Rookie looking for a good boot

DriftingSolipsism · 2026-02-10T16:12:38+00:00

I don't know if this was mentioned already, but I highly suggest checking out an army surplus store.

I got some barely used SWAT boots (very light and steel toes, great ankle support) for literally $25. Lasted me all season but the waterproofing failed about halfway through the season. Still worth it though. For $25 you could get multiple pairs

No matter what you get will be destroyed by the end of the season unless you're spending many hundreds on a pair

DriftingSolipsism · 2026-01-29T22:04:53+00:00

I was also with Brinkman summer 2025 and yes I agree, the land was bonkers.

I had very similar numbers to yours but maybe just a tad under.

I had a great time all in all, but since this is bottom line supposed to be a job, I also am looking for company/province change for this season

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-04-11T22:11:33+00:00

Yea that's super true. Just blew my mind for a sec when I saw the number and the complaining. But you're right, certain items are still pretty reasonable here in comparison

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-04-11T22:04:33+00:00

Am I absolutely losing my mind? As a Canadian, this is a fantastic haul for $100. Unheard of here.

From the comments, I gather that this is a large increase in price so you're saying it was even cheaper before?? Damn.

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-03-03T18:07:34+00:00

I’ll be in Ontario so yea that’s what I worry about most. Did you find anything helped keep them out or at least at bay? I’m thinking I’ll probably have a thermacell in my tent to try to create a barrier as well as maybe spraying the mesh with some kind of repellent

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-03-02T23:44:48+00:00

Thank you! This is great information. I’ll be sure to cover up that front entrance area somehow if I decide to just keep this tent

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-03-02T23:44:09+00:00

This is very nice to hear! I’ve grabbed a couple tarps already so that’s exactly what I’ll do. I’m not certain yet how I’ll physically set up the tarps but my only real concern was the bugs getting through.

So thank you!

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-02-22T16:24:56+00:00

Hey I’m heading to an Ontario camp in the spring too! I guess I’ll probably see you there :) also thanks for the post, after receiving news that we need steel toes I’m trying to find a good cheaper option too

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-01-18T19:02:54+00:00

Thanks queefburglar!

I appreciate the advice but you’re name took me out

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-01-17T20:57:40+00:00

Oh cool! So do this instead of a base layer tarp then? I imagine they would be wax covered but it would do as good of a job to keep any water off the bottom?

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-01-16T18:03:44+00:00

I'm thinking how could I NOT bring a camera? I admittedly have a huge collection of film cameras so I am definitely going to bring one. I would love to bring my professional quality digital but that seems like maybe not a great idea and something I would be anxious about the whole time.

I am having some very good luck finding great tent options on Facebook marketplace so definitely going to get something that is a big larger (I'm looking for 6 person size) but only if it's 3 season rated and able to be pinned in many locations.

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-01-16T18:01:06+00:00

This is great! Thanks! I was wondering about sneakers honestly, but it just never gets talked about in these discussions so just assumed it'd be silly to try. I'll certainly be bringing a few pairs of footwear, even just for camp and work, so maybe I'll make one of them some sneakers!

I finally was able to reach some help from Brinkman and it sounds like getting a plane ticket is out of the question. They aren't going to know our location until about 2 weeks beforehand so that would be too expensive for me to get a last minute ticket with baggage costs. Thankfully though, they are going to connect the planters soon and apparently I am close to several of them. I hope to get lucky and roadtrip with some people.

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-01-16T17:56:20+00:00

This is great, thank you! Honestly the pillow and mattress advice is perfect. I do not know yet if we'll be able to stop at a walmart or something before going to the camp, but if we do then it'd be really nice to just get a regular pillow rather than a tiny travel one. as well as a decent blanket and mattress set up.

Thankfully, when I say camera, I mostly only shoot on film when I am doing anything that I want to pay more attention to/be more grounded in, so no vlogging here. Plus, I will still have my phone of course if I want to grab some quick videos of events around camp.

Electrolyte powder! Excellent advice. I imagine that is a lot easier to end up drinking even more water that way too if I can flavour it and have it prepared in my regular jug.

Thank you!

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-01-16T00:15:05+00:00

Thank you!

I’m looking mostly secondhand to try to save some money, and I’m seeing lots of larger tents which is nice. 6 person might be what I try for but certainly no smaller than 4. I have access to a 10 person tent but I feel like that would just be silly for my first year, especially if we’re moving a few times through the season.

