or turkey jerkey for $11. Remember to shop around for price savings. Don't stick to one store for getting everything for the trip. Sport Chalet sells some reasonably priced backpacks, sleeping bags, and butane canisters (220 gram Brunton canisters are $3.29). REIoutlet.com is a good place to get backpacks, tents, stoves, and clothes. I stick to REI for the most durable items because they have a decent warranty and are well built. This includes stoves, water filters, and tents. Big 5 Sporting Goods sells cheap knives, backpacks, and sleeping bags. Fry's Electronics sells Swiss Army Knives at decent prices. I shop around for backpacks as many places carry good packs at reasonable prices. For backpacking, I currently carry a Jansport Big Bear 5000 ci backpack ($80 from REIoutlet.com when I bought it), a Katadyn Hiker Water Filter ($60), an MSR Whisperlite ($80+ w/ fuel bottle) or Pocket Rocket ($40) stove, a Princeton Tec EOS headlight ($30 from REI sale), and a Fenix P3D Q5 flashlight ($60). My tent varies based on season, location, weather, and if I'm camping or backpacking. During winter, I use either a Coleman Cadence 3 4 season tent ($160)or a Kelty Orb 2 4 season tent ($200). I don't mess around with cheap tents in winter. Fiberglass poles become brittle and break, cheap tents leak more frequently, and don't retain heat. Two wall tents are the only comfortable way to go in winter. During 3 season camping, I have an REI Hobitat 4 tent ($90 at an REI clearance sale). During the other three seasons when backpacking I use an Integral Designs bug tent, and two I.D. Silponchos with velcro sewn on one end of each. This setup costs a fortune for what it is, but weighs practically nothing. The fly is two ponchos that velcro together so the weight is split between two people and has a second needed purpose so it adds no extra weight. The tent poles are trekking poles so they actually help take weight off your back instead of adding to it. The Bug Tent, stakes, and guylines (Spectra cord) weigh under 2 lbs. and that's for 2 people.
It may sound weird to spend a lot of money to save money, but think of it as more of an investment. Good gear can last longer than cheap gear replaced over and over again. Good stoves, especially backpacking stoves that are field maintainable last years longer than stoves that have to be replaced the first time the jet gets clogged. Good l.e.d. lights pay for themselves in savings from batteries and bulbs long before they stop working. Rechargeable Eneloop batteries will save a lot of money for camping trips vs. alkalines. For camping trips, invest in a bulk propane tank, distribution tree, hoses, propane lantern, and propane stove. In the U.S., a gallon of propane is under $3.00 last time I checked. White Gas/Coleman fuel is up to $8.50 a gallon at Walmart. Investing in a setup for propane will save a lot of money in the long run.
Since my gear is made to last, it costs less in the long run. Reliability is needed in the backcountry. There is more to lose than money if your gear fails when you need it the most. While you can get away pretty cheap for camping in three seasons, know the weather and climate conditions, know the area, and don't use gear that you think won't survive the conditions if you are depending on it. For backpacking, buy the lightest, most durable gear you can afford, try it out on camping trips first, and don't push your limits the first time out. You'll either get hurt, or come back after vowing to never go backpacking again.
