This thread, and the “sustainable” gear manufacturers threads reminds me of old wisdom:
Use it up.
Wear it out.
Make it do,
Or do Without.
My survey choice was about having socks older than you. But that probably is something of an exaggeration. About the socks, anyway.
Some of my Nalgene HDPE water bottles are pushing 40 years in service, and remain quite usable and useful. They probably will outlast me (at least their remains will).
By the way, I haven’t always followed that old advice, above. Not by a long shot. I set my old, 1950s Adirondack pack basket aside in favor of homemade “Trapper Nelson" type wooden pack frames during the mid 1960s, and finally went all the way and bought a Kelty frame pack in the early 1970s. Got out of the overnight or multi-day hiking game in the late 1980s, but continued using my old early 1970s Alpine Designs Euro-style rucksack and teardrop “summit” pack well beyond the 1990s. Then I switched to packs with better suspension systems.
Generally speaking, I’ll use something until a clearly very superior option comes along, or my needs change significantly.
G.
