Gear From The 1970s and 1980's

[Tipi Walter]

I would like to discuss gear some of us have used and grown up with, old Kelty packs, the first orange Thermarests with the metal valves, old North Face A-frame tents with the snow tunnel doors(and their external frame Back Magic packs), the canvas Boy Scout Yucca packs, the old Nike Ascent and Approach trail shoes, Sundog packs, etc.
It is very hard to find this gear for sale nowadays but for some of us just remembering is enough.

[jasonklass]

It is very hard to find this gear for sale nowadays but for some of us just remembering is enough.

Go to the return counter at REI!

[Weldman]

I have a better place for old gear like that, Military surplus stores! I have seen a that type of tent 2 yrs ago at a surplus store

Mike

[jasonklass]

Yeah-that's right. I've seen some vintage gear there that was never even used! It was like they were frozen in time.

[Kerosene]

My first boots were dark green very high top hunting boots. I remember that they froze overnight during my March 1975 hike on the Connecticut AT.

I think I finally tossed the old 1.5 pound Optimus 8R white gas stove that I relied on for all my hikes from 1974 through 1986.

I forgot when I bought my first Therma-Rest, but it was heaven compared to Ensolite (remember that?) and other closed cell pads.

As a Boy Scout I had one of the canvas packs with an external frame, but I bought one of the first nylon external frame packs on the market in 1972 from Sears and used that until I graduated from high school in '75. I replaced it with a Kelty Tioga that I used through '86, after which it sat in the corner of my garage. When I decided to get back out in '99, I found that the aluminum frame had corroded from all the salt from the cars.

I purchased a nylon 2-man tent (Walrus Comet?) -- light at "only" 5.5 pounds. The coating of the fly came off after I stored it for several years -- rolled! -- atop a closet.

Here's a picture of me near the end of my first long distance hike in April 1973. Note the massive poly-fill sleeping bag, the Sears pack that more than once hauled 50+ pounds, the jeans jacket and pants, the hunting boots. It's a good thing it didn't get too wet that trip!

[LostInSpace]

My first boots, when I was a Scout, were Army surplus. My first serious hiking boots were Vasque that lasted from 1973 to mid 80’s. I wore them until they literally fell apart.

My first tent was an Army surplus mountain tent – A-frame with the round doors and vents on each end. Sometimes I used an Army surplus jungle hammock. I don’t know what happened to them. About 1973 I bought a North Face VE-24 tent, which I had until three weeks ago. TNF replaced it with a new 2006 VE-25 under the warranty that the VE-24 came with. Although the TNF warranty has changed, I had the original hang tags that the tent had an “unconditional” warranty, which TNF honored. (I have bought lighter tents in the meantime.)

My first pack, as a Scout, was an Army surplus ammo pack of some sort … rucksack … no frame. I think I ditched it last year when I cleaned out my basement. I still have my Kelty Tioga that I bought in the ‘70s. The packbag and frame are still in good condition, but the foam in the hipbelt has turned to stone! A replacement belt is about $45 … hardly worth it.

My first down jacket was a Frostline kit, but my sister did most of the sewing. I still have it for grunge work.

The down vest from Wilderness Experience is still serviceable.

The Gerry down bag, -10 degree, is still serviceable, but that sucker is heavy!

The waffle-weave long underware from Sears was turned into truck polishing rags some time ago.

The Ensolite sleeping pad got melted or torn somewhere along the line. I replaced it with a covered eggcrate foam pad that was hardly any better. Fortunately, whomever I lent it to never returned it!

I still have my Svea 123 white gas stove (works like a champ) and a small Ensolite pad to insulate it from the ground in cold weather.

The Bull Dog Brand aluminum nesting pots are actually lighter than the GSI ones I bought. The Svea 123 fits inside the smallest Bull Dog pot.

I still have three Gerry squeeze tubes for condiments, etc. I never have used them.

The candle lantern is still floating around somewhere.

In retrospect, I actually carried a lot fewer items when I was younger … no camp shoes, no bear bag, no extra batteries, no hiking poles, no sunglasses, smaller first aid kit, etc., etc.

[gsingjane]

On the extended canoe and hiking trips we took in Girl Scouts, we used what we called "umbrella" tents - they were these green canvas monsters with a central pole where you pushed up and, yes, the top popped out like an umbrella. They were square and you had to stake them and yes, of course, we trenched around them. They slept 4. Does anybody else remember these? It would have been late '60's/early '70's?

