hello and some semi-quick questions

[chrisvangordon87]

Hello all,
My name is Chris and my wife's name is Micah. me and my wife both llove hiking and we want to do a real backpacking adventure which is why i joined the forums so i can ask questions and get good answers from experienced people of the northwest. We live in oregon city oregon. we are hoping to have a final summer days backpack adventure where we can fish and it wont be too difficult for noobs like us.

if anyone reads this and wants to help i really want to know where i can pick up a good large bag for as cheap as possible and good hiking shoes too. i have some boots but i would prefer the lower cut type still high quality. i saw some hiking shoes going for about $100-150 is that a normal price range? Can it be less and still be the level of quality?

And how about bags. price range and where to get them. and any oregon places that sell good othrt forms of gear for a reasonable price would be good to know about. Is the army surplus store still a good place to go?

Anyway i hope to learn a lot from yall so i can take my wife on an adventure she wont forget. thanks in advance for any help. peace and love. God bless.

[justpeachy]

Welcome, Chris!

When it comes to boots, you definitely get what you pay for. Backpacks too. I know that REI tends to be on the expensive side, but good news! Their Labor Day Sale starts tomorrow and runs through September 1. I saw in the sale catalog that selected packs and boots will be on sale. If you have time to wait for a web order to arrive you could also check out the online outlet section of REI (there's a tab for it on their website).

[adamschneider]

$100-$150 is definitely normal for shoes, I'm afraid. Although sometimes, if you're in the right place at the right time, you can get last year's model on clearance for a little less. But probably not in your size.

And remember that sometimes it's worth it to spend a little more and get your stuff at REI, since they'll take anything back — even shoes that you've been wearing for months. (It used to even apply to shoes you'd been wearing for YEARS, but a few gross abusers of that policy led them to limit the no-questions-asked return period to 1 year.)

[kepPNW]

My current favorite pair of trail runners put me back $20 at Big 5. Sometimes you just luck out.

Of the shoes I've paid over $100 for, I can't say in retrospect I'd suggest others do the same.

led [REI] to limit the no-questions-asked return period to 1 year.

They're absolute jerks about totally legitimate returns now! Things have really changed there.

[Born2BBrad]

Like Karl, I got a pair of $20 trail runners at Big 5. I added some after-market inserts and they work great. They probably won't last as long as a $100 pair, but if they last one fifth as long, then I've broke even on that bet.

Regarding othere equipment, you can get good used stuff really cheap, even on one of the forums on this site.

Good luck and as always, hike on.

Brad

[Lumpy]

A good big new pack for fairly cheap can be found at GoLite in Tualatin. They were very helpful when I went to their store in Woodburn when they were located there. Worth a look. Also check out Next Adventure. Hard to know what's on sale there sometimes without going there in person. Fit is the most important factor, not price. Get a pack that FITS, especially your wife. Before you go shopping, start reading as much as you can about pack fit and pack weight.

Boots can be useful for folks that don't have strong ankles, but if you know you have strong ankles, you might be able to skip heavy boots and go with lighter weight trail runners or some such. I've always had weak ankles that are easy to injure, so I use these on both ankles with lightweight trail runners:
http://amzn.com/B000TGUN7A

[Koda]

Hello all,
My name is Chris and my wife's name is Micah. me and my wife both llove hiking and we want to do a real backpacking adventure which is why i joined the forums so i can ask questions and get good answers from experienced people of the northwest. We live in oregon city oregon. we are hoping to have a final summer days backpack adventure where we can fish and it wont be too difficult for noobs like us.

if anyone reads this and wants to help i really want to know where i can pick up a good large bag for as cheap as possible and good hiking shoes too. i have some boots but i would prefer the lower cut type still high quality. i saw some hiking shoes going for about $100-150 is that a normal price range? Can it be less and still be the level of quality?

And how about bags. price range and where to get them. and any oregon places that sell good othrt forms of gear for a reasonable price would be good to know about. Is the army surplus store still a good place to go?

Anyway i hope to learn a lot from yall so i can take my wife on an adventure she wont forget. thanks in advance for any help. peace and love. God bless.

Welcome Chris and Micah,

Check out this gear list thread we had here a while back focusing on low cost UL but quality backpacking gear. http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... 15&t=10531

The one thing in that thread I forgot (at that time) to include was a water filter. I would recommend the Sawyer Mini for about 20 bucks and only weighs 2 or 3 ounces...

I wouldn't go to the army surplus store. I went to one this summer to look around and found the prices were no longer that cheap for the old surplus gear they are selling. I'd rather get a cheap modern equivalent item to get me by until I can get better. Just my opinion here.

When you say "bag" Im thinking you mean sleeping bag not backpack? I agree that GoLite would be a good place to start for quality gear for less as they cut out the middle man on purpose. They make great bags and packs...

Cheers

[chrisvangordon87]

Actually i was in fact asking about a backpack by using the word "bag" im sorry i see how that can be confusing. from now on ill refer to it as pack and sleeping bag as bag. well thanks for all the advice so far people it really is very appreciated.

So one final question though: are there any little mom and pop or hole in the wall type shops that sell gear or is it mostly bigger names like REI thst have what im looking for? I guess andy and bax is the closet thing to that huh?

[Koda]

Next Adventure

[Koda]

The Mountain Shop

Oregon Mountain Community

All 3 are local mom and pop shops that sell excellent gear...