10 things not to buy for backpacking

You can use wood chopsticks for tinder to make a fire too. If you lose one, it's no big deal.

There is a point where gear is more jewelry than useful tools. When the Inka titanium pens came on the market at $50 each I wanted to scream. In a world where people are sick and hungry, some of this stuff gets obscene.

matthew …

chopticks are simply to move food to your mouth … does something really need to be made in japan for that?… how much exceptional quality does one need for something that can get easily lost outside?

are the steel forks and spoons you use at home and out in restaurants made in japan as well?

what a person decides to use or buy is up to them … i do however find it a disservice when people or backpacking magazines recommend $30 chopsticks … its not like im reading gear reviews on the robbs report ;)

i just use wooden ones myself …

Indeed, that's EXACTLY what they put me in for 3-5 day trips.

For those trips I'm carrying a 38 litre pack now..

I bring a small pack axe (14oz) .. it's worth it when all you have to burn is driftwood. Makes me feel better about the cougars too.

Stuff I never should have bought…

* Full 2 person cooking kit
* Full size emergency candles
* thermarest pillow
* "light" goretex boots
* merino sweater weighing 2oz more than my insulated jacket

Buy a small pack!!
The bigger your pack, the more things make their way into it. But if your pack is really stuffed, you look at it thinking "that's too much" instead of "there's a lot space for more stuff".

And: leave your tent at home and get a tarp!!
It's not selfstanding but you can use the hiking poles as tentpoles and it's extremely light.

When it comes to elegant eating utensils you do get what you pay for. Consider this: buy a cheap set of at home utensils and gloat about all that money you saved – until you go to eat frozen ice cream and bend the spoon backwards. Then do you gloat? No, you crab!

Where as if you had shelled out the money for something nice once you would have something nice.

Thing is sure you can buy cheap – if you want to. Not everyone does. It doesn't make the person any worse – or open to ridicule. If a person wants something nice from Japan where said item was made by adults and not small children, great, they are willing to pay for that. Same with paying 2-3X the amount to buy US made over China or similar.

And while cheap chopsticks for example are bio – you can compost them if made of bamboo – they are also wasteful in a way. I used to use disposables until I got my set of permanent ones I carry, that are made of finished bamboo (I don't like metal utensils personally).

Each to their own, but don't criticize others because they want something well made with a good design – and supporting a good company! Supporting the company that designed the product first isn't a bad thing…..

I have a set of Aluminum chopsticks a friend made in machining class which I love not least of which because I can use them both for eating and as a set of guyout stakes afterwards.

As for what not to buy: gotta go with giant hunting knives or even a samurai sword I saw one guy carry on the Long Trail a few years years back. I get the usefulness of a knife in an survival situation but I'm not about to try to hunt down Smokey or Bambi with said tool so a simple lightweight one will do fine.

+1 on footprints as well. I swear they actually reduce tent floor life by increasing slip abrasion… I had a REI 1/2 dome a while back which I used for car camping only and the floor gave out before the footprint despite always using the footprint. Maybe I'm just delusional and bitter though.

I'm almost tempted by the metal chopsticks. I have decided I like non-adjustable trekking poles better than the adjustable kind. My plan now is to carry something to stick on the end of one of the poles to lengthen it just long enough for the front of my tent. (The front and back require two different lengths of pole.) It has to be pointy to fit into the grommet easily. I'm not sure those chopstick end pieces would work, probably too thin. But I need to find something like that that is light and cheap. So far I'm bringing along an extra trekking pole tip, but that's not very light.

well the chinese have used cheap chopsticks for thousands of years …. and will continue to do so forever …

i suspect that the $2.50 steel chopsticks will work just as well as the $30 snow peak ones … koreans use cheap steel chopsticks all the time …

its up to people what they want to buy and use … but then not too long ago all these BPLers gloated over their UL gear and slammed anyone who bought REI or Walllymart goods … i know plenty of people who wont go on BPL cause they consider it "elitist" …

if something that costs 12 times less will work just as well and weights roughly the same … shouldnt that be what BPL is all about? … that extra $27 could easily be part the gas for a trip to yr local park …

now if you really wanted something multiuse .. the use stakes as chopstick idea above sounds great … and cheap !!!

hmmmm ….

I'm with dave, different gear for different conditions.
i'm in New Zealand,
a lot of overseas tourists turn up here in our summer ready for identical conditions they are used to back home, where light to ultra light gear for hot conditions will do..
summer doesnt guarantee hot dry weather here at all…. and you might end up on a track that has bush that resembles the amazonian jungle and the track is playing hide and seek from you….

> i know plenty of people who wont go on BPL cause they consider it "elitist" …

We are elite.

Cheers

Roger, absolutely. Cheers.

Jeff

We are elite.

can we get that in a BPL bumper sticker … something like "we are elite cause we are a few oz lighter, youre just slow and heavy"

sure to impress ;)

Pack covers.

Those little waterproof metal match holders.

Any kind of water bottle. Free, lightweight alternatives in any trash can.

Groundsheet. Grab some free Tyvek from a construction sure (with permission!) or supply store.

Ready to eat meals that cost between 6-12 dollars each. Get creative, get light, stay healthy.

http://thf2.wordpress.com

My comment about Chopsticks was why bring them when you can whittle a pair from sticks lying around in the time it takes for the water to boil. Learned this trick in Boy Scouts 20 years ago. Yes, the ones from the local China-House are cheap, Yes, there are fancy ones, and to each their own. But I prefer to make them as needed.

I bring a spoon and a Swiss Army knife, if I need chopsticks I can make a pair… hence the no need to buy.

Also no need to buy a spork. You can pick them up from many fastfood restaurants. I also pick up packets of jelly/jam, and honey from fastfood restaurants.

I really like my Platypus bottles, I use them to compliment by free bottle collection.

No need to buy any sort of pre-packaged fire-starter. easy to make your own cottonballs with vaseline, find birch bark on the trail, sawdust, fuzz stick

>> My comment about Chopsticks was why bring them when you can whittle a pair from sticks lying around in the time it takes for the water to boil.

Places I like to hike don't have "sticks lying around." I bring a pair, cheap wooden "disposable" ones.