Idahosteve just about said my thoughts. I was dirt poor when I started climbing - my gear was actually home-made by my Mom! I went out with experienced people who mentored me - those wonderful people were my best "equipment" I had. After a period of not doing much because I was raising kids, I started in again - and guess what? I was again dirt poor (this time because I was paying some college expenses for a child). I bought cheap heavy but good gear and when the kids graduated, I spent the equivelent on upgrading to new light equipment. Some of my old heavy stuff I really like and still use - such as the Kelty external frame pack; other stuff was sent to the "car camping" box.

Since this is for beginners, nobody has mentioned the different requirements for different regions. Watch out for advise by those who have not had experience in the environment that you plan on being in.

One thing I have found, that since the 1960's, there now is a LOT more choice of gear, but that is not always great. You have to be really crafty to find the good quality stuff - so much hype and junk out there now. For example, be careful of weights cited on websites - some are flat-out wrong! My husband just bought a wading shoes - 12 oz they say - well that turned out to be 12 oz for each shoe! Another item for the car camping box.