best and worst piece of gear?

[wayno]

what is the best and the worst piece of gear or clothing you have used and why?

my best would probably be either of my black diamond overnight packs the 60 litre infinity or the 75 litre mercury pack
great harness system, pivoting hip belt anchored on a ball joint and shoulder straps that move dynamically shortening and lengthening with your stride, not too heavy, has enough pockets, not over engineered has a wire frame... so comfortable

worst piece would be the macpac resolution event rainshell.
worst DWR i've seen by a mile, wetted out after minutes in heavy rain and never breathed at all... no ventilation, supposed to be a large, but more like a medium, heavy. clunky zipper, impossible to work with one hand... pockets that turn to swimming pools in the rain. for the price it has to be one of the worst rainshells on the market.. it's been relegated strictly to an around town around worksite jacket...

by comparison my montane superfly xt gets everything right the macpac shell got wrong in their design.... just replaced by the alpine endurance model....

[wildernesswanderer]

Mmm thats a hard one, best bit of gear for me is actually very hard because I only buy stuff I like, I don't buy 20 rain jackets and have a favourite, I buy one that will suit my purpose I buy it for. So at the moment thats a Montane Superfly. Same as my stove I have one stove, I researched for a couple of months and bought a Primus Omnilite Ti, best stove I own lol

As for worst, I don't buy gear I don't try on, can see the fit the finish and such so I don't have a jacket or clothing that is SUPPOSED to be a large but feels like a medium because I buy the one that fits in the shop, it's not heavy as I know the weight before I buy it, and it didn't have clunky zippers so it ticked all my boxes. guess thats the bonus of going to a real shop and getting to know a store also.

And as for the comment for the price it has to be one of the worst jackets on the market, may well be but if you had taken the time to try it on and such would you have bought it, I wouldn't have and I checked all the Macpac jackets before buying the Montane.

So for me all my gear is my best

[wayno]

i hear you wildernesswanderer, believe me i've been on a steep learning curve with gear in the last few years, i was away from tramping a while and was a bit blinded by the gear selection when i came back to it a few years back
at the time i bought the macpac jacket i hadnt even heard of montane before... they dont sell them in nz...

[wildernesswanderer]

Yeah the amount of gear available just knocks ya around when trying to work out the best for what you need. It does my head in sometimes but its fun

[wayno]

i think back to teh seventies and eighties when there was virtually no choice for gear, you were lucky if there were two alternatives, swandri cominated warm clothing... almost everything was locally made, macpac and fairydown were starting to dominate packs and sleeping bags and tents... it was gear that did the job, but didnt have anywhere near the technology and extra design features that goes into todays gear

[Davidf61]

Best- Trail Designs Ti Tri Fissure stove set up, with the inferno insert, IMHO the best all round device in the history of the universe. Efficient on meth, backup Esbit and I love the way it annihilates wood, pure joy.

Worst- My fault, I bought a jacket primarily designed for sailing [ Burke? ] rather than hiking, trying to be cheap, It contained 99% of body heat, sweat and odour, chafed like sandpaper and fell apart in a few weeks of use. I didn't take it back cos the smell was horrendous and I was too embarrased to own up to my own stupidity.

[Strider]

Best - Zebralight H51F. I can't get enough of this thing!

Worst - A very cheap pair of Three Peaks rain pants, which lasted just 2 days (on track) before self destructing.

[Joomy]

Best - Zebralight H51F. I can't get enough of this thing!

Worst - A very cheap pair of Three Peaks rain pants, which lasted just 2 days (on track) before self destructing.

How do you find battery life on your H51F? Pretty tempted to get one, or the current model whatever it's called.

I've said it before and I'll say it again I love my Crux AK47-X pack. Bomber, simple, light, comfortable. Can't ask for much more in a pack.

In comparison I really grew to loath my old Mont pack. 3.5kg Canvas monstrosity with a harness that just never worked for me.

