Gear to STAY AWAY from

“Sure, everyone likes to think they make nothing but good purchases when they buy backpacking gear, especially if you part with a bunch of dosh.

However, we ALL know that sometimes you buy that thing you think is gonna be great, or read somewhere it was great and it turns out to be a royal POS.

Let's hear it. Some of the worst stuff you've ever bought for backpacking.

Here's a few I've bought:

Stansport external frame pack. First pack I ever owned. My ten year old physique could torque the frame by grabbing hold and twisting. Sorriest padding ever. Disintegrated in about two years.

$5 mess kit with the crummy plastic cup that held about 5 tbs. The metal on one of the pans eventually creased and split.

CampKing pocket knife with the plastic "wood" handle. The implements never opened well and I dropped it once, shattering the "wood" so you could no longer hold it comfortably.

Sierra Designs Polargard 3D bag. Went limp after about a year of moderate use.”

“AdventureGear backpack, after putting 3o lbs in it, I picked it up to shoulder it and frame welds broke. Returned it and got a Coleman instead.”

“dosh?..”

“sort of like cosh only not as good a use”

“i'm surprised about the polarguard 3d. i swear by that fill. i'll have to think on this one.

first thing that comes to mind is a slumberjack bivy i purchased from somebody here. certainly a fair weather shelter at best. it might keep the dew off you.”

“That bivy does suck....”

“I bought a stainless steel knife, spoon, and fork combo thingy...guess what it rusted.”

“Gaurdian Sweetwater. They started out with quality but have ended up with sh!t.”

“Almost anything made with Gortex.

Komperdell Poles.

MSR stoves

Anything by Slumberjack.”

“Gear Slut - You did say almost anything. I have had an exception from Campmor, a Gortek Seattle Sombrero rain hat by Outdoor Research. I've been wearing it almsot every day for several years on trail and off trail and love it. Bought two for two of my sons and they love them too. And now I just lost it a couple of days ago. I will be ordering another within a few days.

Does your remark apply to those $350 jackets and pants? I thought such an outfit would be the cadilac of outfits on the trail.”

“GS - What did you not like about the Komperdell Poles? MSR stoves? Not trying to pick a fight, I just have the poles and a Pocket Rocket and I wounderin' if there's anything I should know.. Thanks!”

“The baskets on Komperdell poles are hard to change and those little plastic expansion plug/lock things have failed too often for my taste.

Good point about the MSR Pocket Rocket, I'll take back what I said and revise it to MSR liquid gas stoves.

nowslimmer - yep, I have no use for Gortex rainwear, gosh, I'll go so far as to say I am not kean on the PTFE membrane in most products including my Integral Designs single wall tent. It's useless and completey unbreatheable in the wet, works fine in cold conditions though. It sucks in boots too!”

“MSR Blacklite non-stick cookware - as someone else here has metnioned as well - does not prove all that 'non-sticky' in the field.”

“GS - You've probably told us in other strings, but just what do you recommend for clothing? I'm still using blue jeans, sweat shirts, etc. I do have a double fleece outfit for layering or sleeping. (I am very allergic to dacron.)”

“Every synthetic filled bag I've ever owned. Yes, that's EVERY ONE. Some took longer than others to do it, but one by one they have all lost a fair percentage of their loft, and thus warmth.

My Adida "Thunderstorm" waterproof? hiking boots with the gaiter's built in. Great concept, poor materials.”

“I don't wear anything spectacular or different.

I wear mainly synthetics like nylon hiking pants and microfleece shirts. I'm a big fan of Patagonia Capeline and Regulator clothing. I use a Marmot Precip jacket now.”

“My Esbit stove. If all you need is WARM water, I guess it's okay.

"If it don't use white gas, it ain't worth squat"!”

“Ditto what nigal said about the sweetwater. There's nothing in this world I like to rant about more BUT you've all heard it before :o)

Slumberjack. Nuf said.”

“My candle lantern just sits on the shelf...waiting for the power in my house to go out.”

“Folding shovel like the military uses...I actually carried one on my first backpacking trip!

Talk about overkill...”

“I got an outbake oven that I can't bring to add to my pack. Seems like too much weight for limited use.”

“...I've had a number of Platypus collapsible water bottles of different sizes, and all of them sprang a leak. Great idea but they just don't last.

MSR DromaLites are the bomb!!!”

“GS - Thanks”

“Sweetwater filters.
Jansport packs.
I'll never waste money on another synthetic sleeping bag.
Peak 1 feather 400 stove.
Peak 1 Apex 1 & 2 stove.
Freeze Dried food.
Smartwool socks.
Slumberjack Bivy (poles)

I personally don't like Thermorest pads but that's just me. Most people like them.”

“Smartwool Socks??? To each his own, I guess.

And with so many people ripping on synthetic-fill sleeping bags (because loss of loft with time)...I obviously don't use mine enough cause mine are still holding up.”

“Thanks for reminding me about candle lanterns Budder! Those Candoil oil burning inserts leak EVERYWHERE. I love candles and bought one of the tealight candle lanterns and like it a lot.”

“I have an oil lantern for backpacking that I bought back when I first started backpacking...

What a MESS!

It did shed a lot of light though!”

“I bought a brass Sierra cup with my name engraved in it .....I hate it ! It's still up in the attic.”

“REI Volcano quallofil bag. Rated 15degrees. Good for about 1 year.

Boy Scout issue canteen. Army surplus canteen.

Newco dome tent.”

“Princeton Tec Micro or something (?) - took it on a 6 day trip with one set of extra batteries. It died on the 2nd night. The spare batteries were gone by the 4th night. I used SnowDudes spare batteries for the rest of the trip. One set of batteries lasted 3 hrs. I replaced it with the Petzl Microlight, batteries lasted 7 hrs. Later used lithium batteries for longer trips. Now I use the TIKKA.”

“i use the petzl zoom zora”

“but now thats in storage”

“Rain gear that has the Campmor name on it.”

“Any sleeping bag that has a vapour lock barrier, unless you like sleeping in a bucket of your own sweat.

Kathmandu Kashgar Travel pack, the harness just cannot carry the load its designed to carry.

A candoil insert filled with citronella oil, The smell of citronella now just makes me wanna vomit.

Coleman Apex II, its a case of, now it works, next trip no it wont, next trip yes it will, no it wont....

I know there is more but I cant think of them right now.”

“Msr whisperlite
oil canister lantern
backpacking hammock”

“Coleman Apex II, the pumps suck

12" cast iron skillet”

“Kelty Dart
Every time I sleep in it the walls are dripping with condensation. I went on an overnighter the other day. Outside the tent there was not even any dew on the ground. It took two days for the tent to dry out under a ceiling fan on my patio.”

“I'm w/ you, Buddur. I've had no trouble w/ my synthetic fill sleeping bag. Just got a new sleeping bag that is also synthetic (Polarguard 3D). I'll be testing it out this weekend.

Peak Apex II pooped out on us after only two years.”