What piece of your gear hit 11 on the 1-10 Crapola Meter?

My #1 Worst Piece of Junk would be a kayak paddle I bought from L.L. Bean. I paid about 13 bucks for it and it broke into sections to easily transport it. It lasted less than a day on the Ohio River. First, it broke in half. I thought I'd then journey on with two canoe paddles, but each of those shafts snapped until I had two blades. I made it to shore, where a woman with a pickup pitied me, took me to her home, rummaged in her basement, and gave me a wooden canoe paddle, which I used to reach Louisville, where I bought a real kayak paddle, which I used for thousands of miles.

Runners-up:

You would think a tent would be waterproof. Ha! I bought one at a department store with full naivete when I was a kid and took it on a cycling trip to the top of Lake Huron. I fell asleep in a storm with multiple leaks, which the pots of my cook kit were catching. I awoke to my cook kit pots floating about me.

A tube tent. A tent without poles, doors, and fly. What a dumb idea. At least it didn't leak.

Easy call here, that would be Frogg Toggs rain gear. They ripped on the first day of the first trip. Duct tape to the rescue.
Then there has been multiple un-named fishing lures that only caught one sucker, me.

I normally try to buy the best gear I can afford at the time. I really haven’t had much gear fail over the years. The BWCA/Quetico tends to weed out sick gear really fast.

Probably my original Katadyn Basecamp. Others appear to have had good luck...me, not so much, especially compared with other gravity filters.

Does a used Ford Pinto qualify?

Many years ago, before a fishing trip, I found a cheap set of raingear at Sportmart. It was something like $5-10 for the jacket and pants combined.
The next week, I was out on a boat with my brother in law, fishing on Snowbank Lake. It started to rain. I pulled the pouch out, stood up, put on the jacket. Told my brother in law about how "I found these for, like eight dollars!". Put on the pants. I sat down. The pants had torn, in a straight line, all the way down the outside of one leg. So this set of raingear lasted me all of, oh,.. about twenty seconds.
Lesson learned about rain gear. :)

Katadyn Vario water filter

rtallent: "Does a used Ford Pinto qualify?"

Only if your neighbors were tailgaters and I'm not talking beer and brats.

Backcountry Bakery Muffin Maker- It was only $20 but isn't one of my more researched purchases.

Cabelas Boundary Waters Pack. The one I had failed on my first trip I used it. They may be better quality today, but when they first came out the quality wasn’t there.

Pnuma Waypoint pants. Stitching in knees started failing immediately on their first paddling trip, and webbed knee reinforcements began falling off. I only had 1 spare pair of pants, so it was dicey. Most expensive pants I've ever bought. They do have a lifetime warranty, but I will never trust them again.

rtallent: "Does a used Ford Pinto qualify?"

(LOL) when we were mere newlyweds, we ended up being a "Two Pinto Family" for awhile; we had a Pinto and a Pinto Wagon! The little Pinto (that term sounds redundant) met it's demise on a curvy Ozark road with an encounter with a large Whitetail Buck. The other was traded in during a "Push, pull, or drag" event at a car dealer. We thought we MAY have to tow it to trade it in for my wife's '87 Chevy Beretta? DEFINITELY an upgrade!

I have two that stick out to me. A cedar strip canoe and "The Flying Lure." The "Flying Lure" sounded like a good concept? They had a darn convincing infomercial. "The only lure that will swim AWAY from you!" Caught lots of fish on TV but I don't believe I caught ANYTHING on one? I recall two days in particular, one on the Jack's Fork and one on the Black River here in MO. The smallies were hitting EVERYTHING so I thought I'd try and see if just maybe.....NOPE, they were too smart for the "Flying lure," maybe they'd seen the infomercial?

As for Shannon II, my cedar stripper, it was heartbreaking. A word of warning here; NEVER buy a home-built canoe from someone whom you suspect spends a lot of time indulging in recreational drug impairment! Shannon II was BEAUTIFUL, but.....Second time on the water a seat broke.....the BOW seat and my lovely wife weighed about 105-110 lbs at the time! A few months later, the yoke broke and my head damn near went through the hull, or at least it FELT like it! Then, within 6 months the fiberglass coating began delaminating. The writing was on the wall. I repaired her often and kept her a few years. But in the end, I sold her at a garage sale...CHEAP!

