What's your favorite piece of military gear for backpacking?

[Jack]

There has been discussion about the ECWCS cold weather laying system before, but wondering what else folks are using. I am particularly interested if folks have found any gems made for non-USA forces. Yes, I know that a lot of military gear is too heavy, but there certainly are affordable and workable options out there (e.g., ECWCS Power Dry L1 and 2).

[W I S N E R !]

I love the field pants liner, wrote about them here.

 

[Nick Gatel]

Boonie hat.

Cammenga Tritium Compass 3H.

You can buy surplus wool gloves really cheap.

[Jack]

Semi-related, but a ton of great stuff available from http://www.countycomm.com/ (e.g., LEDs, containers)

[Mark V.]

I still use a poncho liner on cold trips to supplement my quilt, or as an under-quilt if using the hammock.

[Paul Magnanti]

Military gear I actively use:

Boonie hat

Liner pants (more so for winter backpacking and all-seasons car camping)

Liner gloves

P-51 can opener (big brother to the P-38. Does a lot of things in addition to opening cans)

Polypro balaclava

[Roger Caffin]

I think the P38 would be convenient to carry because it is so light, but I seldom take it anyhow. No tins you see. I think you can buy them on Main St or from Coghlans?

Cheers

 

[Ian]

I have a few duffle bags full of gear left over from my Army days.  There are very few items in them that I would bring hiking.

I believe we were using the first generation ECWS baselayer polypros when I was in.  To this day, those are still some of the best thermals I’ve ever worn for winter.  I haven’t tried their new grid pattern style yet.

+1 on glove liners.  You can get wool or synthetic.  I’ve never melted the synthetic but perhaps consider going with the wool ones if they will double as pot lifters.

I’ve been comfortable in the Military Sleep System down to -20*f.  Perhaps even colder than that but that’s the coldest I’ve been in it and had access to a thermometer reading.  It’s not light and is quite bulky, but if you are going to pull a pulk, it’s an affordable option for winter adventures or just camping at a trail head.

The military went with a fleece beenie after I got out.  I own one and think it’s pretty warm and comfortable, albeit a bit tight on my sputnik sized head.

Trigger mittens are great if you are going on a trip where you’ll actually be wearing them.  If they will spend most of the time in your pack, there are lighter options.

Poncho liner is the one must own piece of military gear.  I never take it hiking but I use it almost daily when watching movies at home and it’s the blanket I sleep under.

[Pigeon]

+1 for polyester liner pants…<span style=”line-height: 1.8;”> I hoped the poncho liner would have the same amount of loft but I’m underwhelmed.</span>

[Jack]

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/found-another-military-fleece-bargain/

Dale Wambaugh notes the Navy and USMC fleeces in the above thread. Look to be different weights than the standard ECWCS model.

[Ian]

Apologies in advance if this double posts.  Last response disappeared into the ether.

Jack,

I’ve little doubt that the military fleece is bomber, but that’s an item you should be able to routinely find cheaper and lighter.  I picked up my 1/4 zip fleece from Cabellas for $20.  Target and the other box stores will have seasonal sales as well.

[Paul Magnanti]

re: p-38/p-51

It does a lot more than just open cans. Since it is so light (negligible really), I carry it with my Swiss army classic and a photon light. Both on the trail and in everyday use.

I’ve scraped ice out of ski bindings for people, tightened sectional hiking and ski  poles that became loose, opened up a beer bottle that was gifted to me unexpectedly on one backpacking trip, opened up packages when resupplying, used it as a toothpick, etc.     And, once in a while, I do like to open up a can of green chilies for a weekend backpacking trip.

Useful little item that is cheap, versatile and well-made.

Get the real McCoy. The knock-off brands aren’t as well made and the real ones aren’t any different in price, really.

[Paul Magnanti]

re: Duffle bags

Ah..how could I forget about the flyers kit bag!  Great for traveling to and from trailheads.

Less than $30 and swallows all the gear in one handy package.

 

 

[Eric Blumensaadt]

At one time in the early ’80s long before foldable Platypus water containers I used an Army rectangular, foldable, nylon covered plastic canteen bladder. It even had a screen insert for the neck to “strain out bugs and small children”. It kept my water cool in summer if I wetted out the nylon cover.

I used the Army water bladder in 1980 as a professional trail builder with Bell Bros. while building the 9 mile Snow Creek section of the PCT, just north of Palm Springs,CA. We were paid $12.90 per hour which was good money in 1980. I met Bruce Bell when we both were Nordic Ski Patrollers at the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. That 2 liter bladder and my 1 liter high quality wine bota kept my water cool all day and were the envy of the other workers who used plastic bottles.

The brothers pushed us hard so it was brutally hard work with sledge hammer, pick, shovel, Swedish gasoline powered rock drill (holes for explosives). I became the “Drill Master”, much to my chagrin. Lots of rattlesnakes in that area too. The really big ones were up in the Jeffery pines around our camp.

We lived in our own tents and cooked our own food on camp stoves like my reliable SVEA 123. Trips to Redlands, CA for resupply happened every 6 to 7 days. “Resupply” meant cases of beer as well as food, natch.

 

 

[Dean F.]

I use the silkweight ECWCS layer 1 baselayers, mostly because I have been issued so many of them that it’s hard to justify spending money on something new.  I won’t have to buy a baselayer for the rest of my life.  For obvious reasons, I have exactly half as many sets of the waffle fleece ECWCS layer 2, but they are annoying in not having a hood on the top, so I did buy an R1.  Still, I have used them.  I occasionally use a UCP boonie hat.  I use the USGI wool liner gloves, too- it’s hard to beat $1/pair.  And a USGI microfleece hat for cold weather- again, I have half a dozen of them so I may as well use them.  I also managed to get my hands on a military-contract version of the Patagonia Houdini, olive drab with a Velcro tab to close the stuff pocket instead of a zipper.  Score!

[William Kerber]

I use the ECWCS Power Dry L1&2 tops. I get a lot of use from the wool glove liners.

[Author]

Posts