Gear that sucks!

I got one of the these and hooked up the hose. It was a gas!

But then I switched the connections. And it really sucked.

I try not to buy anything from Columbia, either:

Oh David — you're lucky I actually love corny humour! Alaska in the winter — talk about cabin fever… And, of course, you don't buy from Col-O-mbia … although I've never understood people who don't drink coffee…Juan Valdez is my hero.

My old gear was mainly just heavier than it needed to be. Nothing new or old had been "crummy."

In terms of functionality, my absolute most loathed piece of gear was the classic MSR Whisperlite. It always worked fine for dinner, was always crazy, leaping flames for breakfast. It was not a morning stove. (In retrospect, it probably just got too cold as left it out overnight).

An alky stove was my first lightweight purchase.

Well, Aquamira bottles suck. I've never had one *not* leak. Thanks to BPL I learned to repackage them.

Certain brands off synthetic socks give me rashes if I don't triple-wash them before wearing, so now I just consider all synthetic socks "sucky" (as we liked to say in middle school).

I've used the same Thermarest Ridgerest for 10 years.

I once, about 4 years ago, bought a Big Agnes Insulated AirCore, thought I was really upgrading. Brought it on a week-long North Cascades trip.

Screw that thing. It slid around. I felt like every move I made bounced me up in the air. The channels between the tubes drafted cold air under my sensitive little bum. It was like trying to sleep on a goddang driftwood raft in rough water.

I gave it to a friend when I returned. He loves it. I never slept on air again.