Bad hiking gear purchase.

[king tut]

I bought one of those Timex altimeter watches last year. It worked ok for a few days. I lived right on the coast, and walked down to the Atlantic Ocean, and no matter how many times i manually adjusted the altimeter, it would always vary by several hundred feet, right at sea level. I took it on its maiden hike in BSP, and it was lightly raining out, and the thing died. I was so annoyed. I returned it to Campmor and got my money back, but i had to pay for the shipping. I was so psyched to have a geeky tech watch to play with in the outdoors, and it turned out to be a complete piece of crap. I was expecting so much more from a watch that was on sale. ha ha.

 

[likeitsteep]

mine has to be the yaktrax pro. not only do they fall off constantly, but they break almost immediately. total waste of money!!!!!!

 

[Capoken]

stellar snowshoes

Stellar Snowhoes: the cramp ons bent in five minutes on mine and my wifes. They went straight back and all I was out was the shipping.

 

[Lawn Sale]

chez wrote - "Any LL Bean tent. Their zippers are terrible, they do not last very long."

i'd have to disagree with that statement. i have had a bean north col expedition tent since 1995 that has been nothing but rock solid. this tent has been to denali, hood, rainier, whitney, and other highpoints as well as many overnights here in western maine without a single problem. it's a very well made tent.

I have a couple of these tents and they're awesome.

I have seen quite a number of LL Bean tents come across the landfill with broken zippers. Some are waiting to have new ones put in as we speak. Otherwise they do make some nice tents once and awhile. I have about 8 LL Bean tents that are still fine though.

My worst piece of gear is probably the Cat-Crap. It does fine for about 2 hours, then completely fogs up. I picked up some Sea Drops by Aquaseal that was still fine after 3 days, but it's not winter anymore.

 

[Nadine]

Salomon hiking boots. The rubber sole delaminated from the boot in about 3 weeks. I was so disappointed after spending 175 to purchase them. I've since made the switch to Limmers.

 

[Rick]

A green coffee spoon/filter thing (can't remember the name).
It looked really nice, but the screen was so fine that water never even got into the grounds. Even when/if it did, none of that wayer ever flowed back out to turn the surrounding water into coffee. Needless to say I found this out at the most inopportune time.

Aha!!!!
the infamous Cup-pour-ri
I got one and hated it. It sat in my gear box for a few years. then about 4 years ago, VFTT got on a coffee thread and it came up. I think I promised mine to either Periwinkle or Poison Ivy, as one of them said they really liked it (or maybe it was Blue... )
Anyways, I still have it and whoever it was I said I would give it to, It is still here for you.....
Anyways, I agree SBear, My coffee with that is weak and yucky!!!

 

[marty]

My wife bought me the green coffee/spoon/filter thingie as a stocking stuffer. Tried it once. Not impressed. It sits with some backpacking equipment that I will probably never use, but I don't have the heart to toss it! I use coffee or tea bags now...

 

[BorealChickadee]

A pair of Merrell hiking boots that the footbeds disintegrated into paper goo junk leaving my soles exposed to nails. I didn't have money for new boots so I had to cut cardboard to fit.

On the other hand-I've had good luck iwth the LLBean tents and Komperdell poles (3 piece, women's style).

 

[post'r boy]

chez wrote - "Any LL Bean tent. Their zippers are terrible, they do not last very long."

i'd have to disagree with that statement. i have had a bean north col expedition tent since 1995 that has been nothing but rock solid. this tent has been to denali, hood, rainier, whitney, and other highpoints as well as many overnights here in western maine without a single problem. it's a very well made tent.

i agree with go, used one for 5 months straight!! no probs whatsoever.

 

[Snowflea]

Not worthless in general but worthless for me, and I'm probably the minority here: A WATER FILTER!! Why? Because they're heavy, cumbersome, and clog up easily. Sent it home at the first opportunity during my AT thru-hike. Went with iodine instead but used only in REALLY questionable water. (I drink a lot of untreated water in the mtns. and have never gotten sick.)

I used to think those solar water bag shower things were silly but have become a recent convert. They really do work!

 

[TheChez]

LL Bean tents are great!

Okay, okay, I take back what I said. A couple of the LL Bean tents I've had experience with had bad zippers.

