Taking gear for granted

[Paul Wagner]

My wife and I have hiked something more than 2500 miles in the Sierra Nevada and other parts of the West.  We’ve backpacked for years and years, and we are as experienced a pair as you are likely to find on any given day on the trail.  So what could possibly go wrong?

Well, on our last trip, just as an example, we had a few misfortunes.  My toothbrush broke.  It was a source of some amusement to see me trying to brush my teeth holding the stub of the brush with both hands and still reach the teeth in the back of my mouth.

And my sunglasses also snapped above the ear.  No worries, we had packed duct tape–except that for some reason I had switched lip balms, and the supply of duct tape was wrapped around the old lip balm tube, not the new one.  That’s OK.  We also have adhesive tape in the first aid kit.  In fact, that tape came from my parents’ first aid kit…and let’s see…my mom passed away how many years ago?

So It was tape, but it wasn’t adhesive.  hmm.  Luckily, we still had a few small band-aids, and a couple of them, wrapped around a twig as a splint, fixed the sunglasses at least enough to get him home.  Just a reminder that it pays to make sure all your gear is newish…and that you’ve also got a back up!

[Mike B]

Timely reminder. This has been on my mind, I have coming up in a couple of weeks. I tried to use the tape on my trekking poles and found it stuck to itself but not much else since the adhesive had transferred to the top surface of the wrap below more so then where it was supposed  to be.

Edit for autocorrect errors

Thanks

[Brad Rogers]

I was on a trip this spring and the mini dropper bottle I use for Aquamira broke.  I got to thinking about how old it was and decided I bought it in 2008, so no wonder it failed.

[Paul Wagner]

The companies that supply gear should pay us for this thread–LOL

[Mike B]

I have also found that my medicine kit needs to be updated as most of the stuff has been it for a decade or so.

[Lester Moore]

Great reminder thread. While on a trip it’s common to notice a gear item that’s showing signs of wear, needs fixed soon or needs topped up. But it’s easy to forget those little details once you get home. And some problems don’t get noticed until after they fail and it’s too late.

Two recent examples are a developing crack on the snap cap of my BeFree water filter and a loose button on my hiking shirt – neither of which I remember by the time I get home.

Most people use a gear list to ensure they take all the gear they need for a trip, but how many people inspect their tarps, sleeping pad and toothbrushes before each trip? After reading this post, a new row just got added to my trip planning spreadsheet titled “gear pre-trip check”.

 

[David Thomas]

LED lights go for so long on a set of batteries, several times I’ve been amazed how much brighter they were after putting in fresh batteries – like I should have changed batteries several trips ago

So I started checking voltage on the alkalines (1.58 is new, 1.52 is fine, 1.42 ought to be replaced), but now I just top off my rechargeable Bindi through its USB port.

[JCH]

Hmmm…perhaps those 5 tabs of Imodium from 2012 ought to be replaced…

[Ben C]

Tape is a good one to check.  I have also had tape go bad.  I had just packed the same piece over and over.  You usually notice it’s gone bad when you need it.

[Author]

Posts