Overpriced camping stuff

[p38arover]

Have you noticed how items specifically for camping cost a lot more than stuff for the home.

I was at a major camping equipment (South American snake) store this morning killing time whilst my wife was in Petbarn. I wandered through the cooking section and was amazed how prices have changed.

A whistling kettle at $35 - I saw an almost identical one in Aldi an hour later for $9.95

Wok burner cast gas rings used to be quite cheap, I thought I'd get one. Not now - $160

I've lost/mislaid my small cast iron dutch oven. It cost me $30. Now they are $120. I'm not buying another. The small one must be in the garage somewhere!

20+ years ago when I was setting up with pots, etc. camping stuff was over priced so I bought kitchen stuff instead. I needed some stainless billy cans so I got a set of three stackable stainless steel canisters for under $10. I pop-rivetted a couple of brackets onto each and made a wire handle for each. I'm still using them. My frypans are ones my wife has replaced.

[Eevo]

double the price again if it has an ARB sticker on it

[Ancient Mariner]

Couple of Travel Buddy ovens on ebay one at $3130.50 plus freight another at $4110.40 You would think it would be free freight at that price[smilebigeye]

[weeds]

Couple of Travel Buddy ovens on ebay one at $3130.50 plus freight another at $4110.40 You would think it would be free freight at that price[smilebigeye]

Yes notice one of these, one assume an error when posting.....but ya never know somebody might cough up the dollars.

Mine arrived two weeks ago for a fraction of the cost.

[loanrangie]

The snake and kat stores are overpriced, Ron check out snowy's for a dutch oven spun or cast.

[CraigE]

Yep see it over and over again.
Whilst you do get what you pay for there are a lot of exceptions and depends on use.
A good example is a cheaper 4x4 and camping supplier.
As an example I have a name brand awning and it has had a few repairs, for a third of the name brand price I bought my son a cheaper brand and guess what it is as good if not better. Same with spotties everyone harping how much better their $1000 to $1500 LED 9" spotties are. Well the $160 Chinese imports throw as good a light out and so far over 2 years out of them, at the price difference I would be happy to replace them every 2 years let alone if I hit a roo.

[rover-56]

Retailers are allowed by consumer law to ask whatever they think they can get away with, all the stores check each others prices and set similar levels, so not much competition.
You can thank Paul Keating for that.
Terry

[loanrangie]

Retailers are allowed by consumer law to ask whatever they think they can get away with, all the stores check each others prices and set similar levels, so not much competition.
You can thank Paul Keating for that.
TerryPrices can vary by a large margin so they don't set similar prices, bcf and rays have the same owners yet the exact item is priced differently in each chain.
Snake have their own brand so that price matching isn't possible - smart move NY them, and kat are just way overpriced for the Chinese made stuff.

[Slunnie]

Retailers are allowed by consumer law to ask whatever they think they can get away with, all the stores check each others prices and set similar levels, so not much competition.
And these are the same shops that cry when you don’t shop local because they are too expensive and lobbied to have GST applied to all imports to make their inflated prices more competitive.

[incisor]

Couple of Travel Buddy ovens on ebay one at $3130.50 plus freight another at $4110.40 You would think it would be free freight at that price[smilebigeye]They price them like that when they aren't in stock and cannot supply

[trout1105]

Have you noticed how items specifically for camping cost a lot more than stuff for the home.

I was at a major camping equipment (South American snake) store this morning killing time whilst my wife was in Petbarn. I wandered through the cooking section and was amazed how prices have changed.

A whistling kettle at $35 - I saw an almost identical one in Aldi an hour later for $9.95

Wok burner cast gas rings used to be quite cheap, I thought I'd get one. Not now - $160

I've lost/mislaid my small cast iron dutch oven. It cost me $30. Now they are $120. I'm not buying another. The small one must be in the garage somewhere!

20+ years ago when I was setting up with pots, etc. camping stuff was over priced so I bought kitchen stuff instead. I needed some stainless billy cans so I got a set of three stackable stainless steel canisters for under $10. I pop-rivetted a couple of brackets onto each and made a wire handle for each. I'm still using them. My frypans are ones my wife has replaced.

I have been using those cheap kettles for years now and they are still going strong and I also get the old frypans/pots when we get new ones for the house..
As long as i can get a cup of hot coffee and cook a feed I don't care if the stuff I am using is old or cheap, As long as it does the job I am a happy camper.

[Baggy]

It depends on what the gear is being used for ... if its being carried in a car and weight is not a factor a cheap alternative is fine .... for hiking light weight good quality camping gear is expensive but you can pick up
some cheaper alternatives.

