Worst piece of gear I ever owned

“We've had threads similar to this before but it's been a while.

You know the feeling...the thrill of research as you look for new gear...the anticipation as you wait for it to arrive...and the disappointment (or anger) as you discover it ain't what you thought it was. Or wasn't what was advertised. Maybe you went for cheap instead of spending a little more and got what you paid for.

Tell us all about your BAD gear experiences. Friends don't let friends buy crappy gear!”

“Gore tex
I doesn?t ?breath?. The most expensive water repellent coating you can buy.”

“I'm still trying to get a refund on this faulty brain!”

“You are an ass!”

“Dunno. I haven't used nearly everything that I've bought.

Then again, perhaps THAT'S the worst gear?”

“Never had a problem with my gore-tex. Is it TNF? IF not, that might be the problem. I've never really bought a bad piece of gear. The only piece of gear that I have but don't use that often are my gaiters, but they still kick ass.”

“Sweetwater filter. Piece o' crap. God bless MSR.”

“I think I've got a tie. Could be my first tent, a funky brown JC Penney dome tent, which was way heavy and leaked. But I had some goooood trips with that thing.

Or maybe my Hi-Tec boots from several years back, which gave no support and eventually disintegrated. I was wearing those when I messed my ankle up and I don't think it's a coincidence.”

“The worst piece of gear I ever owned was the external frame Longbed backpack. It got rave reviews from Backpacker magazine and like a sap I ordered one without trying it out first. It was the biggest piece of junk I ever put on my back and I sent it back the same day. I'd never buy another pack without trying it on first and checking for quality.”

“Thankfully, I don't have much gear that is just plain bad; but I do have some that's bad for me.

My La Sportiva Makalus, they are a really narrow boot, made for a low-volume foot. I was anxious to wear 'em and took them on a weekender even though they felt a little tight. I hoped they'd stretch some. No such luck, they just don't fit my foot.

I have a 40 below sleeping bag that comes out about once a year.

I've got about 20 flashlights in various shapes and sizes. Some so RIDICULOUSLY HEAVY you just can't believe it. People always think "He's one of those outdoorsy types, we'll get him a flashlight for Christmas."

Just plain bad:

I've got this old pup tent, I think it came from Sears or maybe Kmart, about 15 years ago. Army green, made out of some "impervious to anything" tarp-like material. Single-wall. Being in it is probably what being in an iron lung is like.”

“I had a couple bivy tents that completely sucked, but I sold them to Oldie.

Nyuck, Nyuck, Nyuck”

“I've got this Sierra cup that I bought 28 years. The damn thing burnt my lips the first time I ever tried to drink hot coffee out of it. But that was the only time it kept anything hot. One minute later and the coffee, tea, or hot choclate would be getting cold. Then to top it all off you couldn't keep anything in it. Whatever you were drinking just sloshed out. Piece of crap is down in the basement somewhere. Every once in awhile I see it.”

“Same as explorer. I piece of sh!t Sweetwater Filter. The Walkabout to be spacific.

Oak Meadow boots sucked pretty bad too.”

“I have a brass Sierra Cup With my name engraved on it. Never use it for the same reasons as Solitary Hiker.
I bought a Kelty Tioga frame pack in the late 70's ... I loved the pack but it squeaked so bad I couldn't stand it... every twist and every step it moaned and groaned.
So I sold it.”

“had a sierra cup too. Mine has also been relieved of it's dutys. The only reason why I bought it was because I thought it was cool looking, it really has no redeeming value at all. I think I saw one like it on a western movie once and said. oh I gotta have that, what a waste.”

“Got citronella candles for my Candle Lantern. Drippy friggin' mess.
Then I got a side reflector for it. DON'T waste your time.

Ironically, the CL itself is one of the best purchases I've made.”

“I forgot to mention, the downward reflector actually works pretty well.”

“snap crackle pop!

The sounds coming from my brand spankin' new coleman stove yeeears ago! piece-o-garbage...grumblegrumble

It was the first stove I ever owned(a gift) and the first time I tested it was umm...well...on the trail. (I know, I know...)

Anyway, I love my Primus Yellowstone Lite...and, of course, my new beer can stoves(Thanks Buddur, yer da best! smooch!!). Can't wait to try them out "in the field".
:o)”

“I had a Jansport external frame pack I bought maybe 15 years ago. It had metal in the waistbelt to the front of the hips. It felt real good in the showroom and actually worked really well at transferring the weight to the hips. It was comfortable enough for the first 5+- miles but after that it began to really dig into my hips. On my first long distance hike with the thing, it wore nasty cuts into my waist. By the third day I was in agony! Between that and my old boots which started falling apart and causing massive blisters I started bitching a bit - hence my trail name - as in "play me a sad song on your violin". Some compassionate hiking partners, huh? I've since gotten rid of it but the name stuck. I've lent it to others and it earned the name "the jaws of death".”

“I've been thinking back, because I haven't made any bad acquisitions in recent memory. Then I finally reach that first frame pack I got. It was for my trip to Philmont and was the official BSA canvas pack and aluminum frame, with no padding on the shoulder straps and no hip belt. I can't believe I actually made it through 10 days with that horrible pack (the Philmont store sold slide-on shoulder strap pads -- open cell foam glued to leather that compressed tighter than a black hole). Then I remembered the sleeping bag! Cotton cover and lord knows what type of insulation. Bulky, non-drying and heavy. But it's all we had been shown in 1967, at least until we were enlightened by one of the backcountry rangers' compartmentalized nylon pack on a frame with real should pads and padded waist. It was like the apes circling the monolith in 2001.”

