You Tell Me…What is the Best Gear Ever???

Simply put…
1) Caldera Cone – no matter how many stoves I buy, I find this thing in my pack almost everytime I'm out.

2)Trail runners – Ditching my Asolo boots for trail runners (currently Inov-8 Flyroc 310s) changed everything about hiking and backpacking for me.

3)Insulated Inflatable Sleeping Pads – As a 6'1" 220lb side sleeper these guys have added so much to my trips. For me every minute on trail is improved by a good nights sleep, or even thinking of the good nights sleep I am about to have at the end of a long day.

Almost made it: GG LT4's, Mini Bics & beer

BMW Cocoon Hoody. Why is it so warm, yet so light. It is my one staple in my pack.

Black Diamond Flick Lok Contour Poles. Best combination of durability and reliability on the market. Period.

Boozer, you made me remember… LT4s. Awesome, stupifyingly light. (And a bit of scotch and/or a bit of bourbon make it every time. Maybe that doesn't count as gear, but how 'bout the UL "flask" of re-used C.C. Club Soda water bottle I use? Any way you slice it, some of the most enjoyable–and favorite–stuff I carry!)

1. Trekking poles. I wouldn't be able to backpack any more without them, due to my aging knees and ankles.

2. Lightweight hiking shoes.

3. "Beyond Backpacking". Ray Jardine's book made me realize I could go backpacking without heavy loads, thus enabling me to start backpacking again after a many-year hiatus.

4. Tarps and quilts. To keep the weight down.

5. Caldera Cone. Awesome!

Freeze-dried Jardine with a packet of excitotoxin sauce!

1. the idea that one could go lightweight. Most of my early learning came from Ray’s book, websites, the the yahoo groups backpackinglight mailing list.

2. the combination of Inov-8 310 flyroc shoes and Injinji toe socks. Since I started wearing them I am blister free without any special treatments. This was such an improvement compared to when I had to constantly attend to me feet and never seems to be able to prevent blisters even with careful application of tape, pads, or lotions.

For the people who listed vibram fivefingers… how do you deal with trails that have been trod by horses? I found that the dust would go right through the mesh. Within minutes they felt like sandpaper against my skin… especially just above the heel.

3. sierra designs 3-man tent (1970). Spent many memorial nights with my dad and/or friends in this tent… especially when there were storms outside and we we comfortable inside… cozy in our sleeping bags telling stories and play cards.

I have kept a list of what I consider perfect or near gear… but most of the listed items haven’t made as much of an emotional impact on me as the above.

1. Neo-Air: UL at 14 oz. for a large and VERY comfortable- NO DOUBT!!!!

2. IPOD:1oz and holds over 3,000 songs..Keeps me movin on
the trail and in camp with very small speakers I get
Jazz and Blues- Nice!!!

3. MLD Ark: 4200 CI at 15oz WOW!!!!!

-Jay

Lots of caveats here… I don't want to hog the thread; I'm well aware we're a UL site; but…

Marks post about the SD 'mid made me think about the gear I have the most emotional connection to. Without a doubt my WM Antelope. But the other things are from my "heavy" days… a nearly bombproof and truly beautiful Moss Little Dipper, my old Dana Astralplane, and my Dragonfly or Whisperlite. All have given years and years of essentially flawless service. Garuda Kaja ranks up there; aesthetically and in general principle it's great, but it turns out I'm not a huge fan of goretex tents.

I also have an old Evernew 1.3L Ti pot, a bit heavier than the current generation, handles and lid long ago gone missing, but still kicking strong since the early/mid 90s. I love Evernew Ti pots! Light, strong, easy to clean. My newer 0.9L Evernew pot is great, but not quite as robust as the older 1.3L one.

Ahhh, the Moss Little Dipper. I too own one of those fine little bomb shelters. A great tent in its day but since it weighs something like 10 pounds mine has not left the basement for 15 years. I really don't miss it.

