View Full Version : Still Old School
Plodderman
07-14-2008, 15:58
Every year I take a week or two and hike some of the Appalachian Trail and just finished a week in Virginia. Each night at the shelter we would talk about the latest packs , stoves, water filters and hiking equipment.
Still old school hiking with a old framed pack, no stove, but I did switch to some of the better drying shirts and shorts but still old school with my water. No filter just pills.
Any old schoolers out there.
so you are OG>>>>>origional gearster;)
max patch
07-14-2008, 16:31
I still use my 30 year old svea123 stove.
And a wide bottomed single bamboo pole instead of lekkis.
Lone Wolf
07-14-2008, 16:35
i still have my 22 year old cook pot, don't use poles or sticks and don't treat/filter water and i wear cotton shirts
Plodderman
07-14-2008, 16:42
That's OG all the way.
Plodderman
07-14-2008, 16:53
Made fun of me a few years ago and wanted to give me the trail name Cotton but my speed at hiking I was destined to be Plodder. Anyway I catch them because whether going up hill or down I go the same speed. I repair my pack when it wears down and a water bladder is not permitted and by the way they look funny with that hose in their mouth.
I use my same hiking stick made out of Sassafras and it was free.
CrumbSnatcher
07-14-2008, 17:31
external backpacks til i die!!!!!!!!!:D
Wise Old Owl
07-15-2008, 10:29
Sorry! Smaller packs & less weight is good for the soul-[more miles, less sore]
Jim Adams
07-15-2008, 10:34
I still use my 30 year old svea123 stove.
I thought that I heard you camping.:D
geek
CrumbSnatcher
07-15-2008, 18:48
Sorry! Smaller packs & less weight is good for the soul-[more miles, less sore]
couldn't fit all my gear and my dogs food and gear in a small pack. i like the external staying off my back,not sweating into the pack and they carry higher and better than internals and with all the pockets i pack/unpack faster. thats why they make hundreds of different types of all gear so we have something to talk about. :D
Tipi Walter
07-15-2008, 19:03
Old school gear is gear that is for the most part worn out and replaced with newer gear. Near constant use of a sleeping bag or pack will result in zipper failure and loss of loft. The external pack I used from 1980 to 2001 had many zipper installments while the packbag itself faded and weakened with UV. Also, the ladder buckles used on backpack shoulder straps wear out and allow slippage under load, an irksome quality with old gear. Replacing the lower shoulder strap webbing and a new ladder buckle can be a real hassle.
Has anyone here had to replace a down bag zipper by hand? Or use a bag in the winter with a blown out zipper? It suks.
Old thermarests(and you know how old they are by the stains), are often replaced even when functional after 3-4 years of hard use. It feels good to have a brand new thermarest for another 3 years of backpacking.
In twenty years the ULers will have to share their stories on old school gear, if any of it lasts that long.
Plodderman
07-15-2008, 19:15
I know the guys I hike with are constantly on me about my blue sponge mat but I keep using it. Maybe I will buy a new one but everytime I try I can never make it to the cashier.
Never used a stove of any kind but I did add one thing this year and that was the packages of Crystal Light energy packets with caffeine. Everyone I hike with has a stove of some kind but I just eat it cold and go on.
Chicken, cup of soup, oat meal packets, almonds and granola do it for me. I just use the containers and pour water in them and eat them as is.
Every year I do one or two hikes of 75 to 90 miles and the system works for me with my external frame pack.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
07-15-2008, 19:25
I recently retired my 35+ yo Coleman pot.
He-Dino loves his external frame Kelty pack - it replaced an external frame Kelty that was 30 yo.
We carry some tablets to cleanse questionable water -- if it isn't questionable (high up without cattle or civilization above or springs) we don't use anything.
I still cook over wood when I find good coals from a smoldering or active campfire - saves fuel and time.
I thought that I heard you camping.:D
geek
Its a good sound though:) I really like the old stoves. Fun to use,they have character. I won't admit I actually bought a Pocket Rocket. Damn thing works great.
In-between. Slowly but surely most of the gear I hiked with 20 years ago has been retired. My Camp Trails pack and Slumberjack down bag in 2007. My Eureka Gossamer tent in 2005. My Whisperlite stove somewhere around 2002 -- first for a Zip stove, and finally (2007) for a Pocket Rocket. One identifiable piece from the old kit: a Seattle Sombrero, still geeky as ever. I'll be sad if I lose it.
Tipi actually left out the fact that he started one of my favorite threads on this site:http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12990
Great stuff in that thread and it never gets old.:cool:
sheepdog
07-15-2008, 21:49
I still have my external frame pack and use it about a third of the time. It is comfy.
I have an older external frame backpack, a Svea 123 a Coleman stainless steel cook set that’s got to be 20-years old and a lot of other things I have gotten use to and will not give up.
Sleeping bags and tents get replaced more often because they ware out. I only keep tents 3-years, after that I have found I start to see water inside and it’s not worth keeping.
Jim Adams
07-16-2008, 08:28
Its a good sound though:) I really like the old stoves. Fun to use,they have character. I won't admit I actually bought a Pocket Rocket. Damn thing works great.
