Heh, indeed, we also laughed our asses off.

We brought one of those, and even with 3 LEDs in it and lots of cranking, it was very underpowered. We were glad we brought a regular one as well. I'd save those for emergencies.

After seeing how awesome DP and FP's was, this is on our new covet list.

Because the last thing you want happening on a camping trip is for BOB to fail!

yeah, I had no idea that hat would be so annoying to folks. my apologies to all.
it was handy crossing a dark forest alone, but I think I'll leave that one out next time.

IN NA's case, when she had it off and hanging around her neck, it looked like one of those dog anti-barking shock collars. It amused me.

I LOVED the usefullnes of the Petzel. However, with it being above my eyes, I forgot it was on until it was shining in someone's eyes. And, I forgot repeatedly.

I found that haveing a hands free light was a blessing.

It took me a couple of reads before I figured out that you weren't talking about a pretzel. I just couldn't figure out why everyone was so excited about a snack food.

Well, it is clear I will be an occasional camper. Where's the best spot to pick up some stuff and not spend a mint? REI? Target? Hunting now!

If you want things that will last for years, I would invest in REI equipment. I used my first tent for 20 years. But, I'm not a fan of cheap camping equipment. There's nothing worse than having defective equipment when you are camping.

I suggest watching garage sales if you are up for that. REI tends to be on the expensive side, but that is because they usually have better quality stuff (though their sales rock).

While I did not scour it, Craig's list appears to have quite a few things available (YMMV).

But I agree with NA: get quality stuff. Cheap camping gear sucks.

Or you could just cover it all in one shot and get one of these.

Actually, I'd love for people to post where they got their various bits of camping equipment. I kept asking during the trip, but mostly forgot the odd places I'd never heard of.

The cool extendable skeweres seemed to all come from Target. And Ken & Teresa's neat solar tentside lanterns were from Wal*Mart. But they also had these 6-foot tables that rolled up to no-space from a place I'd never heard of, and there's lots more from odd vendors.