I don't think I have a picture of the Pintos, even in any old albums? They weren't very photogenic even if I would have posed my beautiful wife in front of them!

I've been pretty fortunate in that I haven't had a lot of gear reach that 11 on the scale. In fact, I was hard pressed to come up with anything.

I do a lot of research before I buy anything and I've had good luck that I haven't gotten any lemons among the gear that I did research. Now, when I was younger and the internet wasn't a thing, my only research was the Backpacker's gear guide and I rarely was able to afford anything that they reviewed.

I do have 2 gear purchases that I was unhappy with and replaced in short order. The first was a pair of Merrell hiking boots that were terrible for my feet. My first pair of Merrells was outstanding, the most comfortable shoes I've had, before or since. But I just wore them out... so I figured, one Merrell is as good as the other, right? Well, this pair was way more ... stiff? but not just stiff, also didn't fit my feet properly and I wore them on a mountain climbing trip where I absoultely tore up my heels and toes because of the ill-fit. I replaced those with a pair of Asolos 10 years ago and those have been workhorses and super comfortable (though not as comfy as those first Merrells.)

The second was a set of cheapish Columbia raingear. This was for my first backpacking trip to Colorado and I was pretty sure I was going to get rained on. I was right (same trip I referenced in the "camping on a slope" thread)... we had rain for 2 full days of the 5 day trip. The rain gear was actually quite good at keeping the rain off. But it was pretty much just silicone or rubber coated plastic. It didn't breathe at ALL. 5 minutes after I put it on, I had almost sweat through my clothes underneath the rain gear. 15 minutes later, I was bordering on hypothermic after the rain had cooled me and the air down considerably. It also didn't help that I was young and dumb and wearing cotton underwear, shorts, and tshirt. I learned a lot from that trip, and the first thing was "don't buy cheap rain gear." The second was "don't wear cotton when you're backpacking." The third was "don't camp on a slope." There were a bunch of others... but those are relevant to recent topics.

Last January just before a week long solo trip to a remote BW lake trout lake, I ordered a cheap $40 fish finder off Amazon. I had just spent a lot on a very nice -40º down bag and a few other things, so was trying not to spend anymore money before this trip. I figured if this cheap finder could at least tell me how deep it is (I had no topo maps of the lake) it would be a help, and just maybe it can tell me if some sort of fish or fishes are swimming around down below me which would be great.

Well, I got up there and gave it a try. On the first hole it did tell me I was in 28 feet of water. Ok. No fish were seen. I tried another hole. It gave me a depth for a minute, then went into data error mode. After a reset, and turning on and off, it would not give me a depth, but did indicate some fish. After while I tried another hole. No depth, and eventually some fish. Eventually I figured out that whenever it would indicate fish, it would not STOP indicating fish unless I reset it or turned it off and back on - then there would be no fish at all. I was using lithium batteries, and followed the directions exactly. I played with it for two days, and reached the conclusion it was completely unreliable at reading depth, and I had ZERO confidence it was really indicating fish of any type or size we below me.

When I got home, I shipped that worthless POS back to Amazon confidently saying "it does not work". For my spring trip, I got a Garmin Striker 4 and have been very happy with it now on 3 trips.

I will second the Boundary waters Cabelas bag the straps broke on mine the first trip I used it.

A "World Famous" brand external frame backpack that I used for a backpacking trip into the mountains outside of Gunnison about 40 years ago. It started failing on the way in - first a small attachment strap broke, then a mile or so later another strap, and so-on. On the way out three days later, I was reduced to holding one of the shoulder straps by hand because the other one had broken, and only one support strap (holding the pack to the frame) was left intact. That was a miserable hike! I promised that I would burn it the first chance I got.

smoke11: "I will second the Boundary waters Cabelas bag the straps broke on mine the first trip I used it."

..mine has been going strong since 2005 without an issue.

JD

rtallent: "Does a used Ford Pinto qualify?"

OOOO, that had to hurt!

Worst gear I ever owned was a green canvas pup tent.
That thing leaked like a seive.
I was only 7 or 8, but I knew a pice of crud whe I saw one.

One of the early Coleman Peak 1 stoves did its damndest to kill me but I prevailed in the end. I have kept it confined for the last several decades in retribution, not wanting to be part of some picker's incineration down the line ...

Savage Voyageur: "Easy call here, that would be Frogg Toggs rain gear. They ripped on the first day of the first trip. Duct tape to the rescue.
Then there has been multiple un-named fishing lures that only caught one sucker, me.


