The US army cot...yes, you do need to eat your weetabix to get that last piece in place but it was IMMEASURABLY better then the Brit horror made out of two coathangers that would tip you out if you dared to roll over...
Bad Kit/Ideas
- Thread starter StormWalker
- Start date
I'm a weedy little orang utang and never have any problems putting the american cots together. You need to know the secret technique! 
I've still got one and use it as a spare bed or if my back is playing up, very good for stressed backs.
Andy
Andy
I'm quite shrewd when it comes to buying kit these days but when I was younger...oh dear!
Useless bits of kit I've purchased in the past:
Some canoe airbags at £40 a pop-crap, lasted me a season before leaking, why are they made of total crap materials and so expensive?
Sorrell boots-have u tried walking in these? Murder
Brit Army boots, floppy when wet
Berghaus Strom boots-like rocks on my feet
Camel desert boots, fell apart after a month in the outback!
A wind and waterproof lighter that wasn't either!
Whisperlite pumps-plastic fragile and frankly very badly designed pumps! No room for error in these!
Thermarest base camp-what a waste of money for what it is!
Highlander rucksack-finally collapsed when trecking in to do some felling with a chainsaw in it! (almost anything by highlander afterwards! junk)
Plastic spork...it melts when you are stirring hot food? What's that all about? doh!
Hmm. Probably made loads of bad investments, i simply have chosen to forget about them
First thing that comes to mind is a backpack. Häglöfs shosho. Brilliant frontloading pack.....with 3 kg worth of zippers. Soon got changed out though.
MSR gas-lantern. The one with the metalmesh instead of glas. Produces great working light, is fairly lightweight, fairly noisefree during operation, and can stand up to almost any abuse. But lets face it. Whos going to carry the alntern aswell as 1 or 2 gasflasks around for a 2 week hike?
Knife-ways i still use and carry the very first knife i ever made. Scandinavian style, good ole danish oak, black horn, and a 8 cm blade made out of the coilspring out of a beemer. Honestly it is the only knife i ever use. (but i too must admit to have huge amounts of knifes lying around wich i never use. Most of wich are Mora og the like)
Clothing. I have the Härkila Lappland set. Jacket was bought first. A few years after the trousers came along. Expensive as h..., heavy, robust, and Goretex. Never had any trouble with it. In fact if i pull the legs of the pants tight enough to my boots i can walk across streams without worrying about water in my shoes. Done so quite a few times now.
And the i have variuous amounts of wool and cotton shirts, turtlenecks (from the army) Pinewood lined pants and what not. (basically the cheaper alternatives.)
Worst buy of it all: the washingmachine from hell, that managed to boilclean most of my woolen clothing last year :Thinkingo
First thing that comes to mind is a backpack. Häglöfs shosho. Brilliant frontloading pack.....with 3 kg worth of zippers. Soon got changed out though.
MSR gas-lantern. The one with the metalmesh instead of glas. Produces great working light, is fairly lightweight, fairly noisefree during operation, and can stand up to almost any abuse. But lets face it. Whos going to carry the alntern aswell as 1 or 2 gasflasks around for a 2 week hike?
Knife-ways i still use and carry the very first knife i ever made. Scandinavian style, good ole danish oak, black horn, and a 8 cm blade made out of the coilspring out of a beemer. Honestly it is the only knife i ever use. (but i too must admit to have huge amounts of knifes lying around wich i never use. Most of wich are Mora og the like)
Clothing. I have the Härkila Lappland set. Jacket was bought first. A few years after the trousers came along. Expensive as h..., heavy, robust, and Goretex. Never had any trouble with it. In fact if i pull the legs of the pants tight enough to my boots i can walk across streams without worrying about water in my shoes. Done so quite a few times now.
And the i have variuous amounts of wool and cotton shirts, turtlenecks (from the army) Pinewood lined pants and what not. (basically the cheaper alternatives.)
Worst buy of it all: the washingmachine from hell, that managed to boilclean most of my woolen clothing last year :Thinkingo
I can't think of anything woefully inadequate, although I've "outgrown" kit as it were. I think this is due to finding the next thing that is better.
The zeltbahn is underused, more of a garden tent in the summer. It only cost 15 Euros though, so hardy a biggie! My waxed Stockman was a coat I really wanted until I had to reproof it and then wore it out and realised that walking in it is not really possible, the long coat wraps around your legs and soon becomes a nuisance! A shame as I really like the look of it, it's hung behind the door on a coat hanger since I bought it really, I wore it two or three times after reproofing it. I'm thinking of shortening it slightly to the same length as the Swanni I got off Eric, it may fare better at that length.
The zeltbahn is underused, more of a garden tent in the summer. It only cost 15 Euros though, so hardy a biggie! My waxed Stockman was a coat I really wanted until I had to reproof it and then wore it out and realised that walking in it is not really possible, the long coat wraps around your legs and soon becomes a nuisance! A shame as I really like the look of it, it's hung behind the door on a coat hanger since I bought it really, I wore it two or three times after reproofing it. I'm thinking of shortening it slightly to the same length as the Swanni I got off Eric, it may fare better at that length.
Just been reading through this thread. Very instructive and amusing. Is there another newer thread on "bad kit" or did the idea just run it's course?
I have outgrown kit and have too many knives (and axes) to use.
The bad stuff I just forget about.
I dont get on with army mess tins, hammocks. (I keep a net one for storage and summer afternoon longing) and fancy clothing. (never been able to afford any)
The bad stuff I just forget about.
I dont get on with army mess tins, hammocks. (I keep a net one for storage and summer afternoon longing) and fancy clothing. (never been able to afford any)
a double walled steel mug... they dont heat up well at all!!! titanium mug proved to be so much more efficent!
cheap knife sharpener and knives with crap steel blades with dodgy grinds that are ridiculous to get back to anywhere near sharp. Either put good money into sharpening gear or make your own from wet and dry paper, and also get the right first knife. I think mine was a buck bantam which in the right hands would make a nice knife for someone but it is far from an ideal bushcraft knife and its not fun to shapen, thank god my second knife was a mora clipper.
Also berghaus vulcan bergen... wow heavy or what. unloaded it can weigh more than all my dry gear in my current pack.
cheap knife sharpener and knives with crap steel blades with dodgy grinds that are ridiculous to get back to anywhere near sharp. Either put good money into sharpening gear or make your own from wet and dry paper, and also get the right first knife. I think mine was a buck bantam which in the right hands would make a nice knife for someone but it is far from an ideal bushcraft knife and its not fun to shapen, thank god my second knife was a mora clipper.
Also berghaus vulcan bergen... wow heavy or what. unloaded it can weigh more than all my dry gear in my current pack.
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