Well, I'm not saying I miss it in my pack! Think it's pushing over 13 pounds, even! But man, have I sat out some heinous storms in that tent. The thing is like granite. It's now reserved for base-campish winter trips.

For me, waterproof socks.

It seems to me that the majority of gear will always get replaced at some point when something better comes along. There are a few pieces however that so perfectly refined I can't imagine a replacement.

Caldera Cone

The Pat Houdini and R1 hoody

The Tilley hat

Snowpeak/Evernew Ti cup/pot

mini Bic

ill post the rest, in a hurry now

hiking boots => trailrunners

heavy frame pack => light frameless

tent => tarptent or tarp/bivy

heavy base/insulation => merino wool/cocoons

whitegas stove => alcohol or solid fuel

complexity => simplification

Here's one I've been thinking of…the internet.

I look at the gear I'm carrying today and the base of knowledge I apply and I don't think it would have been possible without the net. The rise of web-based cottage industry has made an incredible impact and the access to opinions, knowledge and experiences is amazing, including talking with all of you. Without the internet, I don't think it would be possible.

For example, would I have ever heard about SUL, tarp techniques, or frameless packs? Would Mountain Laurel Designs even exist in a mail order world? Would inexpensive production be feasible without web connections to oversees manufacturing? How would tiny companies like Tarptent find enough customers to go on…or deal with retail markup at REI?

I've been an editor at Backpacking Light for over 6 years now. I've visited Alan Dixon in DC and he's visited me. Ryan Jordan's family joined us for a dayhike one time. I met a few other editors at an OR show. That's it- just a few days of "real" interaction with my colleagues in 6 years. How many times have I met any of you face to face? One time when Franco and Petras visited last week. My point is that this is a web-based experience for me with web-based relationships buying gear from web-based companies.

I'm not sure it would have been possible pre-web, and it's changed my outdoor experiences greatly.

After reading the interesting and thoughtful replies here and thinking for a while, I'd have to agree with Doug.

Without the internet and the commerce it has engendered, the gear I most prize (with, perhaps, the exception of my Western Mountaineering sleeping bag, my Montbell UL Thermawrap jacket and my Montrail Hardrocks) would not exist. The internet has revolutionized my shopping habits–I buy almost everything except groceries online now. Yes, I could do the groceries, too, but especially with produce I like to see what I'm getting.

Think of all the small gear producers who do their entire business on the internet. Most of my gear has come from them. And even the exceptions listed above were ordered from internet vendors like backcountrygear.com and backcountry.com, which do business almost entirely on the internet. The internet lets us compare prices and find information that wasn't around 15 years ago, or at least not readily available at our fingertips.

Being something of a luddite, I have a tendency to decry modern inventions. The personal computer and the internet, though, have revolutionized my life as they have many others. I was fortunate enough to be one of the first in my firm to learn to use some of the earliest personal computers (anyone remember the Apple II?) in the early spring of 1981, and used computers constantly for work ever since. I didn't start getting acquainted with the internet, though, until 1998 when I took a class at work. Even for work it made an enormous difference (looking up accounting statements on the AICPA website instead of searching through shelves of publications saved hours of time). I first started using the internet personally to research–and buy tickets and railpasses–for my post-retirement Europe trips in 2000 and 2001. Soon after that, I started looking for alternatives to 50-lb. packs so I could get back into backpacking, and here I am. Yes, an old dog, even one suspicious of modern technology, can learn new tricks!

1) wearing polartec fleece socks instead of wool at night in my sleeping bag. Extra weight since I don't hike in them but worth it since I no longer wake up at 3 am with frozen feet. A good night sleep is worth ever oz.
2) liner socks with coolmax socks and my 2003 velocity trail runners; finally a shoe that fits my foot, has great traction that doesn't give me blisters. Also no gortex, I have a problem overheating and these keep my feet cool. I wish Vasque still made them, I have not found a replacement as good and I've tried on everything.
3) It's a toss up between my Marmot Helium 29 oz bag that has kept me warm at 15 degrees or my Nimbus Ozone. Once I put 3 liters of water in my pack I want a pack with a frame. This pack weighs 3 lbs but doesn't feel like it weighs anything on your back, on your shoulders or on your hips, plus I can tilt it back and get that cool air across my back as I hike with just the weight on my hips. Maybe it's ultralight heresy but who cares as long as I can get out and enjoy my trek. I own an Exos 34, have used fanatic fringe, z1 blast etc but I've gone back to my Nimbos Ozone any time the weight of food and water starts to get up there.