I normally try to buy the best gear I can afford at the time. I really haven’t had much gear fail over the years. The BWCA/Quetico tends to weed out sick gear really fast. "

Kindof happy with my Frog Toggs.. Got the bib overall and regular top.... This would not handle serious bushwacking of course but for my purposes they work nice.
dr bob

I would have to go with the Chosen Valley Pedestal solo canoe yoke. Clunky, uncomfortable, somewhat prone to unexpected release and ridiculously expensive. I bought one after the yoke I'd used for 25 years gave way on a trip. My first Chosen Valley yoke lasted it a trip and a half before breaking on a long portage from Kahshahpiwi. The next one (free replacement, thank you) broke on its first trip The third one had a manufacturing defect that did not allow for secure attachment. By happenstance I found someone with parts for my original yoke (that lasted 25 years without failure...) and my fourth Chosen Valley yoke (at least they replaced them without a quibble) languishes in the garage.

I've seen Katadyn water filters mentioned on here twice now, so I'll chime in as the third disgruntled consumer. The first one my husband bought didn't make it through its first hiking trip through the Presidential Range before part of it broke off in his hand. Undeterred, he picked up a different model (Katadyn Sweetwater) for our next trip to the BW. Significant amounts of time were wasted each day we were out, unclogging the filter, having the hoses come loose, getting sprayed with lake water, and saying some very bad words. It did not make a second trip with us and was retired promptly upon our return.

missmolly: "What piece of your gear hit 11 on the 1-10 Crapola Meter?

My #1 Worst Piece of Junk would be a kayak paddle I bought from L.L. Bean. I paid about 13 bucks for it and it broke into sections to easily transport it. It lasted less than a day on the Ohio River. First, it broke in half. I thought I'd then journey on with two canoe paddles, but each of those shafts snapped until I had two blades. I made it to shore, where a woman with a pickup pitied me, took me to her home, rummaged in her basement, and gave me a wooden canoe paddle, which I used to reach Louisville, where I bought a real kayak paddle, which I used for thousands of miles.
"

Not to hijack but would you do that trip again (canoe the Ohio River?). You have a write upsomewhere?

missmolly: "What piece of your gear hit 11 on the 1-10 Crapola Meter?

My #1 Worst Piece of Junk would be a kayak paddle I bought from L.L. Bean. I paid about 13 bucks for it and it broke into sections to easily transport it. It lasted less than a day on the Ohio River. "

Soooo, admittedly you paid a whole $13 for for a paddle that broke in sections for easy transport and now your complaining that it did just what it was advertised to do? For $13 I would be surprised if it made it to the river yet alone into the water.

sorry, double post, and the first one wasn't that good to begin with....

1bogfrog: "I've seen Katadyn water filters mentioned on here twice now, so I'll chime in as the third disgruntled consumer. "

I will make that a fourth! The katadyn base camp filter was a big disappointment but at least I got great advice here and converted the water bag for use in a better platypus filter system I use now for larger group trips. I give a lot of credit this forum’s members for providing great recommendations so no major disappointments since I joined.

yellowhorse: "

missmolly: "What piece of your gear hit 11 on the 1-10 Crapola Meter?


My #1 Worst Piece of Junk would be a kayak paddle I bought from L.L. Bean. I paid about 13 bucks for it and it broke into sections to easily transport it. It lasted less than a day on the Ohio River. First, it broke in half. I thought I'd then journey on with two canoe paddles, but each of those shafts snapped until I had two blades. I made it to shore, where a woman with a pickup pitied me, took me to her home, rummaged in her basement, and gave me a wooden canoe paddle, which I used to reach Louisville, where I bought a real kayak paddle, which I used for thousands of miles.
"

Not to hijack but would you do that trip again (canoe the Ohio River?). You have a write upsomewhere?"

I just did it from the Walhonding River to the Muskingum River to the Mississippi River, so I haven't done it all, but I liked the parts I did. It's harder to find camping than on the Mississippi, as it has steeper banks, more development, and fewer islands, but it's still a pretty river.

nooneuno: "

missmolly: "What piece of your gear hit 11 on the 1-10 Crapola Meter?


