No New Gear 2012

[Travis Leanna]

Ben 2 World lives!

He's alive!

[John Myers]

Well somebody has to keep the cottage industry afloat. Since I haven't purchased any new gear in the last 3 years, I'm going to make up for it this year.

More cuben, more carbon fiber, new fabrics, woo hoo!

[Nick Gatel]

Ben,

Apparently you missed the stagnation article. So save your money for airline tickets :)

BTW, where are you; still in some exotic 3rd world country or back home?

[Diplomatic Mike]

@ Ben. Hello stranger. Hope you are enjoying your world adventure. Give me a shout if you pass near Scotland. :)

We need you back on the forum to stop the heavyweights taking over. Who needs an enabler to ship me UL normal store gear? Ryan is suffering from middle age spread. ;)

[Ike Jutkowitz]

Looking at my annual budget, gear is not the problem. I spend far more on mortgage, utilities, food, gas for my work commute, college fund, and clothes for my growing girls. So it seems I can do a lot more in the fight against rampant consumerism by cutting back on spending related to normal daily life. Some of this stuff is unfortunately non-negotiable. So my pledge for 2012 is "No new clothes!".

They're not holes in my boxers, they're ventilation. And as for the kids, what's the point in buying new shoes if they'll just outgrow them in 6 months.

As for gear, if I need something to facilitate a planned adventure (that packraft I've been saving for over the last 6 months so that I can island hop across SE Alaska comes to mind), I think I'll go for it. I don't spend that much on myself these days, and there are worse things I could be putting my money towards.

[EndoftheTrail]

Howdy Travis, Nick and Mike:

I just finished my two-month travel to Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei — hosteling, not hiking. But I did manage a few day hikes (no mean feat in the humid tropics), and saw some really cool tree-swinging antics by a pair of orangutans, and had my trail blocked momentarily by one ill-tempered, 4ft. monitor lizard (the thing hissed at me when I tried to get it to move).

I am now in exotic Vancouver, Canada, visiting my folks for a few days, and will be back home (LA) next week.

Can't wait to check out the new gear… and y'all should do the same. :)

[W I S N E R !]

Have I blown it already, not even one month into it?

I'm currently purging some gear I don't want anymore; selling a shelter, selling some shoes, donating other stuff to some students I have…

….and trying to sell/trade a jacket for a different one.

Now, I'm really only getting rid of one used jacket I didn't like so much to replace it with another used jacket I like much better…so…

…or is this beginning to sound like the old religious sham of being granted a temporary marriage to a prostitute, having your fun, and then having the marriage annulled to *technically* avoid sex out of wedlock?

Am I hopeless?

[Steven Paris]

"…or is this beginning to sound like the old religious sham of being granted a temporary marriage to a prostitute, having your fun, and then having the marriage annulled to *technically* avoid sex out of wedlock?"

Does Douglas Ide have to come up in every thread?!?!

[BlackHatGuy]

"Does Douglas Ide have to come up in every thread?!?!"

Actually, Steven, she's the one who had it annulled…… Sure was a fun five minutes though!

[Ike Jutkowitz]

Craig,
In this, I think the principle is more important than the execution. Memories are more important than possessions. Get what you need to create the memories. Don't buy what you don't need. I think your posting history is consistent with this principle. Trading used jackets doesn't invalidate it.

[Adan Lopez]

You're pathetic man! It aint even been a month! I mean c'mon, we pinkie promised! Gear is the root of all evil, you remember?!! ….Wait a minute, this better not be a trick. You better not be doing this just so you can grab that Houdini we saw on sale!! I should have known you were no good from all them tattoos! I obsenity in the milk of thy corn flakes!

[W I S N E R !]

Wait, before you get mad, there's a really good reason for this…

Glen Danzig made me do it.

That's right. I just want to sew a Misfits Fiend Club patch on my windshirt. And a bright yellow/green Montbell Tachyon Anorak with a Fiend Club patch just isn't happening. It has to be a BLACK windshirt for the whole thing to work.

See, when I was a teenager, the whole "technical clothing" thing would've never cut the mustard. I would've been beat up for showing up at a show with a yellow/green windshirt on. No self-respecting punk wears a bright yellow/green windshirt. ESPECIALLY not with a skull patch on it. It would be like a Hell's Angel showing up at a rally with a pair of pleated front Dockers and some Sperry Top-siders on.

So I've since realized that what I REALLY meant to say was No New NON-PUNK Gear.

So I will make exceptions for black. Or gear with skulls.

I think some of this is also Eugene Smith's fault.

Now that's an F'n punk rock backpacker.

[Eugene Smith]

Dude!?

I had seriously high expectations, if anyone could stick it out I thought it would be the Wisner.

You kind of set the bar so effing high man! You had nowhere to go but down.

@Adan,

You should call that dude out every time he falls a%$ over backwards off the wagon. ;-p

[David Chenault]

I agree with Ike. And Eugene. Mostly I'm just laughing at/with Craig.

Just finished building a new bike. But I've been thinking about it since 2007 so it's ok.

[Nick Gatel]

Well, it sounds like Craig is technically trading for a wind jacket. Additionally he is unloading gear, so it looks like a net-net gear loss. So he gets 5 stars.

BTW, if it is a Houdini, good for you. That is probably my all around favorite piece of clothing.

[Eugene Smith]

Glenn Danzig would ditch the windshirt for fishnet anyways.

[Travis Leanna]

As Eugene said, you set the bar too high!

Me? I said "I would mostly be joining in," and that I'd probably buy gear that I didn't already have but, ahem, 'needed.' Writing "mostly" gives me an easy way out. The wife and I have a couple of wetsuits comin' in the mail this week for some springtime packrafting.

Shoot low, man. Less disappointment that way.

[Adan Lopez]

So this is all about getting back to your punk rock roots? Sounds legit to me, carry on man. I mean, who hasn't hiked three days back in the stick and come across a raging slam pit just to realize you can't jump in 'cause youre wearing what looks like a flourescent hefty bag. I hate that!

@Eugene, just keepin it real yo.

[Mike In Socal]

I'm out.

[Author]

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