Equipment That Didn't Work Out

[pierre girard]

Everyone has had equipment that didn't do the job. What's yours?

Another post mentioned bivvy bags. While I'm still not sure what bivvy bags are, it got me thinking of an oil cloth bedroll I thought was going to be so great. No need for a tarp. I spent quite a bit on it, but the thing was so waterproof I'd end up in a pool of condensation in the morning. It was really bad in the winter. Nothing like waking up with a face full of frost.

PG

 

[Wettstuff]

Pierre
this a a bivvy bag
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gore-tex-Bivv...769481454QQcategoryZ36118QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

never used on myself but have only heard good reports about them. I think they are windproof as well as waterproof?

Mark
(PS) Not my sale just linking to a picture)

 

[Lifthasir]

Pierre, you're oil blanket is much like a bivvy bag and you've highlighted a
major problem - condenstation.

The best bivvy bags are made of highly porous yet waterproof
material to aid in the evaporation of body 'steam'. They are windproof and
waterproof. Unzipping them a touch to alow your nose access to the great
outdoors helps a lot with condensation. The problem with breathable bivvy bags
is that they are susceptible to dirt - it clogs up the pores and reduces
breathability. They offer no insulation - unless you go for a hybrid bag like a Buffalo Bag. They are useful in the UK because drizzle afflicts all our outdoor areas like a plague and they are excellent - though expensive - survival bags.

I'm not really sure how useful they'd be in your kind of winters (-20C). I know that
my relatives in Russia don't bother too much with fancy gear in the middle of winter. I'm not sure if it's the performance, the expense, the durability. All I know
is that when it is really cold, it's rabbit fur (or other fur) or stay inside. They also
seem to like really itchy thick wool shirts and leggings.

They are a good lightweight alternative to a small tent. I don't bivvy in mid winter,
but in spring - autumn I don't take a sleeping bag, I take an old down jacket to
sleep in. Great for quick over-night jaunts.

 

[gregorach]

Equipment that didn't do the job... That'd be my first, cheap, "4 season" bag from Highlander. Too bulky, too heavy, not warm enough. Then there was my first headtorch, that was pretty rubbish - can't remember the brand though. And of course the inevitable crappy, thin closed-cell foam mats, although you could argue that they weren't that bad if you don't compare them to a thermarest...

Other than that, I reckon I've done OK... There was a pair of Raichle boots that didn't last very well, but they were abused a bit.

 

[Womble]

Green heat stove - the one that uses the gel.

Very, very dissapointing. On a clear day with very little breeze it failed to boil a pint of water. The best it managed was a gentle bubble after 15 minutes.

 

[Tor helge]

I once bought a pair of Crispi leather boots. I just couldn`t get those damn things waterproof. I tried every brand and types of waterproofing.
My co-worker laughed at me for my buy, and said it was easy tracking me. Just follow the dry track (it was rainig a lot at the time), he said .
We later named the boots "Crispi Indoors".

Tor

 

[RovingArcher]

SAK knockoffs are no where near the craftsmanship of the authentic Swiss Army Knives and because I watched as a young man tried using his, broke the blade through no fault of his own and received a nasty cut for his troubles, I consider them dangerous as well.

We had some 4 season bags that lasted a good many years, but they were very heavy and as rectangle bags, difficult to keep the heat in.

 

[Adi]

There has been so much stuff over the years, right angled torch, maglites, goretex over socks, just some that come to mind.

 

[torjusg]

I have also bought a lot of crap over the years. So now my new philosophy is:

I never buy any equipment, only raw materials for making them (but only those I can't gather myself: Hides and stuff). In time, every single part of my modern gear will be replaced by stone-age gear.

Torjus Gaaren

 

[mark a.]

Usually a good philosophy is "pay more", as more expensive things tend to work better for longer than cheapo ones. For example, I needed a water butt for camping, so bought a cheapo 5-litre one from a hardware store. It was pretty useless, as it only had the one opening, so when you're trying to pour water into a drinks bottle, it glugged everywhere and eventually would be really reluctant in letting the water out. I now have a Platypus equivalent, which is more expensive, but actually works.

