Your worst piece of backpacking gear...

[kb6jra]

 

My worst piece of gear was my 1960's vintage home-made soldered-together pack frame made from steel conduit. With rope shoulder straps. No hip belt. Brutal

 

OUCH! Bet you still have the scars from that.

[packsaddle]

Heh, heh, oh those scars are nothing compared to marks put on me by my wife's wrath. Why would she treat me this way? Could be that I still actually HAVE that old homemade pack frame. And maybe a lot of other useless junk? Could be?

[Vicki]

Yep, tube tent, definitely. Approx 1970, Mono Lake - really ugly choice between getting eaten alive by the mosquitoes or getting condensed on in the tube. Not that keeping the ends tied kept out that many of the little biters in the first place...

 

Love those coffee bags, though. And the really small flashlights.

 

Vicki

[allangr1024]

Worst peice of equiptment: My Coleman 7x7 dome tent with poles that broke on a camping trip. Bad Bad Bad.

 

For Philmont I took a Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight tent. It was very light and kept out the rain very well. Highly recommended.

 

Now adays, I use a hammock. At first I just used a mesh hammock with a light pad in it and a tarp strung over it. I was high and dry during a monsoon that drenched our mountain backpacking trip in Arkansas.

 

Now I use a Hennessey Hammock. It is well thought out and comfy, although the first time I set it up in the rain I did not get the rain cover on right and it filled with water. sigh.

 

The only thing for backpacking I have not figured out yet is a very light weight pair of camp shoes, for when I simply cannot stand to be in my boots for another minute.

 

 

[kb6jra]

Lightweight camp shoes, we use rubber soled moccasins. They don''t weigh much, aren''t constrictive and form to the shape your foot is in at the time, have enough of a sole so you wont bruise the bottom of your feet stumbling around camp, and they''re crushable, so they''ll fit anywhere in your pack.

 

 

[GernBlansten]

Camp shoes? Crocs. Super light. Super comfy. Saw several with them at Philmont. And if you get the neon colored ones, they double duty as signaling devices. Someone even said you can boil them and eat them too.

[dzierzak]

The extra 20 pounds in the belt area.....

[Hillis]

I second the use of Crocs as camp shoes. Unbelievably lightweight and comfortable. Really, I don''t use Crocs, I use a knock-off brand called Nothinz--I have found them to be cheaper, MUCH more comfortable, and more compressible than Crocs. At Philmont, they actually sell Nothinz instead of Crocs for those reasons.

 

As for my worst gear...my old, old Kelty external frame--which I just recently replaced with an amazing Osprey Atmos 65 that I used for the Rayado program at Philmont.

[theysawyoucomin']

good topic Le Voyageur

 

 

 

Any single burner stove made by coleman is useful only as a fishing sinker. Maybe to throw at a bear that is staeling your food.

 

 

OTH good kit includes:

anything with the MSR name

Optimus 123 stove

mini mag lites

headlamps

black 100% wool watch caps

water shoes

[Gunny2862]

uz2bnowl,

Divergent opinion, I love head lamps,especially LED, use them almost exclusively now, but for a handheld the Mini-mags have consistently failed me "when I really needed it". Often by corrosion - it was okay yesterday - or by battery failure and expansion - couldn''t extract the battery even by destructive methods and have a flashlight left when I was done.

 

Don''t get me wrong I still like the four cell Mag-light for certain things. But not Backpacking.

 

I''m using a SureFire C2 for my emergency "must have light" light now. I also own a G2 Nitrolon. Yes the batteries are more expensive but they, by experience, do have a long shelf life and I''ve never seen one corrode. I like the fact that I have never had one fail, under any conditions, anywhere. (unpaid testimonial)

[kb6jra]

Gunny, as an FYI Mag Industries should take those damaged flash lights and repair them for you. Last time I sent one in it cost me shipping only. (I''ve had the battery get stubbornly stuck as well).

 

 

[Gunny2862]

At the risk of sounding like I''m bad mouthing the company in question, I''ve gone through and had so many troops have the same things happen that we tended to treat the Mini''s as disposables.

Now if the four cell went south, I''d probably send it in.

[kb6jra]

Gunny,

 

You''re probably more the norm since I live relatively close to the Mag facility and shipping cost is minimal for me. I''ve only done it a couple of times (sent a light in for repair). One of my favorites was a micro mini single AAA. Perfect size IMHO. And I''ve sent in a couple of minis that had been laser inscribed for special occasions. None of which I actually bought, got as gifts and that sort of thing.