So, /out/, I want to hear your advice on some dirt cheap goods I'm tempted to buy.
First question:
A store nearby will be selling $4 compasses, and am interested in knowing as to whether these things genuinely work well, or if I'll end up getting compensation from getting trapped in a gorge in Wollemi National Park.
No, I do not want to screw around with the watch trick. That's a major pain. And no, I am not tempted in spending a load of money for an actual compass.
>>706562
I paid like 15 for that same compass which sucks for me... But it's never led me astray and has a very strong pull towards north so I would buy it
Are you kidding me? Compasses all work the same. Theres no reason to spend over 10 dollars on a compass.
>>706562
>very strong pull towards north
you know, like a compass should.
Why is this a thread? Buy compass, navigate, ???, profit
If it doesn't point north, reconsider it.
If it works, buy two!
>>706584
A friend of mine had one that came with this oversized safety pin clip thing built into the plastic so you could stick it to your clothing like an ID badge. The needle always pointed towards the safety pin.
Are stoves worth it? I just set up a Y shaped stick and hang a longer stick over the fire with that to hang my pot on, or I will use tent pegs to make a platform to set my pot on over a smaller fire. Got both ideas from YouTube. I don't cook much of anything, just to purify water, make coffee, boil water for ready meals, etc.
>>706727
Stoves are good because you can still eat when there's a fire ban or a monsoon.
>>706584
It deppends on the use. If you need to use a map a compass with a mirror one of those slits/wires (don't remember how they are called) things are a must. But that's pretty much it.
>>706562
i downloaded a compass on my smart phone.
nothing gets cheaper than that.
it's like a thousand times smarter than your silly shit it gives you elevation and plots your course with gps and everything.
>>706727
Stoves are more convenient. If Im exhausted from six mile, 4,000 ft elev gain approach and setting up camp, I don't really want to deal with gathering sticks and trying to light them. Only time I make fires is when I'm dicking around in the woods near my house.
>>708361
too bad i can't download a stove app
>>708355
>i downloaded a compass on my smart phone.
this wasn't really smart, noah-liam
>>708378
i can solar charge it you know...
>>708381
until the phone wont charge anymore.
>>708398
wtf you are planning some life-long hikes anon?
just buy a new phone every 5 years.
>>708398
>What if the poles change in the Earth?
>What if the compass demagnetizes?
>>708088
You're an idiot. Those compasses are for navigation.
If you plan to use maps what is useful is a baseplate to plot vectors etc
You don't have to spend a lot but equally I wouldn't skimp, as a compass is something that your life could potentially depend on.
Button compasses, phone apps, are just toys.
>>708554
>navigation
Not him but on the first week of my geography/geology/dirt course we had to get one of those. Anything that needs a tiny bit of precision needs one of those and they aren't that expensive. Stop getting sissy on the internet.
Unless you're a cartographer, why would you need a compass? If you get lost you just head in the general direction of the road. Roads are long and it won't where you get picked up.
>>706562
ALDI YA DOG
Am I the only anon who actually uses a compass?
>>708551
>moving goalposts
>>708551
actually the magnetic compass is pretty accurate in mine (low end samsung) but with the gps it's a hundred times more accurate than any magnetic shit you have also automatically compensates for magnetic misalignment and shows true north.
>>708569
Some of us actually go out, instead of walking down a road or some trail beaten in by thousands of gumbies
It does work, or if it doesn't you can your watch as compass.
OP, I think the most important factor is the weight of your bag (Excluding the weight of the bag itself, excluding water + food).
Always calculate your whole weight before going and try to minimize it as much as possible
why do you need a compass when you can use the sun? Does everybody else here use compasses too?
Asking /out/ about compasses is as bad as asking /out/ about PLBs.
>>708722
>>708736
>cloudy skies for a week
>>708632
>still have tower-based cell phone reception and needs a compass/gps feature
>>708736
>>708569
>>708355
You people are retarded, there is no excuse for not carrying an actual compass with you. Its a necessary item when going out. They're like a couple dollars and can save your life if you get lost. Don't spew retarded information when you don't know what the fuck you're talking about mk?
>>708752
Put a knife to your nail. Sun is opposite to shadow. Or at night you know the direction by stars.
>>708355
>Trusting your life to a smart phone
Bye
>>708632
I use my phone's gps when /out/ but always have a compass and at least a basic map printed from the internet as a backup. You can buy a compass for less than $10 ffs, just buy one.
