Every single piece of camping and outdoor gear we have purchased new or acquired used over the years, from the cabin tent to the internal frame backpacks to the snow shoes, is the best money we ever spent. This includes the investment in the food dehydrator, which lets us make our own lightweight backpacking meals for pennies. No matter the season or the level of comfort craved or the season, we have weekend activities and vacations short or small at our fingertips for just the cost of the fuel to get there and any necessary passes/permits.
We leave for a week on the Pacific coast in a few days. Taking the cabin tent with the fancy air mattresses, the nice Coleman stove, the cushy camp chairs, and the real bedding for this one, as we are planning to glamp and enjoy the kite festival. Cost? $138 for a week at the camp site by the beach, plus the gas to get there. This stuff paid for itself year's ago. So far this year we have taken 3 vacations and gone backpacking on a handful of weekends, as well as spent many a day hiking or snowshoeing, and the longest trips still came in under $150 and the shortest cost as little as a gallon of gas and a tank of stove fuel.
I recently had to patch a small hole in my REI daypack. I bought it about 10 years ago. I remember at the time feeling guilty about the $40 I spent, I could use a thrifted backpack after all. It's seen me through a ton of day hikes, a couple of short overnights, served as an airplane carryon, an impromptu diaper bag when babysitting my niece, a field bag when I was doing field work, taken me on countless errands, and even carried my laptop a few times. I use it 3 times a week or more. At least 1500 uses over the last decade, and hopefully another decade of life is left in it. That's money well spent.