My #1 Worst Piece of Junk would be a kayak paddle I bought from L.L. Bean. I paid about 13 bucks for it and it broke into sections to easily transport it. It lasted less than a day on the Ohio River. "

Soooo, admittedly you paid a whole $13 for for a paddle that broke in sections for easy transport and now your complaining that it did just what it was advertised to do? For $13 I would be surprised if it made it to the river yet alone into the water.


"

Hey, there was a time when 13 bucks coulda bought you two cords of hardwood with change to spare!

I purchased a well branded "famous" named set of pants from a store up north.....two pairs. They were damn expensive........

They were the worse piece of JUNK pants I've ever owned. they were poorly made, poorly stitched, and ripped in the same place in both pairs........Just above the Knees on their "zipoff" stitching.

Each pair were nearly 70 bucks........Worse JUNK I've ever owned. I purchased these 4 years ago, and they only made it on a few trips. Probably under 30 or so.

I've gone back to my 10 yr old LLBEANS and 10-12 yr old Columbia pants that still fit.

missmolly: "

rtallent: "Does a used Ford Pinto qualify?"

Only if your neighbors were tailgaters and I'm not talking beer and brats. "

That was a very interesting read...thank you!

Neoprene knee high boots. Soles were soft and I could feel every rock, stick and pine needle on portages. Once wet on the inside they stayed wet. They now reside on a shelf in garage....I think.

Katadyn base camp filter co-habitates with the boots. They make a lovely couple.

520eek: "

missmolly: "

rtallent: "Does a used Ford Pinto qualify?"

Only if your neighbors were tailgaters and I'm not talking beer and brats. "

That was a very interesting read...thank you!
"

The magazine cover is one of the most famous ever.

In late May 2015 my wife and I started out on a road trip to Newfoundland. Our plan was to car camp and for the trip I bought some new gear including a monster tent (that LL Bean then called King Pine), a screen house (Kelty) and XL and thick self inflating sleeping pads from Cabela's. Cabella's called these their "Outfitter Sleeping Pads". Gee, anything an outfitter uses has got to be high quality and durable.......... right

Well the gear was performing just fine as we made our way through VT, NH, and Maine. At Fundy National Park in New Brunswick my wife's sleeping pad started to delaminate. At first we noticed egg shaped blisters at the surface of the pad. After a couple of nights at Fundy, the small blisters got together and formed one big basketball. Ever try to sleep on a basketball? I gave my wife my pad and slept on hers deflated. That was cold and uncomfortable for sure. I had no good words for Cabella's gear.

I talked to the Rangers at Fundy and asked where a good outdoor store would be coming up on the Trans Canada going east. They were all excited. You have got to stop at the brand new Cabella's in Moncton. Great I have a Cabella pad so it was off to Moncton (which was on our way).

The clerks at the Moncton store balked a bit when I said the pad was bought at Cabella's USA. Managers came over, looked at the pad, called it a POS and said we don't carry that pad. But, go over and pick the pad of your choice and we will make it right. I picked out a top of the line Therm-a-Rest. They even gave us a box of fudge and sent us on our way........ thank you Cabella service team at Moncton.

Cabella's closed the Moncton store after less than 3 years. I guess serving the customer was not making them any money.

And the final nail in Cabella's coffin came near the end of our trip when my pad delaminated. 2 Pads and both were POS.

I’ll go with a stove I got from an REI garage sale really cheap. The fact that it was slightly scorched looking should have been a warning. I took it over to a friend’s house to try it out because he had some gas. Right after we got it going gas started shooting out of the line and towards the flame. Fortunately, my friend thought to grab a piece of cardboard to block the jet of fuel while I shut off the stove. We were also glad we were in his driveway and not inside the garage. After that, I gave him the stove for parts.

the only thing i can think of was my 2-exped pads which both blew baffles on the same trip, they did replace them. i use thermarest now.

I'll pile on the Katadyn basecamp filter. It needed a filter replacement after a week.

+4 (or wherever we are up to) on Katadyn Water Filters. Have had the Basecamp clog and Pump handle break. Sawyer's have worked great for me.

Have also seen Frogg Toggs rip, especially the cheap pants....but to me that is not an "11" failure as I expected it. Cheap Frogg Toggs jacket is the most breathable rain gear I have used. For $15-$20 I but a set and will toss the pants and use the Jacket until I think it has met its full use and then pitch it. I took the full set to Philmont but would not do that again as I was always pulling up the pants.