There's about a jillion things that can fuck up a smartphone, or I might just not want to pull it out if I have wet/dirty hands.
>>708777
>cloudy skies for a week
I'll be hitting up Aldi too tomorrow OP ;)
>>709121
>>708752
>793 A.D.
>Not carrying a sólarsteinn
>>708355
11/10 doing gods work
>>708752
you don't need towers for gps silly
>>708763
but i do it's built in my phone
it functions perfectly even without gps but with gps it's so fucking accurate and versatile that stone age shit like traditional compass can't even come close.
>>708847
now why would i do that.
no compass will have anything to do with my life ever.
>>708585
ok I'm no autist but does anyone else feel this gif is a bit upsetting? I was expecting lines, colors, SOMETHING, to overlap and they never did
>>708752
>gps
>towers
what
>>709298
The GPS transceiver in most phones is not strong enough to find and uplink with satellites on its own, it opens an internet connection, downloads the current position of the gps satellites and then uplinks. A handheld gps is independent on this, but a map and compass is still the most reliable.
>smart phones are gimmicks for stupid people
>>709302
Well they can find and uplink sats, it just takes a while. But if your phone has aGPS (Assisted gps), which most phones uses, then you are fucked. Some use s-gps which has dedicated gps and still use data connections to get almanacs and ephemerides but without phone signals it'll get the sats at a heart-stopping rate of 50 b/s or less. But yeah, take a look at maps or take one with you before you go and carry a compass or something.
>>709294
That's like saying you don't need a lifeboat because your ship is afloat.
Signals fail
Batteries fail
Redunduncy.
They weigh nothing and cost nothing
Sometimes there are threads on here that really show the level of understanding of anons.
Also,, not having a rotating bezel to navigate via visual markers , that's like the most useful thing about a compass.
Mine stays in my pocket at all times.
>>709302
you don't need an uplink to get your position wtf is this bullshit?
the gps sats know their own position they transmit that with a timestamp that is enough for your position calculations.
my gps works perfectly fine even if the cell reception is nil i have tried it.
what doesn't really work without data link is the google maps app.
>>709351
A compass is totally useless in the modern age in the USA.
The shit you listed is as likely to happen as you are to sit on your compass and break it.
>b-but my military BDUs have 10 pockets and I keep a compass in every one
>>709361
>you don't need an uplink to get your position wtf is this bullshit?
with most phones you do.
>>709387
>waste 5 dollars on a compass
>put it on pack
>use it when needed
>don't be a sissy bitch on the internet
/out/ literally cares more about buying Gear ™ than going out.
>>709361
Most phones don't have GPS they have something called aGPS which uses data from servers to make things faster and smaller so people can geotag ass pics on instagram.
>>709392
no assisted gps only reduce time to determine position it does nothing else.
without it it still works can take a minute but who cares?
>>709361
You are completely right about the uplink thing, sorry, English is not my first language.
read here >>709309
the a-gps won't work without a data connection to a mobile net, It needs the ephemeris information and the almanac data to work, this can be downloaded via mobile net in a second, or via gps satellite in 12.5 minutes minimum if you are really lucky. The ephemeris must be updated every 4 hours.
So yes, phone gps will work flawless for 4 hours without net , and after that it'll take ages to get a reading.
>>709422
In theory yes. But some outright don't work. And never forget to download maps for offline use because botnet (google) doesn't like off-line services even if they provide them.
Source: experience and EE course
>>709425
>And never forget to download maps for offline use because botnet (google) doesn't like off-line services even if they provide them.
that much is true.
basic google maps app doesn't work shit without net connectivity unless you have your location cached by accident.
i don't know about the dowloadble app.
but if you use a proper gps navi app it would give you accurate position even without online map and it can use offline maps.
>>709391
>bringing things you never need with you
No, anon, you are the gearfag.
>>709429
>call guy with compass and map gearfag
>bring smartphone/tablet and solar charger
>>709436
wtf man a smartphone can do a jizzilion times more than your silly little map.
it can have an entire library of ebooks on it instructional videos it can record video take photos you can update your location and status check the weather contact your family listen to music it's like everything a computer can do and then some.
>>709436
You have your anons mixed up. I don't own a smart phone or tablet, compass or maps. They are all worthless to me.
>>708368
>what are Samsung batteries
>>709481
And when it fails?