Jane in CT

[Hikes in Rain]

I still use the old Boy Scout cook kit I got for Christmas back in the mid-60's. Still have the original bold and wing-nut for the frying pan, although the plastic green cup (the one that made everything taste like polystyrine, you!) was traded in the early 70's for a Sierra cup, also still in use. Have an early 70's vintage no-brand-name cannister "grasshopper" stove that functions nicely, and got me through my first section hike after melting down my Whisperlite.

[Ratbert]

My first pack (early 70s) was a great external frame made by a company called "Alpenlite." Their motto was, "Let your hips shoulder the load." It had a curved frame that attached to the hipbelt right at your hips, as opposed to the back and it really did transfer weight better than the Keltys I had previously borrowed and used. It also allowed the pack to stand up by itself, which was awesome!

My tent was a Jansport Trail Wedge that I obtained from a friend by trading him a 10-speed bicycle.

I had several products from a company called Snow Lion, which were very sturdy and lasted me for many years ... a down vest, 20 degree down bag, and an awesome 60/40 mountain parka (remember those?). Most of my better gear came from Cumberland Transit on West End in Nashville ... still there and still selling great gear.

Stove was a Gerry canister stove that packed up "like a damn tin yo-yo" according to The Complete Walker, which I faithfully read cover-to-cover.

Blue jeans, cotton waffle-weave long underwear, Raichle mountaineering boots (that had to weigh 5 pounds apiece!) rag wool sweaters, caps and socks, ensolite pad rolled up and strapped to the top of your pack. Back then you weighed your pack to boast about how much you could carry! Gawd, we had fun!

[Teatime]

Sears Hillary-I Backpack, Green
Original Coleman Peak 1 Stove.
Some off brand tent with big, fat, plastic stakes.

[Tin Man]

On the extended canoe and hiking trips we took in Girl Scouts, we used what we called "umbrella" tents - they were these green canvas monsters with a central pole where you pushed up and, yes, the top popped out like an umbrella. They were square and you had to stake them and yes, of course, we trenched around them. They slept 4. Does anybody else remember these? It would have been late '60's/early '70's?

Jane in CT

Hi neighbor, I remember when our scout master bought the umbrella tents in the late '60's, although ours were 2 man. They were canvas, heavy, and worked well for about a year. Fortunately, he drove them to the site where we hiked into to camp. I think the forests have recovered from all those nasty trenching habits we used.

[Kerosene]

Wow, it's really cool to see names of vendors who no longer lead the industry: Gerry, Alpenlite, Frostline, Snow Lion, etc.

I forgot that my first down bag was a combination duck down/feather mummy crafted in orange and blue nylon from Sears purchased in the early 70's. I have no idea what it was rated to.

My future wife-to-be made me a pair of down booties with covers for my 19th birthday that I still have somewhere but don't use for backpacking. I bought myself a nice Eddie Bauer down sweater in the mid-70's that I still use occasionally.

Much of my discretionary spending in high school was for backpacking gear. My bible was The Appalachian Hiker by Ed Garvey, which I bought just after his first thru-hike in 1971 I think. I knew everything in those pages, and I still have the book. I also devoured the first edition of Colin Fletcher's, The Complete Walker.

Hikes in Rain, I actually still a 8-oz plastic green cups from a circa 1950's aluminum camping cookset as one of my containers since it's so light, although it no longer tastes like plastic!

Of course, this entire thread reminds me of how much old stuff I have in my gear closet that I never use. Anyone interested in some old gear?

[peter_pan]

Seems like every year or so I do an ultra light presentation or a hammock presentation for a Boy Scout troop and leave a foot locker of slightly used gear behind as donations/prizes for the scouts in attendance...great way to trade miles for smiles when I can't be out hiking on some week night....try it... it is a great way to recycle and lots of fun.

Pan

[peter_pan]

A PS...

How many of you still have the leather 50 mile patch and Historical trails patch, or the National Jamboree patch from the BSA 50 anniversary in 1960?...These patches once sewed on packs that I carried and the merit badges, hiking, camping, pioneering etc are a box of my prize posessions.... boy those packs were heavy then... nice photo Kerosene.

Pan

[Cookerhiker]

My first AT backpack was 35 miles in Vermont, 1977. One piece of equipment still in use today: my Boy Scout small saucepan which I curently use for cooking oatmeal and boiling tea/hot chocolate water. It fits inside my aluminum billy pot which I bought in 1979 and still use. Oh, I also use my Scout eating utensils.