One more: I was raised with hand-me-downs, so pert near everything that came my way was dated and frayed, including my first fishing outfit, an off-brand spincast reel atop a steel rod. I was fishing in Florida, catching spiny catfish when something big took my bait and proceeded to swim away. My reel literally disassembled, the pieces falling onto the dock and into the water. After that, I tied line to my rod tip and caught crabs, which my mama cooked in a pot outside.

drnatus: "+4 (or wherever we are up to) on Katadyn Water Filters. Have had the Basecamp clog and Pump handle break. Sawyer's have worked great for me.


Have also seen Frogg Toggs rip, especially the cheap pants....but to me that is not an "11" failure as I expected it. Cheap Frogg Toggs jacket is the most breathable rain gear I have used. For $15-$20 I but a set and will toss the pants and use the Jacket until I think it has met its full use and then pitch it. I took the full set to Philmont but would not do that again as I was always pulling up the pants.


"

Check out the

Bibs

sometime... For paddling you back stays covered .. otherwise there is the 'space' between the jacket and regular pants.

Gave up sweetwater pumps etc years ago. Prefilters etc never helped that much... o we switched to Aqua Mura instead

Stuff even makes the water tastes better... and we used it on Malberg Lake that one year there were beavers everywhere.

dr bob

missmolly: "One more: I was raised with hand-me-downs, so pert near everything that came my way was dated and frayed, including my first fishing outfit, an off-brand spincast reel atop a steel rod. I was fishing in Florida, catching spiny catfish when something big took my bait and proceeded to swim away. My reel literally disassembled, the pieces falling onto the dock and into the water. After that, I tied line to my rod tip and caught crabs, which my mama cooked in a pot outside. "

Heheheh, the "Visual" of that reel "Disassembling" as you played the fish.....

ozarkpaddler: "

missmolly: "One more: I was raised with hand-me-downs, so pert near everything that came my way was dated and frayed, including my first fishing outfit, an off-brand spincast reel atop a steel rod. I was fishing in Florida, catching spiny catfish when something big took my bait and proceeded to swim away. My reel literally disassembled, the pieces falling onto the dock and into the water. After that, I tied line to my rod tip and caught crabs, which my mama cooked in a pot outside. "

Heheheh, the "Visual" of that reel "Disassembling" as you played the fish....."

But that fish played me!

Sven saw.

missmolly: "

ozarkpaddler: "

missmolly: "One more: I was raised with hand-me-downs, so pert near everything that came my way was dated and frayed, including my first fishing outfit, an off-brand spincast reel atop a steel rod. I was fishing in Florida, catching spiny catfish when something big took my bait and proceeded to swim away. My reel literally disassembled, the pieces falling onto the dock and into the water. After that, I tied line to my rod tip and caught crabs, which my mama cooked in a pot outside. "

Heheheh, the "Visual" of that reel "Disassembling" as you played the fish....."

But that fish played me!"

LOL!

Any new female patagonia clothings. That stuff is junk. It is super thin and does not last a walk in the woods with buck brush at all. Why would anyone pay those prices for such thin weak clothing.. it's almost see through!

Nemo Nano tent.
Knew it was a mistake by the second campout--condensation.
Single-wall tents are fundamentally flawed for general use.
I was able to get 10 campouts out of it before a zipper broke--it is in a landfill somewhere.
I kept the poles of course.

DrBobDerrig: "

Savage Voyageur: "Easy call here, that would be Frogg Toggs rain gear. They ripped on the first day of the first trip. Duct tape to the rescue.
Then there has been multiple un-named fishing lures that only caught one sucker, me.



I normally try to buy the best gear I can afford at the time. I really haven’t had much gear fail over the years. The BWCA/Quetico tends to weed out sick gear really fast. "

Kindof happy with my Frog Toggs.. Got the bib overall and regular top.... This would not handle serious bushwacking of course but for my purposes they work nice.
dr bob"

I've had a pair for 4 trips and haven't had a problem yet. (However, I haven't had to take them out of their storage sleeve yet!)

I don't have high expectations, but they were inexpensive.

Savage Voyageur: "Easy call here, that would be Frogg Toggs rain gear. They ripped on the first day of the first trip. Duct tape to the rescue.
Then there has been multiple un-named fishing lures that only caught one sucker, me.


