looking for my first set of gear!

hey all, i'm new and looking for suggestions on a first set of gear for 3 season camping.

i'm looking to spend around 300 bucks on sleeping bag, backpack, and pad altogether

i'm thinking... 150 on bag, 100 on pack, and 50 on pad?

can some people give me some suggestions on where/what to look for? maybe some links to good gear?

thanks for the help!

forgot to add. i'm not reall sure what degree bag i should get either. i'll be backpacking around the northwest, not sure how cold it gets in mountain trails around there though?

With that budget, you might want to check out REI outlet - use the shopping portal at the top of the page, go to REI's home page, and use the Outlet tab. You might also want to check out Sierra Trading Post - again, use the portal above.

I suggest reading and reading some more - the forums and the articles on this site are a good start. Look at gear lists - google for backpacking gear lists.

You say 3 season - late fall and early spring can mean freezing night temps, depending on elevation and location. You have a lot of decisions to make, like how much you're willing to carry, how you're going to eat (cooking or rehydrating, or eating cold foods/clif bars), and whether you want a tent, bivy, tarp or hammock. Will you go to areas that require a bear can? Will you want a very comfy and sturdy pack or a minimalist pack with a barely there frame? Questions like this determine what you need.

Campmor, Altrec, and REI Outlet might be good places to start looking. Campmor has 0 and 20 degree down bags that are close to your price range, though they are not the lightest out there.

Get ready for sticker shock. Figure out what you need, balance budget, safety and utility, and last thing you do is figure out what you need to pack it in.

Do yourself a favor-don't post 3 separate versions of your question in different forums. It makes it harder to get good responses if you are asking the same question in different forums. Part of what makes the forums work is that people can follow up on previous responses, which is less likely to happen if the responses aren't in a logical sequence in one place.

I'm going to move all of your threads to the beginners forum for starters.