When it comes to camping gear, you get what you pay for.

Or, more accurately, you pay for what you don’t get. In this case, size and weight.

The more you pay, the smaller it gets and less it weighs.

“In camping and backpacking,” said Andrew Shank, hardgoods specialist at Sunflower Outdoor&Bike, “it’s a race to make it lighter, smaller – and still functional. All our products are durable. I stand by all our products’ durability. Basically, as you spend more, basically, it’s lighter and, well, lighter.

“If you’re driving out to Clinton Lake and just going from the car to the camp, obviously size and weight aren’t that big of a deal. But if you’re backpacking, too, size and weight can become an issue.”

With that in mind, Shank was asked to put together camping kits for three different price ranges: $200, $500 and unlimited.

Ryan Hunter of Concord, N.H., tries to assemble a canopy and tent at his Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival campsite before daylight runs out. Hunter was struggling with his gear Wednesday. Camping enthusiasts say good gear can make a difference in a person's enjoyment of an outing.

Here are his suggestions:

Budget: $200

The most obvious cost-cutting measure for the entry-level kit is the tent – or lack of one.

Shank’s pick: the $50 Noah’s Tarp from Kelty. Tie it to a couple of trees and it provides a measure of rain protection, but, as Shank said, “It won’t keep the bugs out.”

For cooking, Shank tapped the $45 MSR PocketRocket camp stove and a no-frills one-liter stainless pot for $14. The stove burns basic propane fuel.

“It’s going to boil water well,” Shank said, “but you won’t do a whole lot of cooking of foods.”

The sleeping bag: the $60, 2-pound-3-ounce Stratus 35 by Kelty on a $35 Therm-a-Rest Z-Lite accordion foam pad. The bag is rated for 35 degrees and is synthetic-filled.

“Synthetic is less expensive and bulkier,” Shank said. “It’s not as lightweight and doesn’t compress as small.”

Camp Stoves are available in several price ranges, from the budget MSR PocketRocket and basic pot, right, to the MSR Whisperlite stove and StowAway pot, left, to the top-end Jetboil cooking system.

Total cost: $204.

Budget: $500

For a few hundred bucks more, the potential camper gains a real tent and easier-to-carry gear.

The tent selection is the North Face Vector 22 for $240, a three-season (spring, summer and fall) tent that’s waterproof with taped seams and a rain fly. The two-man tent weighs in at just under four pounds.

The cooking is handled by the $60 MSR Whisperlite stove with a MSR StowAway pot for $17. The stove burns white gas; the pot boasts a clasp that doubles as a handle.

“(The stove) is better in the wind,” Shank said. “In Kansas, there’s a lot of wind. And it compresses smaller, and the white gas is a step up.”

Sleep easy in a $160 Kelty Light Year 25 (2 pounds, 3 ounces) on a $50 Therm-a-Rest Trail Lite pad. The 25-degree bag benefits from an upgrade to down filling (650 fill); the pad is 11â2 inches of self-inflating foam.

Rest easy on the low-end Kelty Stratus 35 bag and Therm-a-Rest Z-Lite pad, center; the mid-range Kelty Light Year 25 and Therm-a-Rest Trail Lite pad, left; or the top-dollar Mountain Hardwear Phantom 32 sleeping bag and Therm-a-Rest ProLite 3 pad.

“The difference between down and synthetic is, down lasts a lot longer, compresses smaller and it’s lighter weight, but it’s also more care-intensive,” Shank said.

Also, Shank said, down bags “sleep cooler” in the summer. That is, they’re more comfortable for sleeping on top.

Total cost: $527.

Budget: unlimited

When the sky’s the limit, weight goes down and comfort goes up.

“This,” Shank said, “is where it gets fun.”

His tent pick is the $300 MSR Hubba Hubba. The critically acclaimed crib has two doors and all-mesh construction. It also has an available footprint, which, teamed with the rain fly, allows the user to do away with the floor and sides for an even lighter package. Weight for the tent is 5 pounds, or 3 pounds, 1 ounce for just the footprint and fly.

“It’s got great floor space, great design,” Shank said. “It has great airflow and is a much lighter tent. I could make a case for any of our tents, but this one is my pick. With the footprint, that’s kind of the ultimate.”

Rustle up grub on the $110 cooking system by Jetboil. The integrated system features a versatile stove that packs inside the pot.

“It’s lightweight and burns fuel most efficiently,” Shank said. “It boils water super-fast, and it all goes in a nice little package.”

Nod off in Mountain Hardwear’s Phantom 32 sleeping bag ($245) on a Therm-a-Rest ProLite 3 pad ($80). The 800-fill down bag is rated to 32 degrees and weighs in at a feathery 1 pound, 5 ounces.

Sleep on the cheap under Kelty's Noah's tarp, center; upgrade to the North Face Vector 22, left; or spring for the ultimate MSR Hubba Hubba.

“It weighs nothing and stuffs into a bag the size of a mini-football,” Shank said.

The self-inflating pad loses half an inch over the cheaper pad (down to an inch), but, again, “The big benefit,” Shank said, “is size and weight.”

Total cost: $735.

Bottom line

Shank’s suggestion when putting together a camping package is to put money in the tent first.

“You can go into a big-box retail store and buy one for $40 or $70, but what you don’t get with those tents is water protection or vestibule coverage,” he said. “You’re also not getting product support. Here you can get a tent for $200 that should last you 10 years.”

Beyond that, sleeping comfort is king.

“A sleeping bag is pretty much a sleeping bag,” Shank said. “But when you’re talking about sleeping on a pad or sleeping on the ground : sleeping on the ground sucks. You never sleep as well on the ground. The pad is the key to sleeping better. Buy a pad. You’ll sleep five times better.”

If you come in under budget and have some leftover cash, Shank has a few suggestions. Like a Petzl LED headlamp for $25-30.

“Headlamps are great,” he said. “They’re fun for kids. Everyone can have fun with ’em.”

Other options: Orikaso cookware, fold-flat plastic that folds up, origami-like, into plates and bowls; a water-filtration system ($50-80); a Snow Peak lantern that threads on top of a cook-stove’s fuel canister for $60-75; and a Leatherman tool that runs $30-100.

“We even have a titanium flask,” Shank said, “for the guy who wants to take his booze along with him.”