I am spending the summer in Central Idaho backpacking. I have a buddy that I car camp with that has 0 experience backpacking. He decided to drive up and backpack with me. We checked out his gear and it was horrible. He probably has a base weight close to 40 pounds. Basically he brought his car camping gear. He bought a no name backpack off of amazon. He has a ozark trail tent, 30 degree walmart sleeping bag, a yoga mat to sleep on. Night time temps range from 27 to 40 here. I told him he could use some of my UL gear like my EE Rev and Gatewood Cape but he doesnt want to and then. I mean i doubt the 30 degree sleeping and yoga mat are going to keep him warm. He also bought a 1 pound alcohol stove lol . He doesnt want to use any of my gear. All i said to him was if you can carry that gear then bring it. I am a little worried about taking a long trip so I think an am going to do a short over night into 4th of july lake and see if he changed his mind about using my gear.

Im a UL backpacker. My gear is completely in check. Im sure most of your gear is the same. What do you do when you take a newbie on a trip and their gear is complete crap and super heavy? Just let them learn from their mistakes?

I understand the need to take it slow with beginners but i have a feeling we will be stopping to rest every 20 minutes