“The only bad gear I bought REI has now.
Gawd I love that store.”

“Oh yeah pekka. I had one of those packs too. I'd forgotten how bad gear could be. It was hard enough to strap those oversized sleeping bags to it but if it got wet (all young boys are very careful with stuff, right) it weighed more than a car! I remember kids dragging a wet bag behind them rather than try to carry it. And then there were those canvas tents! Heavy as several modern tents and if you bumped the side during the rain you were a goner.

We had a carpenter as an Assistant Scoutmaster who thought it would be a great project to make pack frames out of wood! He graciously cut the parts out for us in his shop and we attached them to a plywood framesheet(?). Add some cotton webbing for straps and what do you get? - a torture device. We all used them once. How did we ever survive?”

“I don't know if it's the worst, but it certainly is the most useless - a packable pillow.”

“AmyG,
I've got one of those stoves too. They do kick ass.”

“My Slumberjack Holofill bag - my first ever. What a piece. Deathmarch: it must HAVE been a TNF jacket that had mtn gal all upset. TNF makes the sh!tiest gear! They should stick to bras.”

“Hey Amy, ya know that little red knob on the Colemans? They should start putting black and melted ones on there at the factory ?cause that?s the way it?s gonna end up anyhow! Haha! Them there things flare and flame worse than Rudy Galindo!

I?m in love with my Pocket Rocket! I wanna take that thing out and use it every chance I get! I like it ?cause it?s small and fits just about anywhere I wanna put it. What? Why?re ya lookin? all funny at me?”

“LOL! That Pisga...what a pisser! I like you brother!

 

 

 

TNF!”

“

 

 

 

TNF!

Thanks for the gif Rad!”

“SWEETWATER sux!”

“LOL Nigey!

Actually, after the first incident, when that POS Coleman sprayed fuel and almost torched me, I never used that stove again. (I gave it away...moooohahaha!)

Hey Tommeee, I love my CL too and I just got the top reflector. It works very well inside my tent, casting the light down for reading and not skeery about burning the house down.
I didn't know they had a side reflector!?! what's the point?”

“RichB: I'm surprised you did not like the K2 Longbed. Of my 3 ext frame packs it's by far the best. I bought mine before the Backpacker review but I think the review was right on. Great piece of equipment. It was easy to fit as well.

It was designed by Dana; K2 now owns Dana Designs. Are there any better packs than Dana's?”

“well, if K2 owns them now, expect the quality to go down.”

“Didn't you folks with Coleman stove problems think to check the little nut on the valve? Mine needed adjusting after several uneventful trips when it flamed, but once I tightened the nut it never did it again. Most mechanical devices will need some simple maintenance. If stumblebum me can fix it with a little carbeurator wrench, anyone can. The red knob is, as noted, melted. The stove has been bombproof since.”

“the worst piece of gear that i have ever owned is this fu&king computer.”

“Anything made by Slumberjack.”

“What RAD said!! IT's the worse thing any of ya'all could own, ya brain dead freaks”

“It appears that Bogey's computer is malfunctioning too. My technical diagnosis is that the nut behind the keyboard has a screw loose.”

“bogey. i just hate myself for sitting on the damned thing when i'm not at work. it's such a waste of time. argh!!!”

“I ordered some @ssless hiking pants. Damn things caused a nasty chaf,all raw and ooky. thankfully my "lifemate and domestic partner" was there to apply salve.”

“Tony P, the reason I hated the Longbed was because the lumbar pad slipped out of place, the fiberglass rod beneath it dug right into my back, the shoulder strap angle was not adjustable and didn't fit right, it supported weight poorly compared to my internal pack, the fiberglass rods attached to the hipbelt didn't work as advertised, it was overly stiff and had poor stability and it weighed close to 8 pounds. I came to realize that the pack I had was light years ahead of the Longbed. I always here good reviews about it, but it didn't work for me. That's what's great about backpacking, the fact that everyone's an individual and your free to use and do things your own way and nobody can say your wrong.”

“man love, I have a pair of assless hiking pants and mine used to rub me raw too. I turned them around and now everything is hunky dory.”

“Hi-Tec hiking boots,
Jansport external frame pack, sounds familiar? -Crash-”

“TNF zip off pants/shorts. THose things suck. THey shrunk, and the zipper broke!”

“CX's momma is the worst piece of gear i ever owned.”

“dag yo!”

“Boots made by BASS, one trip and I did'nt think my feet would survive. Finally walked barefoot for the last mile.”

“CX, My TNF zip offs are great, Not one problem with them. I have had them to 2 years now.”

“now T, do you ever use them off of the junior high school track??

TNF makest the sh!ttiest gear. How can you stamp your brand on everything from socks (wtf??) to tents to jackets to sleeping bags and expect to get half-way decent results?? They should stick to hooter haulers.”

“i have a TNF shirt that serves me very well.

i also have an old TNF cat's meow. excellent bag.

my wife has a TNF Spectrum. it's the best fitting pack that she has ever found. it's quality is excellent, and is exactly what she was looking for.

you're "gear elitism" is getting quite annoying. you are just as bad as the TNF owners that you try to insult. don't be such a hypocrite. it does not matter what label is on the gear. good gear is good gear. you obviously aren't old enough to remember when TNF was some of the best gear made.

and remember no gear is any good, unless you use it.”

“Here we go again.”