Oldest gear you use?

[Doc_of_the_bay]

How old is the oldest gear you carry on the trail? And what's the secret to making it last? (or the secret to not getting sick and tired of it?)
I recently replaced my 1971 external frame pack.
Thermarest pads- 1982
Cook kit- Boy Scout days (1970ish)
Coleman 400 stove- bought it in a pawn shop ten years ago, probably several years older than that.
Kelty Hollofil II mummy bag- given to me 12 years ago by a friend who didn't use it any more.

Doc

[Gaiter]

a aluminum pot from a camping cookset from the 60/70's. Originally owned by one of my aunts, passed to my dad when he was in high school.

[Topcat]

I still use the sleeping bag i got for my 16th birthday. Dacron Fibre fill II, 20 degree bag. It is only good for spring, summer and fall now and way too heavy but I love it just the same. I have every stain memorized.

[saimyoji]

Though I don't use it beyond car camping any more, (its more of a novelty now) I still keep my great-great-great-great-grandfather-in-law's samurai sword and armor. Its great for those midnight strolls to the privy when the 'coons and skunks are out.

[Nean]

I still use my first cook kit and my first sleeping bag- which is now my summer bag. Going on 18 years. I've had my 3rd pack since 95. It has lasted longer than any pack I've ever heard of.

[saimyoji]

I still use my first cook kit and my first sleeping bag- which is now my summer bag. Going on 18 years. I've had my 3rd pack since 95. It has lasted longer than any pack I've ever heard of.

I got my pack in 95. CampTrails Winderness internal. I've not put the trail miles on it you have, but its been around the world at least 10 times, on the trail in Thailand, Japan, Mexico, and here on the AT.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

My favorite pot is 35+ years old and still going strong. Wouldn't hit the trail without it.

[fiddlehead]

I think my P-38 is about 18 years old.
I don't know how you all do it with one cookit for all those years, i see to wear one out about ever 3 or 4 hikes. (i had my aluminum spoon for 4 thrus but lost it in Nepal last time)
On the other hand, my styrofoam cup usually only lasts about one to 2 weeks.

[The General]

My Legs or don't they count. If so then its a Swiss Army Knife given to me by my father on my 13th birthday. 36 years ago. Thanks dad.

[Kerosene]

I'm pretty sure that I've swapped everything out three or four times over the past 30 years, mostly in the interest of saving weight and improving function. I think my little thermometer dates from the late 70s, but I've been reading the min/max thermometer thread with interest. I still have much of my old gear, much to the dismay of my wife.

I ran across Happy Jack on Kinsman Ridge last month. He was out for his first extended hike (a week) since he thru-hiked SOBO in '85 and was still lugging his 24 ounce(!) Optimus 8R white gas stove; the same model I purchased in 1973 (and it still works great as an emergency stove when our power goes out).

Speaking of old stuff, I also met a guy (whose name I promptly forgot) at Lonesome Lake Hut who said he had completed a SOBO thru-hike in 1972, which would have probably made him one of the first dozen or so. I'm surprised that the ATC doesn't maintain an on-line list of 2,000-milers.

[Footslogger]

At this point it's probably one of my bandanas (if that qualifies as "gear").

And then there are my knees, which have considerable mileage and years on them.

'Slogger

[TN_Hiker]

I have several pieces of gear pushing 20+ years. My oldest is a little 8in. plastic plate that I have since I was 13.

[Mouse]

My p-38 is about 25 years old. Perhaps the most efficient gadget ever made.

[max patch]

30 year old svea123 stove.

[1Pint]

Though I don't use it beyond car camping any more, (its more of a novelty now) I still keep my great-great-great-great-grandfather-in-law's samurai sword and armor. Its great for those midnight strolls to the privy when the 'coons and skunks are out.

And if we had a WB poll about the best WB poll ever started, your hiking with sword poll and thread would win swords up... uh, I mean, hands down.

[hobbit]

I started exactly 5 years ago

but what about the people who started less than that thier only choice is to ignore the poll entirely or else feel like they are yuppies

[Gaiter]

i've seen a couple people mention a p-38, what is that?

[saimyoji]

And if we had a WB poll about the best WB poll ever started, your hiking with sword poll and thread would win swords up... uh, I mean, hands down.

Actually, that wasn't my poll. Any of the admin will verify by IP, provider, whatever...wasn't me.

[gtothero]

I still use a Coleman Peak I stove that I got in 1982. It has never let me down. My Timberline tent (1982) and Camp Trails pack (1980) are pretty much retired.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

i've seen a couple people mention a p-38, what is that?

A GI can-opener