1. Borrow gear from friends or rent it before buying.

Don’t buy anything right away if you don’t have to. Renting and borrowing is a great way to experiment with gear before you spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on it. It’s best to try a few different tents, backpacks, and sleeping bags before you spend a chunk of change on something that might not be what you really need.

3. Buy gear from stores with good return policies.

Buy from a place that allows returns after you try stuff out. I bought a pack I thought was great, but after a 20 mile overnight, not so much. Luckily, LLBean takes anything back, anytime, for any reason.

4. Set yourself an annual gear budget.

Set yourself an annual backpacking budget, say $400 dollars per year, so you don’t try to buy all of your backpacking gear at once. This will force you to research purchases and help stop you from making impulse buys. You can easily spend a couple of thousand bucks on gear, only to discover that it’s not quite what you wanted.

5. Backpack with a friend and try out their gear.

Find some friends who backpack and go on a hike with them to try out their gear. Even an overnight hike will give you a good idea of what you need and don’t need. Backpacking with a friend to talk to about gear has made all the difference for me.

6. Buy used gear at a discount.

You can buy really good used gear from other backpackers that’s advertised on backpacking gear forums, Craigslist, or from your friends. It might not be new, but it will still be in good shape and you can save a lot of money. A lot of money.