Helinox - do great lightweight camping gear - chair under 1000grams (maybe 600grms) for $168.00c ... I bought a similar style from Aldi ... it's about 1.3Kgs (twice the weight) but at $45.00c suits me fine.
I just have to pack differently on a hike to compensate.

A small gas stove with pot at Anaconda / BCF was $85.00c ..... Aldi had similar in their own brand for $30.00c ..... great value.

Not everything is the same .... I bought a cheap Aldi sleeping bag because it was really compact .... rating 12 degrees ... bought a Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor liner very sheer and will add extra 8 degrees
(comes in 12 Degree and 15 degree also) to a rating of a bag. Reactor Bag liner itself cost $58.00c

Used it on my last hike ... brought the rating to 4 Degrees which was fine for the weather .... it was the compact size I was looking for ....

Add the Reactor liner to my old 0 degree rated thermolite sleeping bag (not 0 degrees anymore) .... should give -8 degree but I'd be happy getting a -4 rating on any day given its 17 years old.
A -8 degree and lower lightweight quality sleeping bag starts from $500+ ... so the thermolite Reactor was a good investment.

Kmart has cheap waterproof stuff bags ... collapsible plates, bowls and cups ... its a matter of looking around.

Clothing is by far the most expensive .... and when it comes to boots I always look at the best quality I can buy (on special) as I wouldn't want to be on a hike with a cheap pair of boots ... blisters
and sore feet aren't fun.

I too have bought stuff from the cheaper alternative 4 x 4 store and have been happy with my purchases .... they now have two outlets here in Perth that you can check the gear out first which is a bonus.


Baggy

[p38arover]

^^ Agreed - but hiking to me is from the front door to the car.

[weeds]

Helinox - do great lightweight camping gear - chair under 1000grams (maybe 600grms) for $168.00c ... I bought a similar style from Aldi ... it's about 1.3Kgs (twice the weight) but at $45.00c suits me fine.
I just have to pack differently on a hike to compensate.


Baggy

We purchased the Aldi chairs (same size as Helinox Chair One) as a tester for hiking and our limited space in the Poptop ......by the end of our 10 day fraser trip they were toast.

Have since brought Helinox Sunset as we figured we would take the Chair One hiking....the sunsets have been used 2 or 3 times more than the aldi Chair was used and zero sign of wear. Pretty confident they will give us value for money. Aldi gear suits a lot of users, doubt I’ll ever buy from them again.

[p38arover]

At least if you returned them to Aldi, you'd get a full refund.

[weeds]

At least if you returned them to Aldi, you'd get a full refund.

No receipt......

I’m not in the ....’if it breaks you can buy three or four for the price of something similar in the store next door’.......group, cheap and nasty adding to land fill problems.

[IndusD4]

It can be argued that Black Wolf Turbo tents are expensive however I picked on up from their online shop, Turbo Lite 300 brand new current model (the website says it is the older 2 pole awning model, the one that arrived was a newer 3 pole one) for $486.- including shipping. That price required registration on the site as a member which gets an additional discount on the $621 advertised price at the checkout.

Offers are here (https://www.blackwolf.com.au/store/clearance/?utm_source=EDM_BoxingDay)

Ron

[Don 130]

No receipt......

I’m not in the ....’if it breaks you can buy three or four for the price of something similar in the store next door’.......group, cheap and nasty adding to land fill problems.

You don't need a receipt if the item was only available from one shop, but you may need proof of purchase, and then a credit card statement would suffice.
Don.

[101RRS]

I wanted to return an unopened item to Aldi - had lost the receipt and paid cash so no other record - item was only sold at Aldi, still in Aldi packageing but they still refused to take the return.

Their argument was that I could have stolen it and was just trying to get some cash.

As a result I tend not to shop at ALDI any longer - when no name brand is compared to no mane brand they are no cheaper than Woolies.

Actually ALDI staff must think the same - at my local shops we have Woolies and Aldi and Aldi staff with Aldi uniforms on were doing their shopping in Wollies.

Garry

[speleomike]

Hi all

When looking at camping stuff (or indeed any purchase) I think its useful to distinguish between something "over priced" and "more expensive". Over priced to me means something that is priced with a markup that does not justify the materials or manufacturing costs. It may still sell due to better marketing, some brand appeal or high exposure in many retail stores. More expensive to me means it costs more than a similar product but it still be reasonable for its input costs. Likewise a product can be "too cheap" and you can't possibly understand why its that cheap.