I normally try to buy the best gear I can afford at the time. I really haven’t had much gear fail over the years. The BWCA/Quetico tends to weed out sick gear really fast. "

Ever since I read this post, I've been getting ads for Frogg Toggs. I guess the robots aren't ready to take over the world if they can't figure out this is a thread about worst gear!

Savage Voyageur: "...
Then there has been multiple un-named fishing lures that only caught one sucker, me.
"

Well shoot and by-gosh, Savage Voyageur, you should demand your money back on those crappie lures (or whatever species they were for). Hahaha!

missmolly: "One more: I was raised with hand-me-downs, so pert near everything that came my way was dated and frayed, including my first fishing outfit, an off-brand spincast reel atop a steel rod. I was fishing in Florida, catching spiny catfish when something big took my bait and proceeded to swim away. My reel literally disassembled, the pieces falling onto the dock and into the water. After that, I tied line to my rod tip and caught crabs, which my mama cooked in a pot outside. "

Awesome story :) .

Chuckles: "

Savage Voyageur: "Easy call here, that would be Frogg Toggs rain gear. They ripped on the first day of the first trip. Duct tape to the rescue.
Then there has been multiple un-named fishing lures that only caught one sucker, me.



I normally try to buy the best gear I can afford at the time. I really haven’t had much gear fail over the years. The BWCA/Quetico tends to weed out sick gear really fast. "

Ever since I read this post, I've been getting ads for Frogg Toggs. I guess the robots aren't ready to take over the world if they can't figure out this is a thread about worst gear! "

I have a FIX for that.............And it sure is nice. Hardware solution.

Guess I've been lucky.

I know it is a piece of junk, but my Coleman RamX canoe was my first canoe I owned (and still do actually). $200 in 1994 to a guy who won it in a grocery store lottery and wasn't a paddler. METAL frame and center thwart. Plastic seats. Oil cans like crazy. HEAVY.

But, you get what you can afford. I made my own creative portage pads with 1x4, foam, grocery bags, vinyl, and furniture tacks. Fit the pads on the metal center thwart once I drilled holes through it. Can't believe I ever carried it with a pack. Must weigh 90 pounds. Still floats, but it's more like pink now. Last winter something chewed a hole in the float compartments and I've not fixed it.

Despite it being junk - it went on my first BWCA trip and many others. Never capsized. Never punctured. But it's a crappy canoe.

============================
Second place is a waterproof monocular from REI. I need instructions EVERY TIME I try to use it, otherwise I can't see anything. Maybe I even can't see anything WITH instructions! It's going up for sale next spring in basically unused condition (taken many times, used never).

double post, sorry

Banksiana: "I would have to go with the Chosen Valley Pedestal solo canoe yoke. Clunky, uncomfortable, somewhat prone to unexpected release and ridiculously expensive. I bought one after the yoke I'd used for 25 years gave way on a trip. My first Chosen Valley yoke lasted it a trip and a half before breaking on a long portage from Kahshahpiwi. The next one (free replacement, thank you) broke on its first trip The third one had a manufacturing defect that did not allow for secure attachment. By happenstance I found someone with parts for my original yoke (that lasted 25 years without failure...) and my fourth Chosen Valley yoke (at least they replaced them without a quibble) languishes in the garage."

Gotta say, this one surprises me a bit - not that he replaced it without argument - that's the kind of guy he is - but the performance of the equipment. I have one of their solo yokes, and it's just fine, no problems. But it's the different one, which clamps on to the webbed seat rather than the pedestal.

I research a lot of the equipment I buy pretty extensively but I have been burned a few times on things that I thought were going to be great.

Worst: Gerber Machette Saw. A machete with a saw on the back side of the blade. What a piece of crap. I thought it would be easier in the BW than bringing a saw and a hatchet for wood collection. Nope. The saw is almost useless and when I hit a knot in a piece of wood I put a bend in the edge of the blade. I went back to my hatchet and then bought a Sven saw.

2nd Worse: I will be yet another against the Katadyn Basecamp filter. However, not that it is bad, or didn't work for me. I actually liked using it. HOWEVER! The paper filter clogged quickly and the filters are hard to find (had to order online most of the time). The maintenance was an issue with mine. I spent more time cleaning it than it spent filtering water. I ended up buying an MSR Autoflow and I have been much happier.