I'm not sure the philosophy is always valid for outdoor equipment, though. My Frosts Clipper seems to be doing a grand job, and that only cost a tenner. There are probably loads of fancy space-age materials out there that can be matched or beaten by cheaper alternatives.

 

[philm4]

The grandfather of multi tools the Swiss army knife Swiss Champ. Great to look at, good for clipping toenails, rubbish saw and pliers. The leatherman style offers so much more however bought cheap copy of leatherman from a garage, it was rubbish. Ended up getting Leatherman as pressie from work.

Many torches I brought were rubbish, the bigger the boast, the more disappointing.

1 of those mesh hammocks, very poor, no way you could sleep in it unless you were 4' tall.

There must be many more as I am a sucker for a gadget, and they almost always do not work.

Now include non bushcraft stuff and the list is endless

 

[addyb]

Equipment that didn't work out? Hmm...okay, here's a few things that come to my mind:

A stainless Opinel #8. I thought "Hey, stainless, should be great!" Yeah, the blade was great. Except, I took out in the snow, the wood swelled up so badly, I couldn't open the blade, even by using a 'Savoyard Knock." That was money NOT well spent.

A nice little Gore-Tex waist length jacket. Great until the damn thing delaminated. I use Ventile now.

Storm Waterproofing. It didn't do a damn bit of good on my Ventile. The bottle's still sitting in my closet, that was more money down the drain.

Two carbon Opinel #7's, both bought within six months of each other. Almost lost some fingers when the locking ring failed on one, on the other the same thing happened with my Opinel Stainless. I don't buy Opinel's anymore.

Cheap sil-coated nylon gaiters. Those were pure sh*t. I learned my lesson and spent the money on MEC gore-tex gaiters. Much more satisfying!

Nylon polyester blend pseudo-safari shirt. In hot weather, sweat makes it stick to your skin and it feels positively horrible. I discoverd that Football (soccer) jersey's are much better.

A friend of my Father years ago had a pair of "Korean vapour boots." He ended up with frostbite on Mt. McKinley up in Alaska. All ten of his toes were amputated. He walks funny now.

I think that's enough. That's the funny thing with outdoor gear, some of it's absolutely great, and a lot it is absolutely useless.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[redflex]

With me the main bit of equipment which didnt work out was me. Hehe brain falls asleep , stomach does not work good, feet give up, so on and so on..........

 

[pierre girard]

I have also bought a lot of crap over the years. So now my new philosophy is:

I never buy any equipment, only raw materials for making them (but only those I can't gather myself: Hides and stuff). In time, every single part of my modern gear will be replaced by stone-age gear.

Torjus Gaaren

Funny thing. I'm never dissappointed with any camping equipment I make.

I guess I should qualify that by saying I've been doing it for many years - some of my first efforts were laughable.

I've made summer and winter clothing, knives, sheaths, guns, bedrolls, tarps, tents, moggasins, snowshoes, canoes, paddles, spray skirts, packs. When I'm able to do it myself, I know just what my personal requirements are and I am able to tailor the equipment to my needs.

I guess, for me, making the stuff is half the fun.

PG

 

[Minotaur]

Design problems!!!

Being short, I keep being caught by the same thing so I am making my own now. Combat trouser's knee pockets, which sit around my knee so I cannot use them.

Why can I not get shirts or jackets that fit?

Why do fleeces have a mobile pocket inside at the waist?

I brought a famous and expensive rucsac and then went back to my bigger, cheap and nasty one and mobified it to fit my needs.

Had a moon bag(a sleeping bag that was super light and surposedly super warm), never been so cold in my life.

I force myself not to give into the thought 'that will do just what I want', because nine times out of ten it will not.

 

[OhCanada]

We are talking about two groups here: 1. gear that didn't work because it was a cheap knock off of the real thing, and 2. gear that didn't work at a design level.

I think we have more to learn from #2 because anyone can take good working gear and make it into crap copies to make a buck at the users expense. I don't buy expensive, I buy quality. There are many ways to get quality gear, everything from putting it on your Christmas list to buying it used or trading.

Now what doesn't work for me: collars! Why can they make small, medium, and large jackets but none of the collars will close even if it's a large jacket worn over a medium one.

On some of my fleece I have had to cut the collar down (thereby making it a crew neck) so the jacket I typicaly wore over it could zip up at the collar.