Actually, I know some Bean tents are good (okay, Great!) and the company's customer service and return poilcy is fantastic (really, I mean it, honestly!).

I didn't know that there were so many ******* on the list (I used to work for them myself).

 

[chas]

Not worthless in general but worthless for me, and I'm probably the minority here: A WATER FILTER!! Why? Because they're heavy, cumbersome, and clog up easily. Sent it home at the first opportunity during my AT thru-hike. Went with iodine instead but used only in REALLY questionable water. (I drink a lot of untreated water in the mtns. and have never gotten sick.)

Ditto here, I carry only the tablets and hardly ever use them. I would be interested to know how many here at this forum have actually been sick from water on a hike in the Whites, maybe we should do a poll sometime.

Chas.

 

[DougPaul]

Ditto here, I carry only the tablets and hardly ever use them.

I usually carry tincture of iodine. Faster and longer shelf life than tablets.

And I suppose that I should add that although I own a perfectly good filter, I rarely carry it.

I would be interested to know how many here at this forum have actually been sick from water on a hike in the Whites, maybe we should do a poll sometime.

A recurring thread. Search is your friend.

Doug

 

[Jasonst]

I agree with Stinky. I freaked some guy out at Guyot when I whipped out my water bottle, stuck it under the spring and drank away - right after he had just spent some time filtering about 3 liters. It was funny - the look of horror.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

There's something I bought, and never used. My first aid kit. What a waste!

 

[sleeping bear]

Aha!!!!
the infamous Cup-pour-ri
I got one and hated it.

Anyways, I still have it and whoever it was I said I would give it to

Cup-pour-ri, that things sucks!
If anyone wants mine too, they can have it.

Last summer I bought one of those MSR coffee in-cup filters, it actually works, and quite well.

 

[chas]

I usually carry tincture of iodine. Faster and longer shelf life than tablets. And I suppose that I should add that although I own a perfectly good filter, I rarely carry it.

A recurring thread. Search is your friend.

Doug

Did a search and found this article, very interesting reading, a couple of quotes below;

“In recent years, frantic alarms about the perils of giardiasis have aroused exaggerated concern about this infestation. Government agencies, particularly the United States Park Service and the National Forest Service, have filtered hundreds of gallons of water from wilderness streams, found one or two organisms (far less than enough to be infective), and erected garish signs proclaiming the water ‘hazardous.’”

“Neither health department surveillance nor the medical literature supports the widely held perception that giardiasis is a significant risk to backpackers in the United States. In some respects, this situation resembles (the threat to beachgoers of a) shark attack: an extraordinarily rare event to which the public and press have seemingly devoted inappropriate attention.”

It seems that good personal hygiene can be at least as important as choosing water sources when traveling in the backcountry. Reading this makes you wonder, too, if some of us may be immune to the effects of Giardia anyway.

Chas.

 

[DougPaul]

Did a search and found this article, very interesting reading, a couple of quotes below;

This article has been referenced on this BBS a number of times. (It is good info.)

Water filters are expensive and presumably there is more profit in them than chemicals, heat, or no treatment. Thus manufacturers have incentive to over-hype the risk.

Filters, chemicals, heat, and no treatment all have their advantages and disadvantages. All have their place if used wisely (ie know somthing about the history of the water that you are about to drink). And personal and inter-personal hygene still applies, both in town and in the woods.

So there are places where filters are a common method-of-choice (ie parts of the desert southwest where there are likely to be people or livestock upstream).

If you want to continue on this topic, I suggest that you start a new thread.

Doug

 

[Peaks]

Salomon hiking boots. The rubber sole delaminated from the boot in about 3 weeks. I was so disappointed after spending 175 to purchase them. I've since made the switch to Limmers.

Man, I can identify with this. On my thru-hike, I replaced my boots with Salomons. Lasted all the way to the edge of town. I returned them and switched boots.

 

[jbreen]

Years ago, on the recommendation of a friend, I bought an EMS fanny pack (no comments please). Water bottles would tumble out because the pockets were too shallow. The pack itself would sag backwards if I carried more than a shell and a Snickers bar. I refused to admit my mistake for an entire season until I burried it in my attic that fall and went back to my old pack.