Yes, but I don't buy 'great' camping gear: I buy what I need. Apart from clothes, I rarely buy anything new. I have standing craigslist feeds for things that I want. The only new music gear in my studio are items that would be unobtainable used.
If you are focused on buying the minimum you need to go on a fun camping trip without worrying about your equipment breaking then you are really buying an experience, just a requisite part of that is having the equipment.
When I was younger, our school used to host a rock concert about twice a year where student bands would play. Since I was far from being the most popular kid in school I figured that getting up and rocking out on that stage would earn me some cred.
Of course to do that you needed to be in a band, and since I couldn't sing at all being in a band meant you needed to be able to play some instrument. So I went to the local pawn shop , bought the cheapest electric guitar I could find and borrowed a spare amp from a family member. Of course what I really spent the money for was to be able to feel like a rockstar for 20 minutes.
Now if I think about all the people I still know from those days playing in the school hall; apart from one or two who managed to get a career in music, most work in IT , accounting or became plumbers etc. They all now have nice collections of expensive guitars (Les Pauls , Ltd Ed. Stratocastors etc) that they love to show off but rarely play anywhere besides their own homes. Really the amount of pleasure that they get from them is probably nothing compared to the joy we had while rocking out at school playing 4 chord greenday & nirvana covers on our £50 pawn shop axes.
