Things that just work

[Ike Jutkowitz]

It’s been a good bunch of years since I bought any gear. Divorce, single parenting, work, and hobby farm maintenance all shifted my focus from what I had, and onto how best I could maximize my time using it. The quest for new things that could  shave a few ounces lost appeal as I admitted to myself that the gear I had was just plain awesome and 100% reliable.

Here are some of the things, in no particular order, that have worked the best for me and that I would buy again in a heartbeat were they ever to wear out.

Shelter
MLD duomid: I bought mine used from Doug about 8 years ago, and if I could only have 1 shelter, it would be this one. While I do love the aesthetic of bivy or poncho camping, I always know that I can count on the duomid when things are bad. Winter camping- duomid. Camping with kids- duomid. A weeklong shoulder season packrafting trip in rainy weather- duomid. Any doubts about the long term durability and waterproofedness of cuben have long since been erased. And it photographs really well.

Coastal Trail, Ontario in January

Whitefish Point, Lake Superior

Best use of all

Backpack
Zimmerbuilt: Once I knew what I really wanted in a backpack, I had Chris Zimmer make it for me. He took the vision and turned it into my dream pack, and there is nothing I’d change about it.

Sleeping bag:

BPL member Javan Dempsey made me a 12 oz, 30 degree quilt years ago and it has been one of my prized possessions since. Lightweight, lofty and sized for a side sleeper.

One caveat, more and more I find myself reaching for a synthetic BPL quilt (cocoon UL240) when I expect sustained cold, wet weather. I had tried to sell this thing on the gear swap for several years, but now the peace of mind of not have to worry about loss of loft on cold weather, whitewater packrafting trips is priceless.

Clothing:

Ibex Indy: It has accompanied me on almost every trip I’ve taken in the last 8 years and the look has become almost iconic for me.

Unfortunately, the the shirt is starting to fray badly where pack straps rub against it. Hopefully I can patch it up and keep it going for I few more years. Since Ibex has gone out of business, it is irreplaceable.

Venerable Patagonia Houdini: I could shave a couple ounces by going with montbell, but who wants to look like a human condom. Sadly, this too has been patched a few times, but I am not giving it up. I’ve even come to love the garish yellow color.

Cooking

MLD 850 ml ti pot, sea to summit aluminum spoon, minibull Fancy Feast stove. Nothing earth shattering here. The pot is the perfect size for me- big enough for a large dinner and hot drink. I used to squeak by with a BPL 550 but this is more convenient. The tall thin design packs best for me and the stove heats a full pot with 1/2 oz fuel.

Adirondack whitewater traverse 2017

Oh yeah- and of course an Alpacka packraft

What are your hardest working pieces of gear?

[Brad Rogers]

MLD Duomid

Caldera Cone

Railriders Eco Mesh Pants

I also have a Javan Dempsey quilt

[Matthew / BPL]

• Hammockgear Burrow 20° w/sewn footbox
• MLD Duomid (traded up to XL recently for more room with 2 people + dog)
• UL splash bivy
• Eco-Mesh pants
• ULA packs (my CDT doesn’t have many miles on it yet but I’m loving it as much as my Catalyst and Circuit).

[Matthew / BPL]

Also, shout out to removable 1.5” wide seatbelt webbing waistbelts. More packmakers should offer these as an option between thin waistbelts and full hipbelts.

[Bob Shuff]

I swap out a lot of gear to try new things and depending on the trek, but there are a few things I would replace immediately if necessary:

EE Revelation 30

Eco-mesh pants

Tilley Hat

Dirty Girl Gators

Zpacks multi-pack

[Five Star]

Things that I use pretty much every trip:

HMG Echo 2 Tarp

S2S Ultralight Insulated Pad

Railriders shorts or pants

Voormi top (River Run Hoodie or Quarter Zip Thermal 180 wt.)

Altra Timps

Dirty Girl Gaiters

Some combo of my Evernew Pots and possibly skillet

EE 40 degree synthetic quilt OR Katabatic 22 Flex or Sawatch if colder

HMG pods for storage

S2S pillow

[MJ H]

… brown paper packages, tied up with string.

[Matthew / BPL]

Good call on the Dirty Girl Gaiters

[Greg F]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I’m not sure I would replace anything I own with the same thing.  I think I made good decisions at the time but in the last 10 years or so better stuff has come out.  But this better stuff doesn’t have enough extra utility or weight reduction to be worth buying.</p>
The only one is the Neoair Xlite though at today’s prices I might look elsewhere first.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Lawson shoe laces

Sawyer Filters (Squeeze) (not talking about the bags)

Baseball caps

Nalgene bottles (HDPE not poly carbonate)

Bandannas

 

[Ken Thompson]

Four years on I am still happy with my Solomid XL

Twelve years and my Ohm v1.0 still carries without me noticing

Twenty years and my Snow Peak canister stoves keep the flame

Twenty years and my 450ml titanium mug still holds whisky and coffee equally well

Thirty years and my bride and I still work.

[Dylan Atkinson]

Aqua Mira drops.

8×10 flat tarp.

Home dehydrated meals. Keep it simple to a rotation of ~4 meals that I’ll never get sick of.

James Pepper 1776 Rye Whiskey.

 

[Matthew / BPL]

What are the four meals?

[David Thomas]

Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

[Dylan Atkinson]

Dinner consists of:

Skurka’s pinto beans, rice, fritos, and cheese.

Moroccan Delight

Shepherds Pie (dehydrated ground beef, peas, corn, onions, carrots, garlic, and gravy topped with instant mashers)

Lunch is usually bars/trail mix/dehydrated fruit

Breakfast is oatmeal with nuts, milk powder, dehydrated fruit.

