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

[Hoot Filsinger]

1) Kelty A4 pack (1970)
2)Colin Fletcher Complete Walker 1
3)Lipton beef stroganoff
4)Nike Lava Domes
5)Svea 123 stove with nesting pots and windscreen
6)plastic tube tent (sorry, but saved my butt many a times-I prefer Tarptent Contrail today)
7) Coated nylon (revolutionary)
8) The early Gerry and The North Face down vest and hooded parkas.
9)parachute cord
10)ensolite pad
11) kodak instamatic camera
12)Patagonia's first synthetic pile clothing (still use mine from 1977)
12)

[larry savage]

I stumbled across my Svea stove the other day whilst sorting the piles and decided to see if it would run.
No problemo, fired right up; wasn't it always kind of spooky preheating them by pouring a little fuel in the recess and lighting it?
I loved the sound they made when they were perking away…
I also would put up those first wrap around hinged hip belts on frame packs like the A16 and Alpenlite alongside your Kelty. How about the old TNF Ruthsac?
I remember driving to the Great Pacfic Ironworks in Ventura to pick up some hardware and seeing the first fleece, I wound up swapping some electrical work for a jacket with Yvon. I'm really pleased to hear you still have it, mine is long gone. But I do have a pair of Stand Up Shorts that almost fit that I'll nominate for the best all-time gear.

[Mary D]

Zach, that was priceless!!!

Other than the Internet, the fount and source of the "cottage" lightweight gear industry and many other good things, there are a few specific pieces of gear I really love:

Sarbar's new "UL" cozies. I owe Sarah a debt of gratitude for the whole "freezer bag cooking" concept, especially appealing to me because dishwashing has always been my most hated task. Hers is one of many examples of a business that would not exist except for the internet.

Western Mountaineering Ultralight Super sleeping bag. I don't know how many times I've gotten cold but then immediately warmed up and stayed warm after snugging up the draft collar. That collar makes all the difference!

Gossamer Gear/Tarptent Squall Classic tent–nice and roomy for me and my dog, quite streamlined and very easily set up in a taut pitch [EDIT–I can only blame the misspelling–now corrected–on my tendency to type faster than my brain can work]. The '09 model has a zippered beak, doing away with the awful velcro. It also has the best bathtub floor I've seen in any tarptent. I hesitate to laud this tent too much, simply because I have not been able to test it in really severe storms yet. If I don't get a chance this fall, I'll set it up in my backyard in some of our infamous winter east winds to see if it's as wind-worthy as it appears.

Wyoming Wear 200-weight fleece socks for sleeping. My feet sigh with gratitude when I put them on!

My POE InsulMat Max Thermo air pad, which I have put aside (at least for longer trips) in favor of the Thermarest NeoAir, half its weight. Somehow I have not developed the comfortable relationship with the NeoAir that I have had with the POE pad. The NeoAir is comfortable, but not as much as the POE pad. I may make some changes when the new, lighter POE pads (designed to compete with the NeoAir) hit the market. For 1-2 night trips, when weight is not such a big deal, I'll continue to use and enjoy the old pad!

Your mileage may, and probably will, vary.

[Daniel Rushton]

Hilleberg Akto
Exped downmat
No sniveller (jacks r better) quilt
Pak-lite torch
Bush Buddy Stove

As you can see, i like my sleep :)

[Matt Lutz]

re: Stand Up Shorts

I worked at a scout camp for many years, and we wore canvas-type scout shorts as part of our uniform. But they're not really acceptable in public due to their litany of stains. I just discovered the Stand Up Shorts, which are effectively a civilian-type equivalent. And I love them. Definitely a good nomination.

[Randall Dee]

ULA Amigo Pro. I love this thing.

[larry savage]

