Unusual (and expensive) item that you consider worth it

My Personal Locator Beacon. the only people I have found that know about these are on this site.

I guess mine would be my DSLR and lenses. By far the most expensive thing in my pack. None of my actual hiking gear is all that expensive, I've either purchased used or made a lot of it. I think the most I've paid for a single item was the $150 for my custom Borah Gear Stealth.

The most unusual item is probably the 6" Subway sandwich I like to bring for dinner the first night :)

Adam

Round trip plane ticket to Baltimore, MD to have dinner with the Idester.

"The most unusual item is probably the 6" Subway sandwich I like to bring for dinner the first night :)"

That's nasty. Eating a sammich that's been smushed inside a backpack all day… They're not even that great right when they make 'em.

Sandwich Artists my ass! More like Bullsh@t Artists.

Not so unusual but my ACR PLB AquALink. I just decided my life was worth it. As are those I might also assist. its, kinda heavy at 9.3 oz though. Soon hopefully to be upgraded to the new Delorme, but not till they get the bugs worked out.

My cuben underwear with center dyneema patch. Taped seams. No pics…sorry.

Nothing compares to a quality set of gear, but the most expensive unnecessary piece in my bag has to be my Busse Basic 4 anorexic knife (im a blade guy). I love the thing and use it for a multitude of tasks on every trip. Other than that my GG Kumo and 6 Moons wild oasis were slightly pricey but well worth it to me.

A good thread would be what piece of kit did you spend a ton on and it turned out to be entirely useless to you.

– Id have to say i spent a good bit on my DSLR and barely have ever used it. The iphone in lifeproof just ends up being so much more convenient and takes decent pictures for memmories.

Unneeded but loved part of my kit? (Especially winter)….

Rittenhouse single barrel Rye Whiskey.

Does that count?

Well. I think it counts.

"Busse"

Wow…

+1 on the PLB, Steven and Drusilla. I haven't had to hit the button yet. But jumping from a sinking ship over very cold water to a remote beach and having a PLB in my PFD provided HUGE peace of mind. The 4.6 ounce ACR ResQ-Link. Because it is always zipped into my life jacket, it doesn't have to be buoyant itself.

I’ve only got a small dose of the BPL disease at this point, but already I own some ‘unnecessary’ and some ‘unnecessarily expensive’ BP gear:

– Patagonia Nano Puff Vest
– Spyderco Cruwear Mule Knife
– Ozeri Pedometer
– Zebralight H501w
– Tritium Vial

I’m going to start the bookend to this thread: What are the most useful inexpensive items you carry?

following zachs theme of useless and expensive: a water resistant bivy sack

"That's nasty. Eating a sammich that's been smushed inside a backpack all day."

How do you know he doesn't have a DIY UL sandwich storage cannister? ;-)

> How do you know he doesn't have a DIY UL sandwich storage cannister? ;-)

May use a lens case for him sammich. Who knows. The hiker that dislikes Subway out the gate is likely to reach camp with a mangled wreck. The hiker that loves Subway is likely to find a way to work it out.

Paper books are lighter but I take a book reader. I try not to buy paper books anymore. Got way too many now. A book reader isn't really expensive anymore, though…

Nope, it ends up just as smashed and unappetizing as you're probably imagining. I did it the first time as a joke. While discussing food choices for the trail someone joked about getting food delivered so on the way to the trailhead I decided Subway was the a suitable choice. Turns out after a day of hiking a smashed, luke-warm sandwich really hits the spot. Now its just kind of my thing when I hike with that group of friends. Its still partly a joke but I also kind of look forward to it.

I can't be the only one who gets weird food cravings on the trail. Doesn't anybody else seek out the nearest greasy spoon to indulge the strange appetite you've developed after spending a week eating dehydrated meals? :D

Adam

I can pretty well judge tiredness by the amount of time I spend thinking about supper. So, yeah, I think about food. As long as I keep thinking about supper, I am not too tired.

I haven't taken the Subway with me. However, I had been traveling about a day and a half with little sleep. Hadn't eaten much and was getting bitchy. I got where I was headed and ate some peanuts and a Quizno's turkey sandwich (with too much mustard) I had picked up along the way. Even with +2 mustard, it was great. I can imagine looking forward to your sandwich.

WPB cuben pants. I was really surprised by how much I used these on my thru-hike. They were great for laundry, wind, rain and cold.