 

[Ken Thompson]

BPL forum software

[Alex H]

Ken is that in just barely works?

[Ian]

Great to see you here Ike.

Nice meal selection Dylan.

My shelters and backpacks are all great but all have room for improvement.

My list:

Buff.   Ounce for ounce the best and most useful piece of gear I own.  I also own a sun buff which not only protects me from the sun, but when I pour water on it, it helps keep me cool here in the desert.

Montbell ULSS#3.   I sleep warm so it runs true for me and I sleep comfortably in it down to freezing.   I should get around to washing it one if these days but it still has good loft.

Iphone (now 8+).  It’s my GPS, camera, e book, music player, etc.  Paired with my Moment Lenses, I have a very capable backcountry camera for stills and video, and since it’s water proofish, and have submerged it a couple times, I feel comfortable taking it with me in any weather condition.  Unless I’m going on a photography centric trip, this combo has replaced my mirrorless camera and GoPro.

Esbit.   Nothing to spill or leak out.

Mini BIc.   I’ve never had one fail on me.   Not sure how many years they will go as I always lose them before running out of fuel, but my current one is a few years old.

Toaks 900ml ti pot with Flat Cat Gear Bobcat system and a Z packs stuff sack.   Light.  Strong.   Cheaper than Evernew.   As mentioned by the OP, this is the Goldilocks size that’s good enough for 99% of the trips I go on.  I have melted snow in it in a pinch, albeit sub optimal in that regard.  All the Flat cat gear minus baking pan nests inside.  I’ve previously owned a Caldera Cone but I like this system better.

Steripen Ultra.   I’ve had a couple Sawyer filters crash on me (was able to limp along until the end of the trips though) but both of my Steripens have never given me a second of trouble.   I like that the Ultra is rechargeable and I can keep it topped off in the field.

Petzl Actik Core.   I’ve only owned it for a few months but use it 5+ hours per week and am willing to crown this one, for my purposes, the one headlamp to rule them all.  Good battery life.  Can run it off AAA batteries if necessary.  Rechargeable in the field.  Sufficiently bright.   Reliable thus far.   Perfect for me.

[BlackHatGuy]

Ike. Jerry. Ken. Ian. Kat. Steven. Greg. Tom. Craig. Nick. Peter. Jim. Michael. Debbie. Brian, and all the other great folks I’ve had the pleasure of backpacking with. They just work for being wonderful backpacking compatriots.

[Mark Verber]

Just work for me (date started to use)

• NantakUSA Ghost Quilt from (2003)
• Trail Designs UL Caldera Cone, GramCracker Stove, MLD 850ml Pot (2009)
• Patagonia Capilene 4 Hoody (2012) now called Thermal Weight
• Gossamer Gear Gorilla Pack (2008)
• PolarBuff (2003)

 

 

 

[Thomas Willard]

Here’s what works every time for me:

• Zelph Starlyte (paired with one of his pots and cone)
• Katabatic Gear Flex 30- the #1 favorite piece of gear I own
• Leatherman CS1- it has just the tools I need and nothing I don’t
• Tarptent Moment DW- one of the few double walled tents that my feet and head don’t touch the sides on
• BD Ion (2nd gen)- at 1.8oz and fully featured, I can’t justify buying another light source

[Alex H]

My standbys and dates started using

• Chlorine dioxide drops and tablets (2000)
• Optimus Crux and Hard anodized aluminum pot (2004)
• Western Mountaineering Ultralight (2004) and Highlite (2011)
• Platypus 2 liter bladders (2000?)
• Thermarest Prolite XS with CCF pad (2008)
• Black Diamond poles (2002)
• Feather Friends Hyperion Vest (2002?)

[Tipi Walter]

THE ACCOUTREMENTS OF IDIOCY

This is what I call my backpacking gear.  All my crap works until it doesn’t—no piece of gear is perfect.  (Except maybe my old P38 can opener—but then who carries cans anymore?).  No tent is perfect.  Every piece of gear will fail at some point.  THEN after the point of failure is when we should write our reviews.

[Dan]

Very fun to read about people’s favorite gear, a lot of great pieces. My major items all have a lot of room for improvement, but I’m satisfied with many of my accessories – a mix of expensive engineered gear and junk from the grocery store.

• Darn Tough light cushion socks
• Bula fleece hat with ear flaps
• Arcteryx Cerium SL jacket
• Outdoor Research Helium rain jacket/pants
• SmartWool Mid 250 1/4 zip LS shirt
• Patagonia Capilene lightweight SS shirt
• Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Nano Dry Sack
• Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Xlite
• Leki Corklike trekking poles
• Gatorade bottle
• Fage yogurt container bowl
• Inflatable hospital pillow
• Kindle paperwhite
• Fido fleece dog coat (Velcro along back)
• Ruffwear Approach dog pack
• Cheap dented and banged-up aluminum plate for dog food/water

[Paul Magnanti]

• My 100 wt fleece
• A polypro balaclava bought in 2001 and is on every trip I take.
• My boonie hat
• Wool liner gloves, again take in all four seasons.
• Nalgene Canteen for water carries.

Those pieces of the kit have been consistent for almost two decades now and in all four seasons. (Even in winter on those relatively warm days, I’ll wear my boonie)

And, relatively new (about seven plus years),

• ULA Packs. I always seem to come back to the ole reliable despite whatever packs I try out.  The ULA CDT is my solo pack of choice and doubles as a day ski tour pack, the ULA Catalyst for guiding, schlepping and winter use. I recently purchased a Circuit as I now have a need for something between the two other packs that is not as big or has the cargo carrying capacity as the Catalyst.

 

 

[Author]

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