Reddit reviews Alpertie Lightweight Large Burner Classic Camping and Backpacking Stove. For iso-Butane/Propane Canisters

In the interest of disclosure, I am an REI retail employee.

Let's start with sleeping bags. The Marmot Tressels is probably your best bet under $100, but it's definitely on the heavy side for a backpacking bag. If you can bump up to the $150 range you can get into the Kelty Cosmic Down or Marmot Tressels Elite, which will be substantially lighter and more compact.

For pads, you've got pretty good options. The Big Agnes Insulated Air Core Ultra, the REI Flash or Stratus, various Therm-a-rests or Klymits...it's a pretty wide open field.

Good packs are hard to find for under $100 new, but are much more trustworthy used than bedding. Check out Ebay or Craigslist.

Failing that, the Kelty Redwing is a pretty respecable pack for the lower end of the price spectrum.

In terms of tents, there are plenty of good 3-person options under $300, the lightest of which I can think of off the bat is the Kelty TraiLogic.

For stoves...this is among the best camp stoves I've ever used. Does not need to be complicated.

For cooking, there are a fair few hard-anodized aluminum camp cook kits on Amazon for fairly cheap that will do just fine. For 3 people, look for the largest pot to be in the 1.5-2 liter range.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

I am haul my 6.5" cast iron. I have a cook set with a pot but i needed a frying pan. I usually camp with my SO and we love to cook. We decided that the 6.5" pan would be worth bringing because we could cook two dishes at the same time (without bringing two stoves or extra fuel) one over the fire and one on the isobutane stove. This is our luxury item.

As far as what to cook that is entirely up to you. I love good food and if you plan your meals properly the sky is the limit. Everything you make at home can come with you if it is properly planned/packaged for the journey. Hard bread, hotdogs, pizza mix (transport sauce in a small bottle of dressing), bake cake in an orange, raw meat (if you freeze it the night before), pre-cook a steak very rare and finish cooking it when you arrive, fire roasted vegetables, stuffed peppers, pasta.

If you're near water (and it's legal to do so) fishing is a great way to pass the time. You don't need a fishing pole you can wind the line around your water bottle. Or make one with a stick and a few small eye screws like this. You could also use a slingshot to "cast".

I agree. I use the [cheap Chinese knockoff] (https://www.amazon.com/Lightweight-Classic-Backpacking-iso-Butane-Canisters/dp/B004YLU6O6/ref=sr_1_37?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1480608966&sr=1-37&keywords=backpacking+stove)
and then carry one of the Chinese pocket rocket clones, not this exact one just for boiling water (the thing only weighs 4oz. so to me it is worth bringing both since it is way faster for water only i.e. breakfast)

I bought this one: Lightweight Large Burner Classic Camping and Backpacking Stove. For iso-Butane/Propane Canisters https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YLU6O6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_ZVzsub0E00KC9

I cooked breakfast on it for 2 people for three mornings and barely used half my can of fuel. Folds up small and its pretty well built, especially for the price.

> Shame you don't have an inverter for your car, you can run a portable stove on one no problem.

Honestly, I'd use an Iso/Butane backpacking stove myself.

Or get a Camp stove off Craigslist. You can usually find a used dual burner (Propane or white gas) for $25 or so, and fuel will be cheaper/easier to come by than the IsoButane.

EDIT: Or build yourself an alcohol stove . It'll heat slower than propane, but will do the job.

If your budget gets a little tight, here are a few suggestions to save a few bucks (yes, I'm a member of /r/frugal, here are a few tips:

• Buy a used backpack off eBay or Craigslist. Backpacking is a hobby that a lot of people think they want to get into, they buy an expensive pack, and it sits in their closet for 4 years. They use it once. Then they sell it -- this is how I have purchased both my backpacks. Here is an ad in your general area for a Gregory 80 L pack, lightly used. Retails for high $300's, you can get it for $120 or less.
  
• Don't buy specialized camping clothes. The only exception to this is socks (get wool ones, I like Darn Tough), and maybe underwear. I wear light gym shorts, an Under Armor shirt, a baseball hat with bandanna, and some crosstraining shoes/trail runners. Unless you have bad ankles, you are probably fine without the expensive hiking shoes. Do make sure you have solid raingear.
  
• For your first stove, go simple. This is a great starter.. The MSR Pocket Rocket is a little flashier but not a bad option either.
  
• Take a look at sierratradingpost.com, they occasionally have some very nice deals on there.

The stove is pretty tiny, though the gas canister would take up a bit of space.

But, yeah, probably not necessary for a long day hike. Mine is more geared towards overnight trips. I just pull out a separate backpack for day hikes