You Knew It Was a Bad Idea, But…

great deal on shoes that were obviously too small- Innov8 flyroc or some such size 11 nonsense. several blisters and numb feet later, my roommate got a nice gift

Another pat on my back… (heh heh)

Actually, I'm waiting for someone to fess up along the lines of "I knew BS wouldn't deliver… everybody said so… but I sooo wanted that BS tent I went ahead and paid anyway…".

Using my real name?

OK, it was a bad idea, but…

In my quest for that 'perfect' water system, I went through all kinds of filters — including an MSR Sweetwater pump filter, a Sawyer purifier and a carbon pre-filter. Hey, why not combine them all into a fast-pumping purifier system that can do it all?

Amazing: lose the pump and those are all the components of my purification system.

I bought and tried to use a Black Diamond winter bivy in tropical Malaysia. Very good as a portable sauna though.

Also gaiters are poor substitutes for leech socks.Them buggers will find their way in no matter how small the opening is or how securely you fasten the velcros. Must have lost a few pints of blood during that 3 day hike.

Welcome back Ben btw.

Ben, is that a prop from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?!

Eh, mine bad idea were those collapsible bowls and cups from Sea to Summit. Maybe good for some things, but they were heavy, and oil stuck to them like white on rice. They got pretty grimey.

I often buy stuff on the Gear Swamp (misspelling intentional) that I just want to see or have, more than I'm wanting to carry it on the trail. It would be cheaper to drive the two hours to the nearest big backpacking store to just handle and weigh stuff, and the return policy is better there. I would like to own a zero degree WM bag but I would never go BPing in that temperature, so why do I want one?

…

Good for reading, ok for setting up at camp, really, really bad for hiking at night…especially when you need to put in the miles. I learned my lesson…want to hike at night? Bring a real headlamp…something that throws a beam.
I don't blame Petzl, the light wasn't meant for that.

A Short sized pad – A pack or whatever extra clothes under my legs works perfectly

1.5oz Cuben Fiber – I thought this was just nonsense but it seems to be even stronger than silnylon.

Homemade alcohol Stove – exactly.

Collapsible bottles – didn't think they'd last

Going backpacking with my dog and taking a tarp instead of a fully enclosed shelter. I don't think I slept for more than 2 minutes at a time as the big guy just would not lay down and goto sleep.

Buying shoes online, over and over again… even though I never like them when they arrive! This is an especially bad idea when I have access to 3.5 (a steep discount site for outdoor retail employees) and I STILL pay retail in my quest for the "perfect shoe". Which, by the way… I still have yet to find. Very depressing stuff.

How about changing your sleeping system to a hammock system thinking it would weigh less and be more comfortable then a ground based system.

Hoodless, zipperless narrow sleeping bags…!

repeatedly trying frameless backpacks (I think I tried 10 different packs over the last 7 years). You would think about the 2rd or 3th that I would give up… but I kept trying to find a frameless pack that worked well for me. I finally figured out that I should stop looking at frameless packs… but even now people talking lovingly about their Zpacks gives me pause… must resistant.

–mark

I bought a softshell(s) anyway

I never understood what all the hoopla over soft-shells were about and thought they would bite for backpacking. But I finally talked myself into getting three different type/weights of them to join the club. (Yes, I always over-do things.)

I disliked them so much that two of them I got rid of immediately and I normally always use something long enough to write a review on it. I should have stuck with my gut feelings about them.

I'll add another one…

I loved the sheer simplicity of BD Firstlight. Now BD had always been upfront that the Firstlight was not rainproof but just 'highly rain resistant'. I knew that I wanted a rainproof shelter, but I soooooo wanted the Firstlight to work that I bought one anyway. And of course, it performed as specified (no fault of BD) — and it didn't work for me.

I thought the swivel hipbelt and waterproof technology backpacker expounded the virtures of for their gear guide would never lead me astray (back when I believed that backpacker had good information on gear). So much so that I convinced myself the price drop to $300 was too good a deal to pass up. After 4 days of backcountry travel in Yosemite my bruised hips and broken hipbelt had me rushing to return the pack. To this day however I am still in love with the spartan and refined design, luckily my custom McHale has me never needing another pack again.

Black Diamond Lighthouse tent.

Bad design. But the weight was right. I still use it but I hate it every time..

The Firstlight makes me drool over its possible use in winter. Just drool.

Selling about 90% of my lightweight gear and going Ultra lightweight.

Cuben is pricey….

Selling my Teva Event jacket….
I thought I would need a size xl to layer better for winter and now that I lost a lot of weight I cry every time I think about how I sold the perfect wp jacket for like 30 bucks!
Still looking for a good winter shell.