Another reason not to like Wal-Mart

[AndyMan 7]

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The real stores exist because, frankly, Coleman sucks. Works fine for car camping, which is really what people need for the DZ. But if you want to leave the parking lot....

It most certainly does not suck. The tent I bought at Walmart does exactly what it was designed for. It's huge, has 4 "rooms", and is probably over 150 square feet. It's nearly as big as our bedroom at home. It doesn't leak, keeps the flys out and there's lots of room for storage. It does everything a car-camping tent should.

I have a second tent that is more appropriate for "real" camping. I bought that at a real camping store. It doesn't suck either, but fits a different need. It does everything a lightweight hiking tent should.

The point here is simple. Walmart sells products that generally work as advertised. People who buy their products are usually happy with them. You can tell this because Walmart has a very generous Returns policy, yet they have a lower Return rate than most retailers.

The fact that "real" stores not only exist, but prosper only proves that they don't cannibalize all their competitors. They generaly only cannibalize other discounters.

Their tents aren't Eureka, Sierra, or The North Face, but their shoes aren't Prada, Nordstrom or Kenneth Cole either.

People looking for discount goods would be unwise to shop elsewhere. People looking for specialty goods should.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[rehmwa 2]

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REI, otoh, has long given up their soul as a backpacker store and is far more about selling to yuppies who also tend to car camp, but would rather buy the 3-4 season gear as some sort of statement. (same statement as buying an SUV to drive on freeways)

That's right, a person should just go naked into the wilderness and kill a moose with a sharp rock and build their own damn shelter out of the hide.

Anything less is just plain cheating.

damn straight

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[billvon 3,111]

>That's right, a person should just go naked into the wilderness and kill a
>moose with a sharp rock and build their own damn shelter out of the hide.

I think his point is more that you really don't need a $300 Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag with Polarguard Delta fill and built-in footbox, rated to -20F, if you're going to sleep in the back of your car. Of course, if you have money to spare and it would make you happy to do so, no problem. But there is no functional reason to do it.