Don't get me wrong, if I'm out by myself, not cooking, just boiling water for coffee, dehydrated food or oatmeal, I take my Svea. It doesn't simmer, it's loud as hell but it works everytime and it does have personality...when I hear it blasting away I tend to become more relaxed and am reminded of old trips to good places.:)
geek
max patch
07-16-2008, 08:56
I thought that I heard you camping.:D
geek
Its hard to stealth when you use a svea....
Does drown out the cell phone talkers, though. :)
Only two Old School items left. My external pack frame is 30+ years old; the pack bag, shoulder straps and hip belt have been replaced several times; but I love that frame and won't give it up as it fits me perfectly and is much lighter than more recent frames. The other is my 20+ year old MSR G-K stove; the one that has a spark lighter, the yellow pump (why they changed the pump design from this one I will never understand) and the sticker you put on the separately purchased Sigg fuel bottle yourself. I fire that baby up and everyone near by wonders where the jet plane is landing!
Everything else has been worn out and/or replaced over the years. I did a major shakeup of my equipment when I started using a hammock.
Plodderman
07-16-2008, 10:14
What type of Hammock are you using? I have consided using one for a couple of years now.
Plodderman; it's a homemade cinched end hammock--sort of like the type Crazy Creek sells. I finally got to the point where I just couldn't get a good nights rest sleeping on the ground even with a thick pad. I did some reading about hammocks, tried one, and never looked back!
Its hard to stealth when you use a svea....
Does drown out the cell phone talkers, though. :)
The noise from a Svea isn’t going to travel more then 40 or 50 yards, not a problem for interfering with stealth.
Plodderman
07-16-2008, 17:25
Chazmo, I will give one a try in the back yard to see how it works. My sleeping pad is worn out anyways so I will see how a nice nap goes at home.
Its hard to stealth when you use a svea....
Yea, but that's still easier than when you set up a quiet camp with your old Peak 1 without having checked the tank weld first.
Screams created by Sveas generally only come from Tenderfoots who mistakenly think that you are intent on burning down the picnic table, rather than following time-tested SOPs.
After years of using a Whisperlite I did set a picnic table on fire with it (actually, just the fuel not the table itself...) - which was enough to make me pitch it (well, the fuel bottle pump end melted, I kind of had to do something) and get a Jetboil. :)
Only two Old School items left. My external pack frame is 30+ years old; the pack bag, shoulder straps and hip belt have been replaced several times; but I love that frame and won't give it up as it fits me perfectly and is much lighter than more recent frames. The other is my 20+ year old MSR G-K stove; the one that has a spark lighter, the yellow pump (why they changed the pump design from this one I will never understand) and the sticker you put on the separately purchased Sigg fuel bottle yourself. I fire that baby up and everyone near by wonders where the jet plane is landing!
Everything else has been worn out and/or replaced over the years. I did a major shakeup of my equipment when I started using a hammock.
GK,now those are fond memories! Mine is about 30 years old. Yellow pump,sticker on the Sigg bottle. Bought it at EMS in Lake Placid NY way back then. Just re-built it. About the same year...bought my Kelty Tioga. Man,I am old !
Don't get me wrong, if I'm out by myself, not cooking, just boiling water for coffee, dehydrated food or oatmeal, I take my Svea. It doesn't simmer, it's loud as hell but it works everytime and it does have personality...when I hear it blasting away I tend to become more relaxed and am reminded of old trips to good places.:)
geek
Now that is a great reply Jim. You nailed it! Bravo !
Johnny Swank
07-16-2008, 23:36
In-between. Slowly but surely most of the gear I hiked with 20 years ago has been retired. My Camp Trails pack and Slumberjack down bag in 2007. My Eureka Gossamer tent in 2005. My Whisperlite stove somewhere around 2002 -- first for a Zip stove, and finally (2007) for a Pocket Rocket. One identifiable piece from the old kit: a Seattle Sombrero, still geeky as ever. I'll be sad if I lose it.
I didn't join the Seattle Sombrero cult until with paddled the Mississippi. I love that damn thing now, and use it all the time from fall through late spring.
I'm always sewing new crap to replace my older crap. It's a game of motivation at this point, because I need another tarp like I need a hole in the head. Probably sucking it up and buying a Western Mounteering bag this fall to replace a 12 y/o Marmot Sawtooth.
My one old-school gear item is my MSR Whisperlite stove. It is, and will likely always be, my go-to stove for cold weather.
My one old-school gear item is my MSR Whisperlite stove. It is, and will likely always be, my go-to stove for cold weather.A fine and reliable item that stove is. It will fire and run in weather too cold to easily be comfortable in.
Not "old", Mudcap.....
Just well seasoned! :D
leeki pole
07-17-2008, 09:47
First time I camped with a buddy using a swea, scared the living stuff out of me....he liked to set the entire forest, shelter and table on fire:D
Bare Bear
07-18-2008, 18:22
The late great Louis Armstrong said it best, "Ain't it a beautiful world?"
Whatever gear we carry or do not carry doesn't matter. I have never taken a trip I did not learn something from.