TomT: "I'll pile on the Katadyn basecamp filter. It needed a filter replacement after a week. "

I'll 5th this one - except that I then resurrected it to a winner by cutting the filter out from the inside with a hacksaw (leaving the nut and everything in place, just cut the paper filter out) and then added a Sawyer in the line leading out of it. NOW it works like I had imagined it would! I thought I was a genius until I saw other people on BWCA.com had done the same.

But my 11 would be the Gerber Freescape Saw, which I was so happy about until my son came to me after 11 minutes of using the thing, and it wasn't holding the blade tight anymore. I've had a number of Gerber knives I have had for many years, guess they are going downhill. Should have tested it first.
Gerber CRAPOLA

rtallent: "Does a used Ford Pinto qualify?"

Ahh, does the Ford Pinto bring back some memories! Good and bad, I guess....first girlfriend had a Pinto. A yellow one. Enough said.
Later, a guy who messed around with that girlfriend, he had a Pinto. A red one.
Since he ran inside a building when I went to confront him - and stayed there - I may or may not have done something to the vehicle. :)

And that's what the Ford Pinto means to me, LOL.

My worst piece of gear was a second hand military surplus down sleeping bag. I bought it around 1973 at Harris Machinery in Minneapolis. Harris had all kinds of used military surplus items, clothes and junk. It was a fun place to shop. It was in an industrial area near the U of M.

I needed a warmer bag for an upcoming Deer Hunting trip with my Dad. My Sears flannel lined cotton bag I had used since childhood was not going to be sufficient for northern Minnesota in early November.

I went to Harris and found the pile of down sleeping bags near the Korean Boots and looked them over. They had shoelace like ties to keep them rolled up. They looked like olive colored tied roasts. They were really heavy which was a good thing I thought. The place had a strong odor of canvas so I didn't notice the smell of the bag. I kind of aired it out when I got home. It never occurred to me to wash it. It really didn't loft up much. The down was kind of lumped up in squares with thin cotton and stitching in between the baffles.

The first night I used it I noticed it smelled like a wet duck, musty canvas and body odor. I didn't want to know if there were any stains in it. It was really small and restrictive. The material would get caught in the metal zipper and jam it up. The lumped up down caused cold spots. The worst thing about it though was the feather quills that would poke you as you rolled around. You had to feel for them and pull the whole feather out. I bought a brand new PolarGuard bag from Eastern Mountain Sports soon after.

missmolly: "

520eek: "

missmolly: "

rtallent: "Does a used Ford Pinto qualify?"

Only if your neighbors were tailgaters and I'm not talking beer and brats. "

That was a very interesting read...thank you!
"

The magazine cover is one of the most famous ever. "

Nice to see such an old issue. Am reading newer issues each month.

HowardSprague: "
Gotta say, this one surprises me a bit - not that he replaced it without argument - that's the kind of guy he is - but the performance of the equipment. I have one of their solo yokes, and it's just fine, no problems. But it's the different one, which clamps on to the webbed seat rather than the pedestal."

They are a good company- more of a design issue exacerbated by the age of my canoe (over 30 years and now approaching 40#) which has made it a touch heavy. Add to it that my preferred routing usually involves long and rugged portages often afflicted with excessive "vegetative friction". That the design is trouble is demonstrated by the fact they're on the third design of the pedestal yoke. I think the problem is that the narrow "tower" design allows for too much torque to be transferred to the attachment point and the amount of force that can accumulate cannot be withstood by the materials used in manufacture.

Many years ago I had a rain suit made of neoprene coated cotton. The jacket had a metal zipper. While on a long canoe trip in Quebec where it rained for 21 out of our 33 days on the water, I remember saying:

"F**k!, it's starting to rain AGAIN--better put on the rain gear."

My partner said, "Dude, you don't own any rain gear".

They were right. Within minutes of putting on the jacket, the front zipper would leak like a sieve, and the pants didn't breathe, but DID leak, as well.

By the end of the trip the inside of the rain suit smelled like mildew, and into the garbage it went.

I NEVER go cheap on rain gear anymore. Staying dry in wet weather is worth every penny spent, and in the shoulder seasons can save your life.

Flying Lure!

I remember those and seemed to have the opposite result of you. I used them on Minnetonka while casting for Largemouth and caught plenty...along with the largemouth, caught about an 18lb carp and multiple large northerns.

I always thought they worked great!