In 1955 Gerry Cunningham pushed the "go light, leave no trace" ethos of backpacking taking all of us on a left hand turn off the Trapper Dan woodsman approach tothe backcountry.
Gerry developed the cordlock drawstring clamp, the child carrier pack,the bombproof Himalayan tent, the resealable Gerry tube for jam etc. and Gerry's little stove,.
Both the Gerry and Roberts stoves were a benchmark in lightweight gas cannnister stoves.
Around the same time Jack Stephenson put together the Warmlite brand featuring high loft down and vapor barrier tents and clothing.
Fast forward to 1970 and we have Don Jenson's 2 1/3# Rivendell packworks Jenson Pack, the first decent frameless pack paving the way to Sierra West's 1 1/3# Half Dome pack and Fred Williams of Moonstone's down bag with no bottom, the father of today's quilts. [A good 10 years before Ray's thoughts]
So along with cordlocks, Gerry tubes, the Robert's stove, Jenson's pack,and Stevenson's Warmlite products I would add Richard Nixon's contribution to ultralite backpacking.
In 1972 Richard Nixon met with China's Mao opening China to the West. This one political move brought the price, availibility, and higher loft count down to the market. Before 1972 down supply was difficult,expensive, and the quality was hit or miss. Many makers used duck down or mixed feathers in their products.

[Walter Carrington]

Larry, I enjoyed your history. –Walter

[Anonymous]

"Both the Gerry and Roberts stoves were a benchmark in lightweight gas cannnister stoves"

Sigh…Now there's a trip down memory lane. Gerry's stove was the first stove I ever carried. Great little piece of kit for its time. Thanks for the memory, Larry.

[Rick Cheehy]

This is an awesome thread, can't make up my mind yet. MacAurthur voice "I shall return!"

[Brian Lewis]

As others have, I find it hard to limit to three, but I'll try, with the caveat that of course Doug is right about the power of the internet and the generosity of strangers in sharing their ideas.

(1) Golite shoes: not a favorite for everyone, but the wide toe box allows me to backpack (at least, without foot surgery)

(2) Andrew Skurka's video and related instructions for making a dead simple, light and effective cat food can alcohol stove; a fairly recent discovery for me, so maybe it won't hold up in my top 3 long term, but it's great to have something this effective that I can recommend to folks that had previously never heard of alcohol stoves.

(3) For #3 I guess I'll go with the whole freezer bag cooking thing too; I sure enjoy not having to clean pots, and the related process of easy-at-home, easy-on-trail, and lower price.

After I've done some trips with it, my new Gatewood Cape might well make it into the top 3; it seems like pretty genius design to me.

Then the usual praise for tarptent.com products, GG packs, aqua mira, Ursacks, Montbell thermawrap and sleeping pads, C.F. trekking poles, super-absorbant pack towels, …

[Matt Lutz]

For the same reason you love your Nimbus Ozone, I love my GG VT. Take it anywhere, it is my go-to pack for weights above 20 lbs or whenever I **need** to take a tent.

[W I S N E R !]

…and I haven't a favorite piece of gear, I'll mention some people that have definitely ushered me on my way:

Gary Gygax:
For teaching a kid the love of meticulously itemized gear lists. I've since traded my Robe of Eyes, Bracers of Defense +2, and Bag of Holding for a Petzl Tikka, bear spray, and Golite Jam.

Gary Snyder, Edward Abbey, Jack Kerouac, Hemingway, Homer, Melville, Han Shan, and all the rest:
For inspiring a teenager to go make some adventure, see the world, and get in some trouble.

Ray Jardine and Beyond Backpacking (as much of a kook as he can be!):
For making me realize (duh!) that you don't have to carry everything in the camping section (plus a backup) and wear big stupid boots to sleep in the woods.

This site and all the great people on it:
I've learned a ton of cool stuff here over the years.

[Doug Johnson]

Good one Larry!

[josh wagner]

good call on that. that revolutionized how i eat

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Thank you to all who mentioned me. I can say that what I do would not be doable without the internet!

And in all honesty, most of what I buy as personal gear has been due to finding gear online – love finding things I would never have dreamed up – and in less than a week it is in my hands!

[Dale Wambaugh]

First of all, the concepts that have fostered the gear are the real change.

That aside, in no particular order:

Water bladders
Wicking clothing
Breathable (and ventilated) rain gear
Trekking poles
Synthetic fill
Closed cell foam
Ti pots
Hot little stoves
Digital cameras

[John Vance]

Just three…..hmmmm…for me in no particular order it would be:

Exped Down Mats……Near perfection after a very looooong search for the pad that I can sleep through the night on. No lightweight at 20oz for the short 7 and 30oz for the full length 7, but worth their weight in energy bars and dark chocolate. As an added bonus it allows me to carry a much lighter bag/quilt.

Trekking poles. As one of the early adopters in 1983, I could not have finished the PCT without them. At the time I used a pair of fixed length Kerma downhill ski poles that served me well up until 2004 when I got a pair of Leki Ti trekking poles. I just wish I could know how many of those that teased me back then are using them now!

