Same here--especially since I retired, but even before, I used the same outerwear and rain gear both at home and out in the wild. I do prefer to wear cotton clothing around the house, which I of course don't when hiking/backpacking, but I wear the outdoor stuff for exercise walking and other non-wilderness pursuits.

I also agree about the cheap sleeping bag, but I did manage to survive the 1980s with a $35 synthetic sleeping bag from a discount store. I still have the thing, although I haven't even looked at it for 10 years. (I probably should check to see if any mice are living there! ) The article points out that for about $60 more you can get a down sleeping bag (Kelty Cosmic 20) which is EN13537 rated--that's what I would recommend as a "starter" bag. It would be a lot more saleable used, too.

Maybe discount stores are cheaper here in Oregon than in Colorado, but I got Silva Starter compasses for my grandkids for $7.50 apiece at our local Fred Meyer. I very seldom use a compass for navigation any more, but I love to sit on top of a pass or hill and use the compass and topo map to identify all the peaks within view--which keeps me in practice just in case.

I'd also spend $80 for an 8x10 silnylon tarp from Campmor and save over two lbs. of pack weight over the blue plastic.

It's still a good list, though, and at least it's far more up-to-date on items and prices than most of the budget lists around.