So on to my worst gear...Old Town Discovery XL. Not that it was a bad canoe...but it was a bad canoe for my intended purpose, BW tripping. I bought it very early on in my tripping days and didn't have a concept of light gear. I just knew I'd heard of Old Town, and it must be better than aluminum. After the first trip - did more reasearch and found it has a published weight of 105lbs.

Flying Lure!

I remember those and seemed to have the opposite result of you. I used them on Minnetonka while casting for Largemouth and caught plenty...along with the largemouth, caught about an 18lb carp and multiple large northerns.

I always thought they worked great!

So on to my worst gear...Old Town Discovery XL. Not that it was a bad canoe...but it was a bad canoe for my intended purpose, BW tripping. I bought it very early on in my tripping days and didn't have a concept of light gear. I just knew I'd heard of Old Town, and it must be better than aluminum. After the first trip - did more reasearch and found it has a published weight of 105lbs.

CCBBSpeckled: "Flying Lure!


I remember those and seemed to have the opposite result of you. I used them on Minnetonka while casting for Largemouth and caught plenty...along with the largemouth, caught about an 18lb carp and multiple large northerns.


I always thought they worked great!


"

Well I'll be? I used them up north too with the same results (or LACK of results). I recall a couple places like below the falls on Rose Lake and Alpine where I thought that "Swimming away" motion would be perfect for the spot? No dice, nary a bite on the flying lure while they hit fine on regular plastic jigs.

Scottim.......Thanks for the idea on the Katadyn filter. I might just resurrect Lazarus (filter) from the dead.......IF I can find where he's buried. Oh thats right, I'll be able to smell the boots.

I was encouraged to try one of those short fishing poles. Concept is very good, um... the rapala stuck in my back on a solo trip... we’ll not so good. Haha. Mar gravity filter was good, but the sawyer cartarage on the msr system was better. My seal skin socks leaked on day 1... pair of chota boots I got at a Midwest mountaineering expo never did my feet justice.
Otherwise, been pretty fortunate. One note... gear like portage pants and portage boots are going to wear or whatever out. I was amazed at how fast. But looking back at the abuse I put them through, I think things have gone well.

scotttimm: "

TomT: "I'll pile on the Katadyn basecamp filter. It needed a filter replacement after a week. "

I'll 5th this one - except that I then resurrected it to a winner by cutting the filter out from the inside with a hacksaw (leaving the nut and everything in place, just cut the paper filter out) and then added a Sawyer in the line leading out of it. NOW it works like I had imagined it would! I thought I was a genius until I saw other people on BWCA.com had done the same.
"

That's exactly what I did to mine so I don't feel like it was a loss. It works great now.

I built a wood strip food carrierto match my wood strip canoe. It is hard to hang, heavy as heck, doesn't fit in the canoe very well, and I was worried about it getting tore up by a bear. It sure looks pretty though. I take it on nonportage trips to carry gear.

Sealskinz socks

Captn Tony: "I built a wood strip food carrierto match my wood strip canoe. It is hard to hang, heavy as heck, doesn't fit in the canoe very well, and I was worried about it getting tore up by a bear. It sure looks pretty though. I take it on nonportage trips to carry gear."

It sure sounds pretty! Do you have a photo?

"Things we've made or modified for canoeing and camping" could be a cool thread.

missmolly: "

520eek: "

missmolly: "

rtallent: "Does a used Ford Pinto qualify?"

Only if your neighbors were tailgaters and I'm not talking beer and brats. "

That was a very interesting read...thank you!
"

The magazine cover is one of the most famous ever. "

Thanks for Sharing. That was informative. I knew about the article from history but reading it was educational.

For cheap, light raingear, I've liked my Frogg Toggs. I've had a set for eight years or more and they've gotten lots of wear. No major rips or tears, but they are getting worn out and in need of replacement.

boonie: "Sealskinz socks"

I would have to agree with this one also.

AmarilloJim: "

boonie: "Sealskinz socks"

I would have to agree with this one also."

I can’t believe some people swear by em. And mine were not stood behind. I wouldn’t even stand in em. And again... with neoprene, wear a nice liner sock and they come off much easier.

I feel bad doing this to the $85 4 person dome tent we spent a wonderful honeymoon in. Well except the last night when we discovered that we had noseeums and no noseeum netting. Not good. Fortunately, another bad piece of equipment saved us. Our subcompact rental car had dropped a piece of the air conditioning system on the highway and the rental company replaced it with a station wagon we could sleep in.