Man that ranger saved your whole trip and you didnt even know it yet. Ive had the same thing happen where someone just looks at your plan for two seconds and goes "why are you doing that" and suddenly you feel like an idiot but also grateful. The shelter crowd thing is so real too, nothing worse than hauling ass all day just to share a spot with 15 people snoring. Ridge camping beats a shelter every time if the weather is decent. Good on you for actually listening instead of getting stubborn about the original plan.

I can't even keep my phone charged, so same energy.

Trade show booths are built to sell you a dream, not a working product. I've watched guys drop hundreds at those events on tools that fall apart the second you put them to real use, and the seller is long gone by the time you figure it out. Same thing happens with kitchen gadgets on TV, fitness gear from infomercials, all of it. The pattern is always the same: big promises, slick demo, no way to get your money back. Did you try calling the company or was the number dead by then?