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  1. #21

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    I guess the most foolish thing I ever bought was a snake bite kit,the yellow one with the plundger.

  2. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by kayak karl View Post
    remember the pup tents where each guy carried a half and the 8lb cotton sleeping bags.
    thus the term,"well,there goes the Pup tent boy's"

  3. #23
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    I used to work in the same street were all the top Melbourne outdoor shops are, for well over 20 years.
    Needless to say I have purchased a lot of "why did I buy that ?" bits.
    That comes to mind , disposable ponchos (more thatn one...) a ribbon saw blade , esbit stoves ( I don't like Esbit, so why ?) several Ti pots (I use a couple but why the others?) several Al pot sets, survival blankets, several Lexan bottles ( I use 1 in winter) a poncho/ tarp.
    About the best was a pair of full leather Scarpa boots when I was already using runners in the bush...(they still look like new...)
    And of course at some point I had to buy a pair of Tevas. Nothing wrong with them, plenty of wrong with my feet after use.
    Franco

  4. #24

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    Yeah know,I gotta say,I have had a ton of fun over the years contemplating gear/purchases and doing research,prior to the Internet,all that took a tremendous amount of effort and time,and I enjoyed every minute of it.

  5. #25
    Coach Lou coach lou's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kayak karl View Post
    remember the pup tents where each guy carried a half and the 8lb cotton sleeping bags.
    Yea, but a remember the other guy being a Private, and he carried the poles.

  6. #26

  7. #27
    Registered User sterling98's Avatar
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    Default Worst Gear you ever bought - Informal Poll.

    I had an old Walmart 2 person pup tent. Right up there at six or seven lbs. it wasn't really that bad till the poles cracked and had to get duck taped. When the pole had to be carried sticking straight out of my pack, I told everyone it was a new satellite receiver. :P

  8. #28
    Hiker bigcranky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spokes View Post
    Snow Peak Carry On Chop Sticks
    We got those for my daughter, and she loves them. Uses them on the trail all the time. Go figure.
    Ken B
    'Big Cranky'
    Our Long Trail journal

  9. #29
    Registered User Papa D's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pervy_sage View Post
    The MSR Dragonfly multi-fuel stove. Sounds like a jet engine. I was actually embarrassed by the noise it made first time I lit it up at a campground. The complexity of the device and the ease of breaking key components (made of plastic) did not warrant the $100 price tag. It sits in the basement, still broken, collecting dust.

    I have since grown wiser and have fallen in love with the simplicity, cost effectiveness and quiet burning of a pop can alcohol stove. I may try the canister stoves others here tout so much, but for now alcohol serves my needs.

    I have a Dragon-Fly - - I don't backpack with it much but it occasionally gets the call on a winter trip - - the only component on mine made of plastic is the pump - the simmer valve ("key") is metal on mine. I just finished cleaning and re-organizing all of my shelves of backpacking gear and actually took the Dragon Fly out and cranked it up 2 days ago - - it does sound like a lawn-mower - - about like the old Sveas - - the nice thing about it though is that it cooks like a blow-torch and simmers well - - if you are cooking meals for several people on a winter trip (not just boiling water) and also need to boil additional water for hot water bottles, extra coco and tea, etc., the Dragon Fly and a big fuel bottle does get it done very nicely. Alcohol stoves are great for seasonal backpacking - - not a good tool at all for extended winter trips, mountaineering, etc. - - it's all about the right tool and the right application. IMO / HYOH
    Last edited by Papa D; 04-25-2012 at 08:00.

  10. #30
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    Latest piece of useless piece of equipment is probably a plastic spork I got as a gift. Very first outing I dig the spork in to eat and it breaks right in half. Went back to my titanium fork.

  11. #31
    Coach Lou coach lou's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bigcranky View Post
    We got those for my daughter, and she loves them. Uses them on the trail all the time. Go figure.
    I have those very sticks, I keep them in my glove box!

  12. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by coach lou View Post
    I have those very sticks, I keep them in my glove box!
    ?????............. For whenever the urge to eat Chow Mein hits?
    Last edited by Spokes; 04-25-2012 at 08:34.

  13. #33
    Registered User pervy_sage's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Papa D:1281130

    I have a Dragon-Fly - - I don't backpack with it much but it occasionally gets the call on a winter trip - - the only component on mine made of plastic is the pump - the simmer valve ("key") is metal on mine. I just finished cleaning and re-organizing all of my shelves of backpacking gear and actually took the Dragon Fly out and cranked it up 2 days ago - - it does sound like a lawn-mower - - about like the old Sveas - - the nice thing about it though is that it cooks like a blow-torch and simmers well - - if you are cooking meals for several people on a winter trip (not just boiling water) and also need to boil additional water for hot water bottles, extra coco and tea, etc., the Dragon Fly and a big fuel bottle does get it done very nicely. (IMO)
    I will concede that in extreme conditions, say for a zombie apocolypse or nuclear winter, the Dragonfly would be quite useful. For car camping or large groups I will default to the classic coleman two burner camp stove (brass and steel pump by the way), but I don't wish to start a stove debate in this thread.
    "A frog in a well does not know the great ocean" - Japanese Proverb

    Hike Prep Blog - http://psrat.blogspot.com/

  14. #34
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    OR gaiters

  15. #35
    Coach Lou coach lou's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pervy_sage View Post
    I will concede that in extreme conditions, say for a zombie apocolypse or nuclear winter, the Dragonfly would be quite useful. For car camping or large groups I will default to the classic coleman two burner camp stove (brass and steel pump by the way), but I don't wish to start a stove debate in this thread.
    I'm going to have my Peak 1 bronzed

  16. #36
    Coach Lou coach lou's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spokes View Post
    ?????............. For whenever the urge to eat Chow Mein hits?
    I spent a year in Japan, I cannot eat Japanese with a fork. It just doesn't taste the same!

  17. #37
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    the spoon/fork/knife plastic utensil combo made by lightmyfire. it's too short to get into the bottom of those freeze dried meals - my knuckles were covered in food sauce. i only take a titanium extra long spoon now (from backcountry). best $ spent!

    also, a backpacking sink/water container. waste of $20. still has the TAG on it 4 years later!
    …speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee… –JOB 12:8

  18. #38
    jersey joe jersey joe's Avatar
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    On my thru, I bought a pair of camp shoes at Uncle Johnny's Hostel for $20 that resembled water shoes. The bottoms were so thin that I felt every rock and stick and my feet killed me every time i wore them. They didn't last very long in my pack.

  19. #39
    lemon b's Avatar
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    Nalgene water bottles. Have 4, never use. They are in my equipment area of the gear that friends of my kids can use at will.

  20. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by coach lou View Post
    I spent a year in Japan, I cannot eat Japanese with a fork. It just doesn't taste the same!
    Me too (7 months in Sapporo). I have a pair of lacquered wooden chopsticks - a real work of art and very lightweight. Never brought them hiking, but maybe wouldn't be a bad idea. Beats whittling a pair of chopstick out of a poison ivy branch.

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