Internet sites for lightweight backpacking. From a base of 35lbs (or more) down to 10.4lbs has been unbelievably liberating! Trail life is more comfortable, relaxing, and much more simplified and I owe it to the community of backpackers that the web has brought together from all over the globe sharing tips, tricks, and info on those that make the equipment.

[larry savage]

I would agree with Doug that possibly many of these early innovators might still be around via the internet, in particular Rivendell, Forrest,and some of the other more cottage industry makers. There is real pattern of the founders selling their creations to some parent company lacking the invention and zeal maybe even being absobed again and again by larger conglomerates. Moonstone is a good example of this.
There is a direct analogy to the bicycle industry at the time China flooded the market with inexpensive high end $4.00 frames almost completely destroying the cottage/boutique makers.
You can also see burnout and the desire to get out there in particular with the climbing community instead of making stuff.
We also have the addded problem with the stuff not wearing out, even cared for ultralight equipment holds up remakable well.[The only pack that I've "lost" was to porcupine who chewed the straps off it]So most of the time the gear dragon takes over forcing us to "need" something new.
We are blessed with diversity of products and a friendly competitive environment that has stayed mostly below major industries radar.
I remember a course in economics eons ago where the professor lectured us about how we vote with our dollar bills; you can vote for Coke or Pepsi, Honda or Ford, a locally owned store or a box store. We need to remember this and support these folks who keep the flow of way cool products coming our way.

[Nick Gatel]

> 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.

Mark,

Try the lightest Iniji socks. The will fit without going up a size in shoes. Also, the KSO model Vibram's are the best for hiking. I have more problems on rocky cross country travel because my little toe hits rocks occassionally. I have switch to cross country racing flats because they are lighter and address some of the Vibram's deficiencies. But I still use the Vibrams too.

[Nick Gatel]

1. Closed foam pads

2. Hip belts

3. Lightweight Stoves (used to use campfires)

4. Poncho/Tarp

5. Platypus

[Pamela Wyant]

#1 – I agree with Doug & others who have said the internet. Although not strictly gear, it has been more instrumental in helping me backpack than anything else – from researching and purchasing gear, to finding places to hike, to finding people to hike with.

#2 – Freezer Bag Cooking – simply awesome, & a near must for me. No worry about dishwashing, yucky dishwater to dispose of properly, or having to carry a lot of fuel and pots.

#3 – Almost anything with 800+ fillpower down – so warm and light.

Honorable mention – Hennessey Hammock

[bj bretzke]

I never really think about it but I guess I'm becoming an old timer! When I started adventuring in scouts in the mid 70's we were still in canvas tents, CB radios were our only way to communicate, sometimes through several people and the mantra was (come on everybody say it with me) "Be Prepared!". So here goes:
1 synthetics
2 UCO candlelantern
3 cell phones
4 alky stoves (from this site)
5 BPL for the insight to make the best gear I've ever had.
5.5 MYOG

Hike hard, Hike often!
billy

Never apologize, never explain. (Ed Abbey)

[John Roan]

In chronological order, the following inspired me to go from 40lbs to <8lbs base weight…which made the trail experience just as good as the rest of the backcountry experience;

1) Lighten Up…blissfully simple philosophy of ul backpacking
2) BPL website…found this site when I googled lightweight backpacking with scouts (about two years ago…you know the article)
3) Trail Designs – first the Caldera Cone, then the Ti-Tri Caldera, and most recently the Ti-Tri Inferno…simple, unique, effective, perfect pieces of gear.

[Jack H.]

Surprising enough, I'm not a big fan of any of my gear. I think that everything includes compromises. And therefore everything has downsides.

The only truly impactful piece of gear that I've ever had was the Golite Breeze. I bought it a few months after it was released. The first version of it (the one that I owned) was a flawed product. The shoulder straps wouldn't stay tight and the mesh was incredibly fragile. Still, I used it for years until it was full worn out. That pack was excellent. My next ultralight pack will likely go back to those roots, a pack without a hip belt.

Otherwise, I don't think that I have any other favorites. Though I could list goretex clothing up there. I've got four different hard shell sets. But it's the heavy, durable, very waterproof and very expensive stuff that makes the list. There is nothing like wearing that stuff when bad weather strikes and it's just me and my clothes.

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