amaruq
Trail Wise!
Call me Little Spoon
Posts: 1,264
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Post by amaruq on Dec 10, 2015 10:28:28 GMT -8
Confused as usual (What else is new?) about why this thread really exists - the making of detailed, 3-color, spread sheets, especially the ones above including detailed names and prices...(other than to show off/ brag here about your specific gear and their cost on a public forum.) A detailed list is fine/ may be needed for some, but the rest...? Darn! You've figured me out! I posted a screenshot of my "detailed names and prices" equipment spreadsheet to anonymously show off my incredible gear spending habits to the entirety of the BPB. I'm sorry for being such a braggart. I was hoping my relatively inexpensive store-brand gear would incite fervorous jealousy. Forgive me! A detailed list, including "detailed names and prices," "is fine/may be needed" for insurance claims when one lives in an apartment where other renters can't be trusted to not burn the place down.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Dec 10, 2015 10:32:56 GMT -8
I wished I had put prices into my spreadsheet. That's a dang fine idea. I think some of use are probably better off NOT knowing how much we've spent on gear, and heaven forbid if your spouse got a glimpse at it! Of course, being a notorious cheapskate, this doesn't apply to me.
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RumiDude
Trail Wise!
Marmota olympus
Posts: 2,361
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Post by RumiDude on Dec 10, 2015 10:42:03 GMT -8
I went car camping once and forgot all my silverware. I looked around the camping area and found a wedged shaped piece of thick blue plastic. (Six inches long, three inches tapering down to 1 inch thick and a quarter inch thick.) I cleaned it then boiled it and used it as a spoon to cook and eat with. It saved me. That was 20 years ago. I still keep it in my glove box in case I make the same mistake again. Funny, DD. 30 years ago I was backpacking with a friend (and no novice, either, with the AT and most of the PCT under his belt). He realized early on the first day that he'd forgotten his bowl and spoon. Lo and behold, along the trail, he finds a discarded plastic container (think butter tub). No spoons lurking in the bushes, but he carved a sort of scoop from a stick, and had no trouble eating all weekend BTW, we keep 4 spoons and a knife in our glove box all the time. Never know when you'll need a spoon to eat ice cream, or a knife to spread some peanut butter. Many many years ago I was on a Labor Day weekend trip with five other people; my two sons, a friend of theirs, a friend of mine and his daughter. We were going to cook communally. We had all the food, but no pot or pan. I thought my friend was bringing the pot and pan and he thought I was. So for three days we only had two 14oz chili cans to cook everything for six people. We had to forgo the pancake breakfast but we did have two cans to cook with. (This was a long time ago when bringing cans of food was fairly common place for backpackers.) We had to eat in shifts but we did eat. This was a matter of miscommunication rather than forgetting.
Another time I forgot the pole to my TT Double Rainbow. My spouse even asked me if I had the pole and I said yes. In my defence, the Double Rainbow has a top pole section which I rarely take out. When I grabbed the tent bag and pushed down on it I felt the pole and assumed it was the other pole. I was able to rig our hiking poles with cord to erect the tent. Every since, it is kinda our joke when Dani asks if I have the tent pole(s). But again, I didn't really forget the pole, I was simply mistaken.
Rumi
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zeke
Trail Wise!
Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,894
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Post by zeke on Dec 10, 2015 10:49:05 GMT -8
My Excel spreadsheet has columns for different environments. Column A is all of my gear. Column B is desert gear, so I put in the weights of the gear from Col A that I would take in a desert environment. Col C is the Sierra list. Col D is the PNW list. I have a separate col for weather expected to be below 30* at any point. This allows me to divide up clothing, sleeping gear, fuel needed for the stove, etc... It also allows me to enter daily water carried, so I know exactly what I can expect my pack to weigh. I have several sleep systems, shelters, pads, etc... I can leave out the rain gear when I head to the Canyon. I have been caught in a storm there, but it was warm the next hour.
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RumiDude
Trail Wise!
Marmota olympus
Posts: 2,361
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Post by RumiDude on Dec 10, 2015 10:55:19 GMT -8
I wished I had put prices into my spreadsheet. That's a dang fine idea. I think some of use are probably better off NOT knowing how much we've spent on gear, and heaven forbid if your spouse got a glimpse at it! Of course, being a notorious cheapskate, this doesn't apply to me. I know a guy who has an extensive Scotch whisky collection and he keeps track everything, including when and where he bought it and price. He had to pay a rider to have it covered on his insurance.
Rumi
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markskor
Trail Wise!
Mammoth Lakes & Tuolumne Meadows...living the dream
Posts: 651
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Post by markskor on Dec 10, 2015 10:57:14 GMT -8
Sure we all have 4 backpacks, 3 tents, multiple stoves, etc, etc that we can draw from. As stated, most older gear (now relics) is still serviceable but goes unused. I have but one current working kit Sierra - the rest sits. Realizing that the difference in gear between an overnight backpack trip and an extended 2-week adventure is only the amount of food taken, I selected/keep together/chose the best/lightest/latest purchase gear option from my gear closet, and then, just strap it on.
I mostly travel 100% self-contained, either solo or with a small group of friends. All current gear, my backpack kit always stays together...nothing changes (unless a major upgrade), as then I can be ready in 15 minutes, (if/when opportunity comes a'calling). After decades of trips, everything should have a specific place in the backpack...what specific piece lives where. I normally go through all/check before heading out anywhere, but it stays together - always ready.
