I agree Franco - there's a lot of cheap stuff that really should be left at home...
I agree Franco - there's a lot of cheap stuff that really should be left at home...
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
WWII era US Army mountain cold weather down bag. I bought it in 1982 when I was in high school, because we did all our outdoor shopping at the army surplus store, there wasnt anyplace else back then where I came from.
It extremely heavy, leaks feathers, some of the feather clumps feel like parts of a chicken are still attached, but did serve its purpose for me at the time.
I bought an osprey bladder, someone on here warned me they leaked, and sure as heck two days into the Smokies that bugger started leaking. Had to stop in Gaitlinberg and get a new one, I was lucky enough that they gave me a platy for free. Apparently they get a few from Platypus each year for hikers to give away for free. Which reminds me I need to send a thank you to them...
My dad brought 3 M-1949 Down mummy bags back from his time. I used mine through my youth. I took his over 30 years ago, with a cover, 9lbs. I was always warm as toast. In '04' it was retired to my friends dog house in Montana. It served me very well. I replaced it with the Western Mountaineering Puma. 3lbs, warm as burnt toast!
Zinetic Pocket Slippers - One of the shoes came rolled up from the manufacturer and even after a month rolled backwards, would not lay flat. Also, the mesh tops are super fragile and the bottoms very uncomfortable. I wasn't comfortable even giving them away, so I ended up pitching them in the trash.
Oddly enough it was a first generation MSR Whisperlite
I bought it replace my trusty old Svea 123 But it never quite worked as well as MSR claimed
actually it wasn't my intent to use for backpacking, but the Bunton Glorb was the most memorable of my questionable purchases. butane, with one of those slightly Coleman style socky mantles that seldom survived taking the lantern out of its case. You could if you want to, actually burn the thing without a mantle, it lit like a candle but cost like $40 or so.
I came into this world with nothing, and I still have most of it left.
two nalgine bottles
A platipus (cheap knock off one from wal-mart) I never use it, I hate filling it up then sticking it back in the pack, to much extra work. Much prefer my gatoraid bottles or any cheap recycle bottles
A compass, the one for reading maps
a bear bell (got it after my first encounter with a bear)
A snake bite kit, the one with the yellow plunger device, i have no clue how to use it if I do get bit
stuff sacks-I use ziplock bags now
A coleman rain jacket (heavy and doesnt keep rain out-the hood sucked too)
Silk Sock liners (wore a hole in them after 20 miles and they never did ****)
A whistle (realized my pack had one bilt in on the shoulder strap) not that i even need a ****ing whistle
Trail guide and map (only need one, not both)
Coffee (huge smell in the pack and no time to brew it in the am)
Coffee Creamers (rookie mistake)-backpacking is not the same as camping
You're not going to live forever
Find this to be true
Use your past as a guide
While you're alive
Live
I have 2,
About 3 years ago I bought a pair of Columbia boots at Sports Authority for hiking. I was new to hiking the AT and I thought I was smart getting a "lightweight boot" instead of using my big and heavy boots, and that I would have better ankle support. Boy those Columbia boots were lighter then the Merrel Moabs so I bought them, used then for yard work a few times to break them in then took them on a Rocky day hike from Port Clinton PA to the Pinnicle. The problem was the soles were thin, and the boot had no shank. I did not use insoles like superfeet, and the factory insoles were paper thin with no arch support. I would have been better off with trail runners or big bulky boots. Needless to say I felt every single rock, and DESTROYED my feet. I have had problems like Plantar Fasciits ever since. Please say no to Columbia footwear.
Outdoor Products Backpack Poncho - I bought this in REI. Think of a large heavy rubberized tarp. Now think of that large heavy tarp over your body while you hike. Now imagine a baby being born. The baby's head squeezing out of the birth canal and seeing the world for the first time. Put on a Outdoor Products Backpack poncho and you will understand all of this. Its huge, and heavy, yet the hood is small and is hard to get on and tight to your head.
took this pic of an AT old book i have somewhere.
1973 Icewater Shelter
don't know who they are.
the gear cracks me up
I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.
left handed smoke shifter. hasn't worked from day 1.
Started out my thru-hike with a generic $5 Poncho. Needless to say it didn't survive the first proper rain storm without ripping. Ended up getting a nice Mountain Hardwear Rain Jacket at Outdoor 76 in Franklin. Worth the money.
Tent footprint. Didn't buy an actual footprint, just material, luckily because footprints are expensive and totally useless.
The Sawyer Squeeze or the Steripen is the worst gear i have ever bought.
74, bought my first down -20dF V baffle mummy bag. Expensive for back then.
About a year later noticed down was shifting. Opened up the seam and the baffle ends were open - all of them.
Nice list.... When I am with a large hiking group the whistle is used to signal the leader the stragglers aren't even close. Coffee Creamers are ok use a glad box...
A couple of members here posted the Coleman Poncho / backpack rain gear and yea I agree there are lots of better choices. I leave stuff like that in the car for occasional use. I keep a $1 clear disposable poncho and repack it.
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
My Campmor silnylon poncho. I am short and every time I had to make a climb (which is every mile or so), I had to hold it up like a frontier woman holding up her skirt or I would trip over it. Sent it home from the Blueberry Patch Hostel and went with my $15 Wally World water repellent jacket.
Give Me Mountains & I Am Happy!
A pair of Vasque Breeze: boots to replace the older style skywalk model. They made the boots lighter at the expense of support. I am currently nursing a badly sprained ankle due to my poor choice
For me that would be a titanium sierra cup. I carried it for a month and used it once. I really didn't like it at all for a myriad of reasons including that stuff got cold in it super fast, with hot stuff the rim got too hot, it was way to easy to spill, it was kind of expensive, it was awkward and too small to cook in. I should have remembered that I hated the stainless one I bought a few decades ago.