A fuulllll disclaimer – I probably won’t buy many — if any — of the things linked below.
I’m very much on a no-buy/low-buy streak right now. Given the current economic recession, the plunging of my retirement accounts, the incoming tariffs, the insecurity and instability of my employment as a federal employee, and some big life events coming up… the thought of spending money on stuff seems kind of senseless.
Bit of a side rant: Yes, there are REI affiliate links in this post. As a full disclaimer, I’m also still not really tooooooo sure about shopping at REI again just yet. REI has historically been one of my favorite retailers in the past (that rewards program gets ya) but after its board enthusiastically signed on to support the Burgum cabinet nomination earlier this year, I just couldn’t convince myself to willingly spend my money to benefit a company (and its board) that was all too willing to put profit over planet and people. I know REI issued an apology and all, but I’d still like to see action over words before I start forking my hard-earned money over again.
Fun reminder, spending is a political action!
Plus, like I said, I just simply haven’t been shopping for anything short of groceries and essentials lately. Maybe that will change in the future. But, right now, it’s definitely still fun to window shop.
Especially since I’m in the middle of a huge project at work that has me completely rebuilding our public-facing website from the ground up, which means that — while the weather gets warmer and nicer — I’m spending about 40 hours a week staring at photos of campgrounds, trails and day-use sites on a very large screen in a dim office building.
I just wanna play outside, all the time, agh.
Pst, again, affiliate links! Still gotta pay my rent if I lose my job, yunno?
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An Aqua-Tainer. After a handful of backpacking trips together, Ryan and I went car camping together for the first time ever a few weekends ago (more on that later!), and I brought my smaller water jug that I’ve used for years. I’ve always liked smaller water jugs because I’m small and water is heavy, but after using pretty much all the water we had to put our campfire out on that trip, I definitely thought about getting a larger (and more durable) water jug for the non-backpacking trips together.
Chaco sandals. I love my Teva Universal Originals! But while they’re great for paddle boarding, lounging and as camp shoes, I don’t find them comfortable to hike in. I’ve been playing with the idea of getting a pair of sturdy-soled Chacos for years now.
Yeti lunchbox/ small cooler. I have smaller version of this (the Hopper Flip 8) and I use it as both a daily lunch box at work (yay full-time return to the offices, she said, dripping with sarcasm) and as a small cooler for quick paddle board trips. I’ve been thinking about eventually splurging on a second larger version for Ryan to take with him to work, since he eats quite a bit more than me and works in a location without restaurants or any real lunch options.
Farm to Summit’s Three Bean Chili & Cornbread backpacker meal. I love trying new backpacking food, and aim to try something new every time I head out for an overnight hike. Sometimes I think I only backpack so I can eat slop out of colorful branded Mylar bags. Farm to Summit is a favorite of mine since all their food is vegetarian (if not vegan) and I haven’t tried the chili and cornbread backpacker’s meal yet. It’s definitely on my list!
Backpacking meal koozie. Speaking of backpacking meals. This is a very trivial item (that would probably be easy enough and way cheaper to DIY) but every time I pull my little foil packet out of my Gregory pack, I contemplate buying it a little koozie.
ENO DoubleNest hammock. I took my ENO SingleNest hammock on my recent car camping trip with Ryan, and quickly pushed him out of my hammock the second he tried to crawl into it with me. It’s way too small for two people! The friends we went camping with had the larger, two-person version of my hammock, so now it’s on this list.
Stasher bags. Again… STASHER BAGS! I am obsessed with Stasher bags. We have several types (the bowls are my favorite) and we use them for everything. They’re perfect for taking sandwiches, wraps, sliced veggies, fruits, grain bowls, you name it, to work. You can pour boiling water into them to make oatmeal (or other backpacking meals) while adventuring. They’re microwave and dishwasher safe which means they’re so easy to clean. We use them so often that I want more.
A cropped rash guard. I feel like I’m constantly looking for good clothing I can wear while paddle boarding. It has to be stretchy enough that it’s easy to move in (especially around my shoulders!), UPF-rated, quick-dry, and fitted enough that it doesn’t easily get waterlogged while still offering enough sun coverage. I think I try a new sun shirt every spring/summer and I have yet to find the perfect paddle shirt, but this one looks promising enough to serve as my next attempt.
A tent I can stand up in? I love LOVEEE love my existing car camping tent (an older model REI Half Dome 3+) and likely won’t replace it any time soon, but just for fun, sometimes, every so often, I like to imagine myself standing up in a tent (like this REI Base Camp 6) while getting dressed, or shaking out my sleeping bag, or inflating an air mattress.
A mid-size cooler. I love my Yeti Roadie 24 cooler, and it’s great for a quick camping trip for two people, but it’s a little too small for anything more. And Ryan has a MASSIVE Canyon cooler, which could honestly probably feed (or house) two people for two full weeks. But we don’t have anything in-between. We took the Yeti cooler with us on our camping trip a few weeks ago, and while it would have been perfect for what I planned to bring (eggs, fruit, shredded potatoes for breakfast, etc.) I didn’t realize Ryan planned on bringing a whole sushi spread camping with us (again… more on that later).
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So, there’s this spring’s list of things-I-want-but-probably-won’t-buy.
If I get to the point where I start feeling a bit more comfortable with spending money again, I might hit up one of our many secondhand and resale stores here in Flagstaff to search for some of this stuff, but right now I think the best gear is the gear I already own, and I don’t think any of the stuff mentioned above (with the exception of the Stasher bags) is really necessary at this point in my life.
Anyway… it’s back to staring at photos of campgrounds and trailheads on my computer screen all day. I’m itching to go play outside ASAP. Luckily it’s almost the weekend!
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read my disclosure policy.