>>709578
>everything can fail. your heart can fail.
>i use my fucking phone every day it has yet to fail me in 3 years since i got it
Honestly you are right. Sorry.
>>709578
You can carry both your phone and compass without adding your "MUH GRAMS, you can't carry two functioning and interchangeable hearts.
Don't know why I even answered
>>709521
>internet tough guy detected
>(You)
>>709612
>going without an ipad for camping is "tough guy" mode
>>709578
you don't even need to poke a hole in one, I can actually fry an egg on my Samsung Rugby
I can't actually believe there are retards here arguing a compass is worthless.
An actual compass is infinitely more dependable than any alternative and honestly you should take enjoyment in learning how to use one properly.
>>709632
Name 1 good use for a compass.
You can't. They are worthless in all situations. They are just nostalgia shit for campturds.
>>709668
State your age and occupation, anon, I'm getting to the bottom of your bigotry
>>709668
Hannibal Lecter told me that a leaf and a needle are just as good as a compass.
I've used cheap compasses and they can get water inside and fail. I've got a sunto mca I've had for two years now. It's goos. I typically carry maps with the roads and another topo one. I also have my smartphone.
>>709748
Says the person who has obviously never been up a fucking mountain in poor visibility.
>>706723
>The needle always pointed towards the safety pin.
Atleast he knows he will never loose the safety pin
>>710468
>gotta get to the top
>can't see shit due to weather
>forgot compass
>somehow mixed UP and DOWN without a compass
>end up climbing back DOWN the mountain
>>710478
This reminded me of the Object compass tracking system in the books of Skylark so fucking much lol
>>710479
I think you are confirmed for neverbeenout.
>going to difficult terrain
>going of track
>going multiday
>without map, compass or any other navigation help
>>710479
Jesus christ the amount of people that come here and has never being actually outdoors never ceases to amaze me.
>>709598
not the grams
the price compared to usefulness and the fact that they don't last well especially cheaper ones like silvas
>>710487
>>710492
>>710468
>never been out
You seem overly focused on something you are making an assumption about. Maybe you're the one that has the problem. I can understand mentally deficient people needing extra help while out. That's fine, but everyone else doesn't need your level of help.
The places I go, it takes days of hiking to get there (pic related). The only phone reception you can hope to get is using a satellite phone, but I don't own one. I don't own a cellphone, a compass, and I've never seen a map of the area probably never will. I never really understood how people, "get off track".
>>710544
sure thing senpai.
>>709387
It may not be necessary, but it is a personal preference of mine to use a map and compass over a gps. I've become good enough with the two to navigate through the terrain I go out in, the mountains have plenty of visual references between lakes and peaks that its hard to become lost, even off trail. Where I would prefer to have a gps is in a flat forrest or swamp. Its pretty damned near impossible to because the visual references are not as prominent as peaks.
>>709668
One good use for a compass?
How about pointing north on a cloudy night?
Trekking through a forest between ten thirty and two o'clock, which way up go?
Setting up a camp, where will the shade be in the afternoon?
I can navigate by the sun and stars, on land or a lot sea.
I regularly use a differential GPS system.
I regularly get my boots muddy doing geospatial survey work.
I still carry a compass.
A five dollar button compass on my watch band and a three hundred dollar prismatic on my belt.
why?
It is quicker and easier to just check the map, check the compass and look around at the features to check my position than getting out a GPS and waiting for it to find satellites.
Those maps you use when out? I make those maps. Aerial photography. Older maps. 3D imaging and going out and measiring the heights of features.
It is not always possible to get to a feature, some times I have to survey a trig point I can get to than use a compass and theodolite to get the height of a hill.
How do you think they knew the height of Mt Everest sixty years before anyone climbed to the top?
Compass, theodolite and British surveyors.
>>710727
OP of thread, read this and buy that compass..
>>710727
>It is quicker and easier to just check the map, check the compass and look around at the features to check my position than getting out a GPS and waiting for it to find satellites.
yeah bullshit paper triangulation from features onto map is going to take minutes the gps will have your location in 30-45 secs.
i get that some people are techno-phobic but don't even start this bullshit. if map and compass navigation was easier and faster nobody would use a gps.
>>710727
how do you do this btw determine height without a reference height on the hill or a known distance of the peak?
do you take measurements from two locations of significantly different distances and known elevation and solve an equation or there is a simpler way?