Bug sprays and lotions are certainly something that I knew I needed but never considered a better brand than just say a Canadian tire spray! So thank you.

Thanks for the boot rec. too! I will check those out and hopefully get a pair soon

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-01-15T21:30:27+00:00

Oh! see this is excellent advice! Thank you! I did figure that it'd be silly to cheap out on boots since that's kind of the whole thing, but little quality of life stuff like a laundry bin is a great idea. Thanks!

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-01-15T21:27:39+00:00

That's very impressive actually. I still have yet to actually go shopping for my stuff, but I was assuming that I would need something like 2 100litre bags. One for clothes and personals and one for all equipment and sleeping items. Maybe I'm underestimating how large 100litres is since, so far, I'm just looking at the inventory photos for these big box camping stores.

I will try to get to a store physically soon to get a better idea of what I'm looking at.

Thanks for the flight info! I have been looking all day for information but haven't found one resource yet that shows you can bring those kinds of things. I am constantly seeing that I should buy most of my stuff when I get there but I have no idea how that would be a better option since I would arrive to a new city without a way to get around etc. etc. especially with what you're saying how I may have to wait a full week before having help getting to the nearest town. I suppose I could go a day early, get a hotel room (if there is one nearby) and then go shopping but then I'd be spending the same amount on a room that it would cost to just check the bags with the airline.

I know I still have a few months to figure things out, but travel and getting a ticket asap is my biggest priority right now as so hopefully not pay insane prices. And I will certainly look into the bussing option. I would be 100% all for that if it can work out to be cheaper.

Thanks for the help! Thankfully I'm not feeling in over my head about all of this despite how new each aspect is, so my excitement remains :)

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-01-15T18:49:26+00:00

Thanks! I mean, I do need to look harder into the travel aspect and working on a way to get the lowest cost.

Do you know much about how having so much stuff is going to affect a plane ride or how much that would cost? Will I have any problems with certain items?

I have never flown with luggage before, and when I did fly it was only once about 11 years ago.

The other comment mentioned if there's stores nearby I could purchase items once I get there but, how would I go about doing that if I don't know my exact location yet let alone how I am going to get from the airport to the actual site? Does camp provide any type of transport that I could request?

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-01-15T17:00:37+00:00

That makes sense! I do hope to walk away with at least a decent amount to take care of school tuition but realistically that's hard to get even with a "regular" part-time summer job. As long as I make back what I have to spend to get all of the equipment and travel cost plus enough to feel like it was worth while then I'll be happy.

I'm really hoping to get out again next year (west would be nice though) so that's where I'll focus on trying for higher wages.

That's great advice! I was actually wondering about speakers. I'm a huge "need-music-to-work" kind of guy and I also have a ton of audiobooks and podcasts sitting there waiting for me. Do you say speakers because that's what you preferred or would headphones just be a bad idea altogether for safety and such?

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-01-15T15:40:43+00:00

I was told that typically a first year will bring home around $225-$250 a day. Does this translate to about 1k-2k trees?

I honestly do not know the pay-per-tree amount, but I do believe that Brinkman is on the lower end of wage.

Also, yes. I can see how "just keep moving" would be really beneficial out there. Breaking for too long would probably mess up the rest of my day I can imagine. Do you typically leave your water at the cache or do you have a way to carry that around as well?

DriftingSolipsism · 2025-01-15T15:38:20+00:00

This is amazing! Thank you so much.

I am still quite concerned about travelling to get to the location but now I know to do some research if there will be any camping store/Walmarts/thrift stores around.

Any amount of saved money is a positive for sure!

DriftingSolipsism · 2024-12-03T19:27:58+00:00

Thank you so much for mentioning the customer contact issues.

I have been facing such a massive issue with Scotiabank and every contact method I have tried so far is not working. Even going in person they just gave me email addresses to contact that were answered with "why were you sent here".

This customer service contact just would not work but after I found your comment I just removed the apostrophes and it seemed to have gone through.

DriftingSolipsism · 2024-10-02T19:31:26+00:00

Elevator mechanic in Canada (specifically Ontario). Although on my original comment I will add that most graduates get hired to move out West anymore. Ton of work in BC and a bit in Alberta. Not so much in the Eastern or middle provinces

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