Drifta Camping and Wilderness Equipment are examples of companies with products that are more expensive compared to comparable products from other companies. The reason; Drifta is manufacturing in Gloucester NSW and Wilderness Equipment has some manufacturing in WA. I can buy a cargo bag or a tent much cheaper from other retailers that import a cheaper product. The imported product might also be quite acceptable quality and well made, but there is an ethical side to it. I'm not rich, and paying more hurts a bit, but I try to buy locally or Australian where I can. Camping products, especially if sewn, are labour intensive, and the maker has to pay off the industrial sewing machine, and pay Aussie wages.

Likewise sometimes I see products (Bunnings comes to mind) that are just too cheap. Somewhere, someone isn't getting what they should be getting. They don't know why they are so cheap so I just don't buy the product as otherwise I'm contributing to someone getting screwed.

So in summary, yes some camping products may be over priced, but don't pass up looking at more expensive Australian made camping products. It would be nice to still have Australian camping gear manufacturers still around in decades to come.

Mike
PS. My ride on mower is a Greenfield Mower, made in Qld. It was the only mower I could find that was made here.

[CU55TM Disco]

I bought some similar styled "light weight" chairs from the camping store with A Snake on it, have had a few uses and them seem good, my brother has the Aldi copies, and I realy prefer mine.



We purchased the Aldi chairs (same size as Helinox Chair One) as a tester for hiking and our limited space in the Poptop ......by the end of our 10 day fraser trip they were toast.

Have since brought Helinox Sunset as we figured we would take the Chair One hiking....the sunsets have been used 2 or 3 times more than the aldi Chair was used and zero sign of wear. Pretty confident they will give us value for money. Aldi gear suits a lot of users, doubt I’ll ever buy from them again.

[Disco-tastic]

We purchased the Aldi chairs (same size as Helinox Chair One) as a tester for hiking and our limited space in the Poptop ......by the end of our 10 day fraser trip they were toast.

Have since brought Helinox Sunset as we figured we would take the Chair One hiking....the sunsets have been used 2 or 3 times more than the aldi Chair was used and zero sign of wear. Pretty confident they will give us value for money. Aldi gear suits a lot of users, doubt I’ll ever buy from them again.We have the aldi ones and one has a tear in the fabric after a few trips. The wife also commented that the angle you sit at hurts her back. Hows the posture in the Helios?

[weeds]

We have the aldi ones and one has a tear in the fabric after a few trips. The wife also commented that the angle you sit at hurts her back. Hows the posture in the Helios?

The Sunset have way more back support than the Chair One.....glad we went this way as they are not all that bigger in size (space is tight) and comfortable enough for us...well a good compromise.

At the 70th in Comma a couple had Sunsets, this gave us a chance to sit in them as a tester.

[Bigbjorn]

Next time you are in a reasonable Western town check out the local bushmen's outfitter. There are still a few shops that cater to pastoral workers, drovers, ringers, musterers etc. The gear including clothing is usually sturdy and durable. You might not need spurs or a 16' stock whip unless you play robust boudoir games but they have billies, camp ovens, swags, and much else. Do keep the spurs off the water bed.

[rar110]

Ive had the Aldi Sunset copy for about 12 mths. I keep it in the car and use it quite regularly. But haven’t used it daily on an extended trip. I’m sure the Sunset version would be better quality but the Aldi version is ok for me. Don’t tell my wife, but I’m about 100kg. It hasn’t broken yet.

I also bought their hiking stove. Again very happy with it for occasional use.

[JAYRO]

Retailers are allowed by consumer law to ask whatever they think they can get away with, all the stores check each others prices and set similar levels, so not much competition.
You can thank Paul Keating for that.
Terry

So you’re blaming Keating for capitalism and the internet... lol

[Bigbjorn]

Next time you are in a reasonable Western town check out the local bushmen's outfitter. There are still a few shops that cater to pastoral workers, drovers, ringers, musterers etc. The gear including clothing is usually sturdy and durable. You might not need spurs or a 16' stock whip unless you play robust boudoir games but they have billies, camp ovens, swags, and much else. Do keep the spurs off the water bed.

Most reasonable size Western towns once upon a time had bushmen's outfitters plus clothing retailers and drapers that had sturdy durable country type work clothing, boots, hats, etc. If you are in Winton check out Searle Bros. in Elderslie St. between the Aussie and the Tatts. There is also a very good country hardware store opposite the Tatts. I don't know if Cadell Drapers is still trading. Old Nell passed away a few years ago in her 90's. She used to go in every day but had stopped working decades ago. I have not been into the Longreach shopping strip for many years now the highway bypasses the town. There used to be good shops there too. Maybe most have closed with the economic state of the pastoral industry and drought causing depopulation. Longreach no longer is a pastoral town but a public service town. It does not ride on the sheep's back any more but on the public service pay slips. The other Western towns like Blackall, Tambo, Barcy may still have good bushmen's stores. It always pays to look around.