>>710997
>minutes
Have you ever even looked at a topographic map? I can look at the map and then at my surroundings and figure out where I am in about fifteen seconds.
>>711000
i thought we are talking about accurate positioning not guessing. you can guess without anything if you are somewhat familiar with the area.
>>711002
I was, indeed, talking about accurate positioning. Within, say, ten feet. Plenty accurate for finding which route to take, considering the lay of the land. OTOH, I've been a sc/out/ my whole life. There are too many armchair woodsmen here, and from your tone I'd have to guess you're one of them.
>>710998
Start by taking a blank piece of paper.
Use a sextant and chronograph to locate the piece of earth you are standing on.
Move to another place that you can see from the first and do it again.
Mark both places on the piece of paper keeping to the scale you want to make the map.
Take a bearing and angle above/below horizontal to a feature you can see from both places.
Repeat repeat repeat repeat till you have a list of bearings and angles. Most importantly, take notes and describe the features you are taking bearings to
Go back to the first place and do the same.
Sit in a tent with a big table pencils and a slide rule.
Mark each bearing from rack location.
Figure out from your notes what features are at the intersections of your bearings.
Use trigonometry to determine the spot heights of the features. pen in the spot heights and gross terrain features described in your notes.
Erase the bearing lines.
Go to one of the features you just mapped and repeat again.
Keep doing that, moving in a general direction till you have surveyed a spine across the land. Publish the map and give out hundreds yo other surveyors to work on expanding the spine into a skeleton.
Pay explorers to go around and ask the locals what they call that mountain or river. (Side note, in India, there are hundreds of hills and mountains, all with different local names. It was not until every thing was recorded and than translated that they found that they had hundreds of hills and mountins with the translated name of "the hill" and "the mountain")
Start filling in the blank areas.
It took thousands of surveyors fifty years to survey India.
It took tens of thousand surveyors two hundred years to survey most of the USA.
The difference was in the organisation. The us gov left it to private concerns to do the work, who did not trade information and charged the government for the work.
>>710997
If it is taking you minutes to orientate a map to north, look around and than look at the gross topo frames tires on the map and decide which hill you are on, you have never learnt how to read a map or observe your surroundings.
If I walk into an area, i just carry forward from my last known location. If I hand to do a resection, it take me about ninety seconds.
It takes my GPS (Rockwell PLGRII) one hundred and sixty seconds to get a fifty m accuracy, five minutes to get down to one meter.
I find a quarter of the geocaches I'm looking for with out GPS.
>>711013
that's not what i was talking about and you know it.
if you want an accurate location on a map you must place it on a flat surface orient it to north
take bearings on prominent features of the land you can identify on the map
draw the lines from the features on the measured angle and find your location at the intersect.
this will take minutes no question.
and all this is assuming you already identified features and you don't need calculations to make sure and you have a flat level surface to work with and you magnetic compass is not fucking with you because you are at a bad place and everything.
>>710727
>How about pointing north on a cloudy night?
For what reason? If you get your directions by "walk x distance north then x distance south" you are a massive fool. Those kinds of directions get people killed.
You need to get your directions from land marks. "follow x trail to x clearing, turn left, go to the ridge, follow it until you get to the cliff, jump off because you're a massive tard who wants to use compasses."
>>711000
In an open area like say most of Ireland. But, not in a forest full of trees and underbrush where you can't see more than 20 feet if you're lucky.
Good luck with your guess work, kid.
OP here.
How did this thread not die long ago?
Got two from Aldi a few days ago, pic.
Seems pretty responsive.
Nice plastic lens, works reasonably. Now to lurk around in me nearby national park and ID plants and get their seeds.
Anyone by any chance know of how to germinate drupes? Blueberry ash is what I desire. Will also post a separate thread another day.
>>706562
Well some poeple are smart and buy gear that works. Other poeple like to walk more and think less.
>>709668
What is navigation in white out conditions in mountain ranges without reception
>>710997
>>Minutes
>>711171
Doesn't know the mountaineers method.
Dude, you think climbers stop and take all that fucking time? Nope. You don't even need to orient the map if you know wtf you are doing
>>711179
Most of the innawoods on the east coast is forested, learn to read fucking contpur lines
>>712442
A trip planned by stupid people?
>>712480
No it's fucking mountaineering. You can't control the weather dippest of shits
>>710727
Serious question anon, what's the difference between a $10 compass and a $300 compass?