I upgraded my external frame Kelty pack in 1980 and used it through my 110 mile section hike March 2004 in GA & NC. Afterwards, I finally threw in the towel and bought an internal frame pack.

First stove was a small butane saucer-like setup with a rubber fuel tube connected to a cannister the size of a shaving cream can. Worked well and fast and was lightweight but the cannisters were a pain and also suspect in cold weather. Upgraded to a Svea which I used for about 15 years followed by a Coleman Peak 1. Each successive stove has been heavier; I guess I'm doing something wrong!

Used my A-frame tent until 1991 when I acquired my Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight. Incidentally, its maiden night was in Death Valley (March, '91) when a desert sandstorm blew in and snapped the pole in half. Campmoor gave me a replacement which I've used since.

[troglobil]

Kelty external frame... still have it, actually my wife uses it
Svea 123...still have it
ensolite pad.... have parts of it, pad my cave pack with it
sierra cup....lost it
snow lion bag....still have it and use it
60/40 parka finally got rid of it 5 years ago
and believe it or not... a chamois shirt from 1978 that is ratty as hell, but i still wear it around the bonfire when car camping. it has been threatened to be thrown in the fire.

[Gray Blazer]

Jansport used to be an industry leader in backpacks. There is a thread on this site where a girl (I forgot her name) is selling her Mom's old Jansport. It's funny that jansport only makes kids backpacks for school books now. My sister and her family hiked from Gainesville FL (Go Gators) to Portland , Oregon (Remember the Walkin' Warriner's) in the late 70's. Nike sponsered them and they used state of the art Jansport Backpacks. In honor of her I use a similar backpack that I bought from Winton at Neels Gap off his wall of old school backpacks.
You can view it in my photo gallery on this site. the name on the top says it belonged to Mitch Wynn. Has anybody heard of him? Was he an old school thru hiker?

[RockyTrail]

I still have my BSA Yucca and Camper ext frame packs from 1970 era. I used the Camper pack on a trip in 2000, and my son the artist used the Yucca to paint a "still life" of the Yucca pack with some related BSA gear recently for an art class assignment.

Back then I used:
Bag: A Kmart cotton rectangular bag (pheasants and bird dogs!)
Sleep Pad: What's a sleep pad?
Boots: High-top broughams (type used for construction work)
Clothes: Jeans & T-shirts, all cotton
Tent: ARmy surplus "pup" tent, no floor, barely waterproofed, black plastic groundcloth
Pack: Yucca or Camper ext frame
Mess: Std BSA issue mess kit (blackened from wood fire cooking, always cooked on fires)

I still have the packs and mess kit. The only thing I still use is the little aluminum pot and the green cup that came with the mess kit. They make good "second pot& cup" for heating water and measuring exact portions while I drink from a more modern cup and cook in a Ti pot on a Pepsi/Guiness stove. (btw, the cup doesn't smell like plastic not anymore anyway)
In case anybody's wondering about this stuff, I plan to keep on keeping it just for old times sake.

[Cookerhiker]

Jansport used to be an industry leader in backpacks. There is a thread on this site where a girl (I forgot her name) is selling her Mom's old Jansport. It's funny that jansport only makes kids backpacks for school books now. My sister and her family hiked from Gainesville FL (Go Gators) to Portland , Oregon (Remember the Walkin' Warriner's) in the late 70's. Nike sponsered them and they used state of the art Jansport Backpacks. In honor of her I use a similar backpack that I bought from Winton at Neels Gap off his wall of old school backpacks.
You can view it in my photo gallery on this site. the name on the top says it belonged to Mitch Wynn. Has anybody heard of him? Was he an old school thru hiker?

Are you sure that Jansport only makes kids' backpacks? I have a Jansport day pack (acquired about 4 years ago) and it's more than adequate for day hikes and trips.

[RockyTrail]

A PS...

How many of you still have the leather 50 mile patch and Historical trails patch, or the National Jamboree patch from the BSA 50 anniversary in 1960?...These patches once sewed on packs that I carried and the merit badges, hiking, camping, pioneering etc are a box of my prize posessions.... boy those packs were heavy then... nice photo Kerosene.

Pan

I have the 50 miler earned (as an adult) three years ago on a Philmont trip. The modern ones are cloth, about 3"x5", red background, yellow markings. One of the few patches handed out to adults as well as scouts. I too have a box of old prize posessions like you mentioned...