RE: Tents. I have 3 (4?) but do not need a fancy graph to tell me my TT is vastly lighter/superior to my older NF ...ditto with the rest of my gear. I do not need a 3-color spread sheet to compare my two good goosedown sleeping bags. If fishing, I always select my best rod, reel...no need to weigh anything as it either goes or doesn't. When adding, (buying something new?), like many here, I thoroughly researched all available options from everywhere, asked tons of questions, before pulling any trigger. After 2500+ bag nights (and counting), you should know what you have...what is best, and what works...this is what you use.
BTW, nothing wrong in being "gear proud"...excellent! But why not start a new thread all about/proudly listing your current kit (top 25 - 30 items?) - brand names, weights, and prices too - I'll gladly play along - rather than this?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2015 11:12:00 GMT -8
I do not need a 3-color spread sheet to compare my two good goosedown sleeping bags. . . . But why not start a new thread all about/proudly listing your current kit (top 40 items?) - brand names, weights, and prices too - rather than this? First of all, I have more than three colors. Let's get that straight from the outset. "Rather than this"? Why not have both threads? At four pages, this thread is apparently interesting to some. If not to you, start the second thread you mentioned. There's room for both. Let's make TipiWalter proud.
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RumiDude
Trail Wise!
Marmota olympus
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Post by RumiDude on Dec 10, 2015 11:16:36 GMT -8
Because people are different, which means others are different than you. Accept it. The question could just as easily be turned back on you. Why are you being so condescending towards others concerning the use of a spreadsheet? Why are you proud/bragging about not needing one?
HYOH, do unto others, live and let live, and all that jazz.
Rumi
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Dec 10, 2015 11:28:34 GMT -8
I wished I had put prices into my spreadsheet. That's a dang fine idea. Far too depressing, a lot like putting how much the stuff weighs.... when I'm going to carry it anyway. OTOH as a checklist for rarer sorts of routes and/or group trips where it's best not to rely on the "of course Bob will bring his stove..." lists can have a lot of value.
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BigLoad
Trail Wise!
Pancakes!
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Post by BigLoad on Dec 10, 2015 11:39:51 GMT -8
Why weigh everything out? Bored? Need to brag? Is someone else going to carry it for you? my 2¢ With the weights, I can just click through what I plan to bring and know what my pack weight will be. The answer might inspire adjustments to the list, or maybe to the planned route. For example, my last outing included a planned 4-5 day cold-weather trip with only one water source that I could hit at the end of the second or third day, with quite different amounts of elevation gain. Switching the direction of travel alone trades 8 pounds of maximum pack weight for a heavier load during the biggest climbs. Or maybe I want to ditch some food, hike fast and perhaps a little in the dark, and do the three-day leg in two days. My goal in tracking weight is to get the most of my trip, which sometimes means pushing my physical limits, and other times means deliberately avoiding that. It doesn't matter to me whether anyone else knows what that weight is, but it can matter a lot whether I know.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Dec 10, 2015 12:15:51 GMT -8
I know a guy who has an extensive Scotch whisky collection and he keeps track everything, including when and where he bought it and price. He had to pay a rider to have it covered on his insurance.
Rumi I like a man who has his priorities straight. Hopefully he shares a wee dram with his friends on occasion.
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reuben
Trail Wise!
Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on Dec 10, 2015 12:53:09 GMT -8
I know a guy who has an extensive Scotch whisky collection and he keeps track everything, including when and where he bought it and price. He had to pay a rider to have it covered on his insurance.
Rumi I like a man who has his priorities straight. Hopefully he shares a wee dram with his friends on occasion. That's probably a separate spreadsheet, including how much of his scotch they drink, which scotches they drink, and the per ounce cost of each. That way he knows how much it costs to invite each individual. He may even keep track of seasonal variations in their consumption. You know - green for spring, white for winter, orange for fall... (sorry, I can't find the smartass icon on my phone)
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markskor
Trail Wise!
Mammoth Lakes & Tuolumne Meadows...living the dream
Posts: 651
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Post by markskor on Dec 10, 2015 13:07:04 GMT -8
Rumi asks, "Why are you being so condescending towards others concerning the use of a spreadsheet?"
Sorry to all if appear condescending - not my intention. I can understand the need for others using a spreadsheet - HYOH and all - just to make sure you are not forgetting anything. Just unclear why some posted the prices paid for gear here too? Yes am proud of my gear selections, cost me a chit-load for mine, but would never list what it all cost me on a "Do you use a gear spreadsheet" question. If the wife knew... Again sorry if offended.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Dec 10, 2015 13:18:58 GMT -8
Why do men climb mountains?
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Dec 10, 2015 14:03:04 GMT -8
I'm pretty sure that the point of this thread is to disclose exactly how OCD/geeky each of us is. I'm a little OCD, but obviously less geeky, because my "spreadsheet" is actually just a Word file. Others here manage to combine the two in an awe-inspiring perfection of spreadsheetiness.
And, in all seriousness, I assume the list with prices was posted to show the general look and format (since I can't read any of it anyway). Since prices are on his list, they showed up in the picture.
That point about insurance is a good one. I need to update the home inventory
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