Lighter mountaineering boots, the "new" wool,water filtering systems, and eVent as an alternate to Goretex, the competition between the many innovators and boutique manufacturers out there would head up my list.
Not a gear thing but the people who push the envelope showing us what can be accomplished with less.

Sleeping bag – Buffalo 4 Season inner and outer (Now after 18years use, upgraded to the Superbag)

Flint and Steel – Whenever I can, I cook by an open fire (Comfort and warmth)

Hip flask – for a Wee dram (Hic 3-)

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Great questions and post. I'll repost on my site http://www.backpackingconnections.com

– Hennessey Hammock – ditched the tent, pad, chair kit, saving a whopping 7lbs out my pack, slept better, can camp anywhere, etc, etc. Truly revolutionary for me.

– Synthetic fabrics – quick drying, lightweight, field washable. eliminted another 3-4 lbs out of my pack (i.e. fresh new cotton t-shirt each day, fresh socks).

– Trekking poles – hike farther, faster and a lot more stable.

For cold 3 season (Fall, Winter, Spring) use my favorite gear was fairly thin hard (not fuzzy) wool pants that I think were military surplus dress pants. They shed wind and snow well. I can't find them anymore and have long since gained enough weight that I can't fit my old ones anymore. Anybody know where to find some?

For summer, thin light nylon or supplex travel pants are good.

Cameras: old folding roll film cameras from Kodak 620 to Zeiss Ikonta http://www.mplsdesigner.com/cameras/cameras/ikonta.htm;
Olympus Pen D (not SLR).

Book: Horace Kephart, "Camping and Woodcraft". Gerry Cunningham's book on making outdoor gear.

1) LS lightweight capilene crew shirt, circa 2004-5. THE best and most versatile piece of outdoor clothing yet made. When will Patagonia go back to sizing capilene not for fat people?

2) Pre-2006 MSR Dromedary bag, six liter, with hydration hose. The best water container yet made. Not ultralight at all, but I've carried mine on almost everything I've done outdoors since 2003 and it's as good as the day I bought it.

3) Gossamer Gear cork trekking pole grips. Perfect. Simply perfect.

1. Dryheavogagger 2000–my first sawed off toothbrush. All dentists recommend almost vomiting after meals or at least twice a day.

2. Hiker kilt–air out the boys and make all people you meet uncomfortable around the campfire as they valiantly try to avert their gaze. Lycra shorts are a close second.

3. Mary Poppins umbrella–what better way to get harassed in redneckville than to traipse around town with this accessory? Use with kilt at your own risk.

4. Uh, I got nothing.

1. A buddy of mine handed me Beyond Backpacking and taught me MYOG and freaked my trip. My new hiking ways started with a 17 oz Jardine-style MYOG pack. Reason for addition: it is the beginning.

2. Smartwool Adrenaline mini crews. I have five pairs of these socks, wear them almost every day, for every trail mile and for every running step. I have yet to find a better sock (but I will try from Vermont Darn Toughs when these eventually die). These were my first real hiking (read: everything) socks.

3. TarpTent Double Rainbow. My first UL tent and still my go-to shelter whenever I have someone with me and its not winter out. I love the single-wall design with the mesh-doors. Best of all – it all goes up at one – no separate fly.

4. Honorable mention: Hilleberg Saivo. Not UL at all (10+ lbs?!), but I spent two months in one in 2005 canoeing from the head of the Red River on the border of MN/SD to Hudson Bay in Canada (which is an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean!) Despite all the nasty storms were experienced, this thing never, ever let up.