Is it really that much more accurate? What other features make it so expensive?
>>711010
Based anon it sounds like you have a cool job, well done
>>712074
And yet some can both walk and think at once.
>>711179
>Ireland
I live in Indiana. Burgerland. Most of my /out/ is innawoods.
>Good luck with your guess work, kid.
Project much? I'm a product of 1981, raised 15 miles from the nearest post office. I'll be fine in the woods with my topo and compass. You use whatever you need to keep from getting lost, I won't hate. I just don't need tech while I'm /out/. Do I carry my phone for just in case? Sure. But I only turn it on once a day when I'm innawoods to check in with my family.
>>712504
Confirmed for, "trip planned by stupid people".
You should probably stay home, kid.
>>713947
Build quality and how exact you need that bearing.
You can spend $20 for a Silva/Suunto/Recta and be set for most hiking, $40-$50 and you are set for all hiking plus can call in an artillery barrage when needed. $300 is for professional surveyors that have special needs.
>>709521
CRAWWWLING IN MY SKIIIN
>>706723
it points to what it desires most in the world
>>710479
Not sure if retarded or trolling.
You do realise that mountains aren't perfectly shaped like pyramids, yes?
>>711936
Where do you get your maps from? I've been trying to get a decent topo map from the internet for a place near brisbane for the last few days, can't find anything useful
>>712480
>Anyone who goes out of phone reception areas is stupid
Confirmed for neverbeenout
I keep a ball compass on the outside of my pack and somehow the magnet became detached from the cardinal and would point a new direction every time you gave it a little shake. I've never had to use it but good thing I notice before I needed it.
>>715095
Not him, but
http://qtopo.dnrm.qld.gov.au/desktop/
http://qtopo.dnrm.qld.gov.au/mobile/
An address for each type of device.
>>715095
Eh. Good question. All I've done is a few walks listed on wildwalks and similar. Still a noobie at overnight hikes, though I feel as if I can begin navigation through unmarked bushland. Part of the reason for buying the compass.
Also going to go around a nearby national park carefully collecting some seeds, in locations rarely accessed by the public, and in minute amounts, of course. Not going to hack all the cones off the only Banksia within a large area, of course.
>>715096
Lol, dude. Most of the island I live on is out of service.. Goes in and out constantly driving around even. It's great.
>>715662
What island
>>715193
THANK YOU anon that's exactly what I was looking for. Don't know how I managed to not find it earlier. Cheers.
>>709637
Good, that means it isn't aGPS but a s-gps
>>706584
It's clear you are young and inexperienced. Surveyors and cartographers need something a bit better than your average cheap compass.
http://www.brunton.com/collections/navigation/products/geo-pocket-transit-0-90
>>709268
What happens when that battery-devouring app and, making an educated guess, about 20 others you most likely have kill your precious device?
>>715774
i guess if that actually happens i stop having fun with my compass
it never happened tho
you don't need the display on all the time you know which is the main battery hog
>>709180
I just looked that up and now I need
>>709481
>silly map
You should just leave now
>>716144
>30+ years hiking and camping in the mountains and national forests. Never once held a compass, never used anything other than a road map (shotgun navigator for dad, as a kid), which I never used outside of that one limited use for someone else.
>all trips planned properly
>never once get lost while /out/ and about
Oh, and don't confuse me with the phone fags. I don't even own one, never had one before. All my phones had cords on them and wouldn't let you get more than ten feet from the wall.
>>708355
>i downloaded a compass on my smart phone.
kek
at least your phone is smart, you don´t
>>709391
this
>>709387
>A compass is totally useless in the modern age in the USA
dude, wtf, you are the kind of fag that dies horribly for not being prepared.
>>706727
100% I don't like dicking around with building a fire and then waiting however long to boil water when my stove gets the job done in a a few minutes
>>717872
I'm so glad I don't have your shitty firemaking skills. lol
>>717863
>being so poorly planned that you need to rely on maps and compasses
Do you live in an apartment in a city by any chance?
3 most crucial items to have while /out/ are: knife, whistle, and compass. I fail to see how people could argue that ANY of those 3 are unnecessary or would not save your life if you become lost/injured. (Assuming you planned ahead and told someone your departure/arrival/time to call search and rescue dates)
>>717877
I don't have shitty skills, but when I'm hungry at the end of the day I don't want to gather materials and build a fire when I can break out a stove and be eating in 15 minutes.
