Bad hiking gear purchase.

[BirchBB]

I've read about every one's favorite piece of hiking gear, the piece of gear they've had the longest, where everyone buys their gear, etc...

But what piece of hiking gear you purchased ended up being a disappointment? A piece of junk?

It would be neat to learn what piece of equipment turned out to be less than expected to help others avoid the same mistakes!

 

[Chip]

A Brunton Glorb, which is a small butane mantle lantern. They are actually very well made and come in their own hardshell case, about the size of a half pint water bottle. BUT, as soon as you take it backpacking and it gets bounced around the mantle turns to dust, not exactly convenient in the dark at the end of a long day.

 

[chipc]

Atlas Snow-Trackers - they're the instep crampon part of the an Atlas lower end snowshoe. Without any grip on the heel the Snow-Trackers are only good for flat ice so from my perspective they're useless.

Why did I get them? My wife and I were just starting to think about winter hiking and we had only done some moderate snowshoeing. Purchasing crampons seemed excessive at the time and my wife associated crampons only with ice-climbing. (And she wasn't letting us get anywhere near that!)

Anyway, we've seen the light and now use Stabilicers or G-10s as necessary.


PS - I have nothing against Atlas - I own a pair of their 10-series 'shoes and love 'em.

 

[TheChez]

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

 

[lattinhill]

I don't have to think twice about this one, beyond a doubt my worst gear purchase was a Golite pack. A "Speed" or "Race" or whatever. I won't go into details, as I'm trying to forget this whole sorry waste of money. On the other hand, my Osprey Aether 60 may just be the last full-sized pack I'll ever need.
Now that I think about it, the Golite pack was probably my only real disappointment.
Dave

 

[NewHampshire]

An Outdoor Products Backpack I bought from Evil-Mart. This was before I found the various hiking websites and learned that one gets what one pays for, and skimping on certain things (like backpacks and shoes) is a baaaad idea. I was on Monadnock when the shoulder strap buckle snaped on me. I had to hog tie the strap so I could continue to wear the thing. Went out the next week and Bought my Kelty Redwing......have never looked back.

Brian

 

[Jasonst]

Gregory g pack from 3 years ago. Apparently they have been redesigned but that model wouldn't accept more than 20 lbs without tearing.

 

[daxs]

A set of EMS hiking poles made by Komperdell. I though I would save some money buying them instead of a set of Lekis. They would either collapse or whole sections would pull out and you would need to put them back togther. Now relgated to propping up tarps when car camping. I now own a set of Lekis Makalu's and have used them without any problem.

 

[cbcbd]

A set of EMS hiking poles made by Komperdell. I though I would save some money buying them instead of a set of Lekis. They would either collapse or whole sections would pull out and you would need to put them back togther. Now relgated to propping up tarps when car camping. I now own a set of Lekis Makalu's and have used them without any problem.

Did you get the carbon fiber ones? If so, I have also had some problems with mine - although nothing that I couldn't repair it was still annoying - but man, they are soooo light and they have taken a beating from me.

 

[marty]

My worst was an Outdoor Products bottle holster purchased from Campmor. It had an elastic top, to keep bottles firmly in place. The problem was that after removing the bottle, you could not put in back without stopping and using both hands. Kind of defeated the purpose....

 

[pilgrim]

Climb High/ Austri Alpin crampons. Absolute crap.

Now I have Black Diamond Contacts. A world of difference.

 

[cbcbd]

I've been thinking real hard to find something that was a bad purchase, but thinking back most things I eventually replaced weren't because of a defect, but I just wanted something better and probably didn't research it as well as I should have or wanted to save a few bucks.
...but, as I try to lighten up I end up eliminating more things than replacing them, so it works out in the end - man, I should have an Ebay sale soon!

Although I'll also say that a Golite pack I got was less than I expected. The Golite Gust - the shoulder straps are sewn very close together and the foam is very stiff, so when I had my arms in front of me while holding trekking poles the straps would *** into the sides of my neck. This was really my own fault since I bought the pack blindly. So I opened up the shoulder straps and cut the foam and sewed it back shut. It's good now, but I was annoyed at my purchase at first.

 

[Mike P.]

I've had good luck with buying gear, but I've bought some poorly.

When I first was starting out coated nylon rain gear. Anyone who has hiked with me will tell you on a cool fall day even in shorts, I'm a ball of sweat in the first 1/2 mile, even if it's flat! Wearing a non-breathable baggie in the rain only changed how I got soaked.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Based on advice from VFTT, in the summer of 2004, I bought a pair of the "award winning" (Outside magazine) Lowa Vertex, which wore through most of the seams in less than three months (a really bad deal for $225, IMHO). I was also really disappointed in my Koflach Arctic Extreme's (yellow plastic boots), which I bought for Denali, but whose tongues wore out in less than one winter of limited hiking and snowshoeing in the Whites (a really, really bad deal for $379, IMHO).

 

[g o]

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.

 

[sleeping bear]

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.

 

[Darwin]

A pair of EMS gaiters that don't even fit around my ankles, my bad really but still a bad purchase none the less.

 

[Trout]

LL Bean tents

I also think their tents are very good. I think I have about ten (I know I'm crazy) of them. Family tents, backpacking, winter & etc. With that many they each don't get that much use, but they all seem to be very good & functional. If there is a problem Bean's will make it right or give you your money back--no problem. Great customer service & products.

 

[McRat]

At the risk of letting this thread drift into 'but I've had better luck with my gear', I also will join the throngs who have had no problems.

I've done the family car-camping/ bluegrass festival thing for 12 years with my LLBean 8x8 geodesic dome tent, and it has survived heavy use and unkind treatment surprisingly well. To be fair, I have never looked into any of their 'backpacking tents'.

I don't disagree that your tent may have been defective; but they do have an excellent reputation for warranty repairs/replacements.

Give 'em a call, even if you know you'll never use it - you might just get a new tent to put up on EBay.

 

[audrey]

Uh oh, I've got a green coffee spoon thing and haven't tried it yet!
I goofed too on the stupid EMS gaiters that wouldn't fit around a chicken's neck.
I will never buy another pair or Lekis or Komperdells or REI poles. High hopes are riding on my new Black Diamonds.
I have a Sierra Designs Hyperlight tent - nice construction, but the shape is too weird for me and Pat. I tend to flail around and need room to throw my arms out straight, which puts him right up against the wall.