>>2374844I'm in the exact same spot as you. I just check /out/ every few days, ctrl+F whatever gear I am investigating, spend maybe 30 minutes watching youtube videos and couple those with the recommendations or common shit I see people using on here. I have a spreadsheet with names of tents, sleeping bags, gadgets, etc. and what I hear + what I personally think just from looking at the description
To be honest, when in doubt just try to find a seller with a good return policy. I'm new as fuck to going /out/ so there's really no point in investing in $1000+ tents that can withstand arctic blizzards when I'm likely only going to need a $30 tent for a 2-3 day camping trip. I'm not thru-hiking the world so it doesn't need to be 0.023918 oz either. A six pound tent won't kill me
It's really all up to what you want to do while /out/ and finding what kind of gear matches that + your budget
It's pretty complicated when you first start looking but once you get familiar with some brands and what they're known for + what you're looking for in your gear, you can pretty much just google it
basically: dust the cobwebs off your critical thinking machine or lurk moar
