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Post by hikerjer on Nov 25, 2015 18:02:15 GMT -8
I took the dog for her walk today and grabbed my favorite jacket for knocking around town.- an old light green Columbia ski type coat. When I was walking I got to thinking about the coat and realized that I have had the jacket for close to 40 years if I remember correctly.
So, what's the oldest piece of gear or clothing that you have and still use on a regular basis?
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Nov 25, 2015 18:35:39 GMT -8
Wow, tough to say. My Suunto KB 14 dates from the late sixties and is still bubble free. My Thommens altimeter is about the same era and I carry that still as well, no battery like gps and it's even quicker to glance at. I've a pair of parka from just about then, a Sierra Designs Mountain Parka in the 60/40 and a Trailwise long parka in Ventile both of which I use for snow country trips and knocking about for dirty jobs. The Sierra Designs is a lot more beat up and bleached almost white in places as it got a lot of use once I didn't need the length of the Trailwise i.e. once I wasn't traveling on snow. So a LOT of Sierra summer sun.
Bunch of other things but they're retired, a Trailwise Chevron sleeping bag from 1968 (the shell got too brittle to use but damn if the thing isn't still showing about 10 inches of loft), my first MSR XGK from the seventies, an Optimus 8 R from the late sixties again.
I don't tend to discard things, just move them farther back on the shelves. Lol.
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markskor
Trail Wise!
Mammoth Lakes & Tuolumne Meadows...living the dream
Posts: 651 
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Post by markskor on Nov 25, 2015 18:35:52 GMT -8
Jer,
Interesting that only yesterday, was thinking about that same question...how gear evolves - we all have lots of old gear stored away in bins but not used anymore.
The stuff sack for my cooking pot - old, tatty, blue, said Texsport on the side...just gave up the ghost and... was finally forced to take it in to a seamstress for a replacement. Was thinking at the time that I had carried that same pot stuff sack continuously since doing my first MUIR, 1969. This leaves me only with an old canvas cinch strap, which now goes around a blue cc pad...the last piece of gear still carried regularly each season since.
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daveg
Trail Wise!
Michigan
Posts: 565
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Post by daveg on Nov 25, 2015 19:44:15 GMT -8
I have a Herter's down vest that I still wear regularly. Bought it in the mid-1960s, which makes it about 50 years old.
Does anyone else remember Herter's? Back in the day that was one of THE sources of outdoor gear and supplies. I bought lots of stuff from Herter's including materials for making my own fishing lures -- flies, spinners, even a mold for casting jigs. |
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Post by hikerjer on Nov 25, 2015 20:14:33 GMT -8
Never heard of Herter's. Careful Dave - you're dating yourself. And I thought I was old. :(
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daveg
Trail Wise!
Michigan
Posts: 565
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Post by daveg on Nov 25, 2015 21:28:54 GMT -8
Never heard of Herter's? I'll have to enlighten you Jer. It's important for youngsters to carry on the memory.
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Post by hikerjer on Nov 26, 2015 6:37:01 GMT -8
Looks like a classic. Thanks, Dave. My education continues.
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Post by trinity on Nov 26, 2015 7:18:39 GMT -8
I'm pretty sure Herter's is still around. I know of their apparel mainly from my waterfowl hunting days, they were still pretty highly regarded among duck hunters. That was fairly recently, mid to late 90s.
Most of my first generation clothing and gear has at last been replaced. I think the final item, an orange plastic trowel, was retired this past summer after about 25 years. I still have the Whisperlight Internationale that I got back in the late 80s, but I haven't actually used it in years. I also have the large 2 burner Coleman white gas stove that my family used for car camping when I was growing up. My parents probably purchased it in the early to mid 70s. Never gets any use anymore, but I could never part with it.
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Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
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Post by Westy on Nov 26, 2015 9:25:05 GMT -8
The Herter's Catalog was my early 60's dream catcher.
Oldest gear not used....an Optimus 8R camp stove made in Sweden weighing in at 1.8 lbs. Better than cooking with a campfire, haven't used it for 40 years. A newer version is still available at $219.00.
OPTIMUS HIKER+
Have two (2) TNF Blue Kazoo's. One is mid-late 70's and the other was purchased in 1986. Both are still used by family members. Actually took my wife's mid-2000's Marmot Angel Fire to the gear consignment store. The 1986 TNF Blue Kazoo was lighter and less bulky with equivalent warmth factor for her. |
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daveg
Trail Wise!
Michigan
Posts: 565
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Post by daveg on Nov 27, 2015 21:25:24 GMT -8
I saw Herter's ammo advertised in the Cabela's Black Friday flyer, which got me wondering. Did a little research and discovered the Herter's company went bankrupt in 1981. Cabela's bought the brand. So the Herter's products for sale nowadays are Cabela's.
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Nov 27, 2015 22:41:40 GMT -8
I don't think I have any really old gear that I still use except a couple of stuff sacks I use for food. We began such a complete revamping of our gear about 15 years ago as we shifted to lighter and lighter stuff to make backpacking with children possible; I still have some of the old gear but don't use it. Most of it I gave away last year to the Golden Gate Nat'l Rec. Area's youth program, but I still have some that they wouldn't take (like a pair of Whisperlite stoves from the 80s).
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tigger
Trail Wise!
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Post by tigger on Nov 28, 2015 18:36:15 GMT -8
I couldn't tell you what is the oldest. I can say I haven't given up much of my gear. Used regularly - My original Garmin Etrex Standard (with the com port no maps) is my oldest electronics still in use. Clothing-wise, I still use plenty of my older clothing layers on occasion although I've simplified.
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Post by Lonewolf on Nov 28, 2015 19:02:29 GMT -8
I still have a pair of custom made leather mountaineering boots I had made when I started out doing that which would make them around 35 years old. Nicely made but I don't wear the things any longer because they weigh in at about 5#.... each. I also still have a NF parka from the mid-to-late 80s. Maps... I still have some of those from the 70s. Funny story... I was invited on a dayhike some years ago and the lady wouldn't let me see her map. Said she'd do the navigating. Things went downhill from there while we're hiking uphill. I finally just took it from her and the trails had no resemblance to where we were. I looked at the date and... 1927??  |
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amaruq
Trail Wise!
Call me Little Spoon
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Post by amaruq on Nov 30, 2015 9:58:35 GMT -8
I feel like such a baby. Everything of mine is from within the decade, if not the past five years.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Nov 30, 2015 10:20:35 GMT -8
I feel like such a baby. Everything of mine is from within the decade, if not the past five years. Ah but so is (in the past five years) the majority of gear most of us use out there: it's just some odds and ends that have lasted. Sure if I took the trouble I could assemble most of the kit from back then off my back shelves, the tube tent is around somewhere, so's the Optimus 8R, the Sigg pots and the sleeping bag (though the while ensolite is cut up and glued inside some ammo cans I used on Colorado river trips to protect camera gear) and even the A16 "HipHugger" external frame pack as well as those parkas. Though my beloved Pivetta Muir Trails are long gone: disposable isn't actually a new invention, those boots were gloriously comfortable but I tended to destroy them in the backcountry as they were on the too light side. My old Duracell little flashlight is gone but the candle lantern is around. The question though would be why would I want to burden myself with such old tech? I spent good money on replacing that stuff for a reason, not because it broke but because it was rendered obsolete by newer, more convenient, safer, lighter, better items. |
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