What's the max I should pay for French CCE camo?
>>718283
Kek, that was meant for /k/
>>714085
Many a mountaineer, much tougher than you has been waylaid by a white out bud.
>>718434
>>711010
Any good resources you can recommend for learning how to navigate by compass? (online or in book format)
Also, what's the minimum I'd have to spend on a good beginner compass that still has enough features that it's not completely shit?
I'd really like to learn just for the challenge of it, I think it's cool considering that even in this day and age with gps etc you can still use the exact same methods that people have been using for centuries to navigate around the globe.
>>718893
Staying Found is the best book on the market. I've been teaching outdoor Ed for almost a decade. Best written material I've found that a novice can engage with and teach themselves
>>719360
Thanks anon. Any compass recommendations? (<$50)
>>719747
Suunto/Silva/Brunton
>>719747
Would recommend Silva. I picked up a Silva Expedition compass for a good deal and highly recommended.
Base plate + nonslip pads, and comprehensive scales greatly increases functionality.
>>718893
>Also, what's the minimum I'd have to spend on a good beginner compass that still has enough features that it's not completely shit?
Like maybe $15-$20 for a simple baseplate compass depending on what country you live in and how much they upcharge. Anything more is either gimmicks or special features for advanced uses.
Anyone know any carabiner brands that have this sort of plastic guard on one side? pic related, I lost this exact kind of carabiner and want to get a replacement
>>720671
I'm in Straya so anything that costs $20 in the US is jacked up to about $50 with shipping added on top :( Happens erry time, fucking pisses me off.
>>710997
HAHA. You have never been /out/. A gps is not to be used as a standalone device.
I did a five day backcountry ski trip deep in the Wallowas. One day, we tried just using the gps and some description of where we were going to get to the huts we intended to arrive at. Following the gps led us onto the wrong arete and cost us a half day of skinning. Oh, and then the battery ran out, even while using it sparingly. Heavy cloud cover didn't charge it back up for a full day.
If you are just using a gps to find your way in the wilderness, you WILL get lost.
>>719747
Don't waste money on a compass unless you are playing some manchild wilderness hunt game. They are not needed.
>>720852
>neverbeenout
>>720852
If you only ever stay on the trails and camp at designated camp sites, sure. But I like to go wandering.
>>719747
Staying found book guy again,
>>719749
Agree with this anon. Look for any compass with a baseplate. I spend significant amount of time off trail, so I opted for a medium expense Sunto w a mirror for sighting. It was ~45. But Sunto also makes ones cheaper w a mirror. The mirror is nice for precise sightings, you can view down terrain and adjust the housing while not needing to bounce your eyes up and down as much.
>>720852
You do realize a compass can be used for waaaaay more than just finding your way off trail yes?
>>721884
>>719749
It's a real pain in the arse. Everything here in Ausland is expensive as shit, companies take advantage of the shipping to jack up the prices.
With all those brands, the cheapest ones with mirrors are $80-100 minimum.
>That feel when you see shit on sale in the UK or US at literally 1/4 of the cost at home
>>722019
>$43
http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/au/suunto-mcb-compass-e2a22080?id_colour=124
>>722047
Suunto MB-6 for 80 Au$ is not bad either.
Got 30m worth of paracord, and I intend to keep it at that 30m length.
So, what do to keep it compact? Thought of a spool, though I don't really know where to start searching.
Also, I can bend the hell out of this thing and have it suffer no damage, right?
>>722047
Thanks, chum
>>709302
This post is pure, 100% unadulterated retardation.
>>706727
I got a stove, canister and pot for like 20$
I like to follow local regulations when possible and in my region certain places don't allow fires unless for emergency. The electric switch went on my 7$ stove but a lighter will work just fine to get it started. I'd say it's worth it. Even just for a back up when you literally can't get a fire started.
>>708361
I hear you. But for me it's kind of relaxing to have that process of building and creating warmth. Idk. That's just me.
OP if it's cheap and you think you may use it just buy it. If you pay under 10$ then there really isn't any loss.
Everything I buy is cheap and lightweight because I'm short and stocky. So big bags and extra weight kill me. I bought a 50$ bag and filled it with the essentials. Even if I was just going for a day hike it's only 25 lbs at most with everything in it and I have everything I need to survive.