[blacksheep]

I spent some time looking closely at all the gear on Kent st over the w/e. Only one brand has consistently high quality of workmanship and materials on EVERY piece I looked at in the store. Many were pretty good sometimes, ok in others, most were average all the time, several were hideous and I can't believe the customers don't see that and buy these items.
The quality winner by a big, big, big margin is Patagonia. You'd have to be delighted with their gear- made with love, thought, craftsmanship and with a long life in mind.
Then I remembered my favourite rain jacket and Pants I got from patagonia way back in 96 and they still rock (although they must have shrunk )

[Joomy]

I spent some time looking closely at all the gear on Kent st over the w/e. Only one brand has consistently high quality of workmanship and materials on EVERY piece I looked at in the store. Many were pretty good sometimes, ok in others, most were average all the time, several were hideous and I can't believe the customers don't see that and buy these items.
The quality winner by a big, big, big margin is Patagonia. You'd have to be delighted with their gear- made with love, thought, craftsmanship and with a long life in mind.
Then I remembered my favourite rain jacket and Pants I got from patagonia way back in 96 and they still rock (although they must have shrunk )

If you think Patagonia are good (and they are) check out Arc'teryx. Build quality on every piece I've seen has been perfect. Actually that reminds me, my Arc'teryx Gamma LT pants are by far my favourite piece of clothing.

[wayno]

i should hope so for the price....

[KANANGRABOYD]

I spent some time looking closely at all the gear on Kent st over the w/e. Only one brand has consistently high quality of workmanship and materials on EVERY piece I looked at in the store. Many were pretty good sometimes, ok in others, most were average all the time, several were hideous and I can't believe the customers don't see that and buy these items.
The quality winner by a big, big, big margin is Patagonia. You'd have to be delighted with their gear- made with love, thought, craftsmanship and with a long life in mind.
Then I remembered my favourite rain jacket and Pants I got from patagonia way back in 96 and they still rock (although they must have shrunk )

If you think Patagonia are good (and they are) check out Arc'teryx. Build quality on every piece I've seen has been perfect. Actually that reminds me, my Arc'teryx Gamma LT pants are by far my favourite piece of clothing.

Joomy - Do you know what Cameron has been doing for the last million years???- LOL!
Patagucci have some nice gear, albeit $$$, but some of their products are definately wrth it.
Cam, I hope this isn't propaganda and you have been recruited by Patagonia?!.
Of all the brands available on "the Stretch" aka Kent St, I would if pressed go to Mountain Equipment and Trek & Travel ( pretty sure still owned by Arthur?).
The brands stocked are the better ones- Arcteryx, One Planet, STS et al

[wayno]

arcteryx have set the benchmark for quality for a few years now, for all others to try and follow....

[KANANGRABOYD]

arcteryx have set the benchmark for quality for a few years now, for all others to try and follow....

I totally agree Wayno - even now that they moved away from Canada.
Other brands like Norrono are similar but don't know how many here are aware of them.
Even brands like Haglofs offer excellent quality.

[Strider]

Best - Zebralight H51F. I can't get enough of this thing!

Worst - A very cheap pair of Three Peaks rain pants, which lasted just 2 days (on track) before self destructing.

How do you find battery life on your H51F? Pretty tempted to get one, or the current model whatever it's called.

Truth be told, I've never run a battery flat in it. But not because it has totally amazing battery life but that I like to always be prepared with a freshly charged battery.

There are about 15 current models, all with subtle differences depending on your needs.

[wayno]

arcteryx seem to have maintained their quality control to the usual high standard despite moving production to asia...
yeah theres a few brands out there comparable or close to arcteryx, haglofs are the euro version of arcteryx. but there are quite a few european brands right up there in quality, mountain equipment have done a recent complete redesign of their shells that look impressively done... new materials cut and bonding....

[Joomy]

i should hope so for the price....

Not that expensive if you know where to buy from... (UK/EU)

Joomy - Do you know what Cameron has been doing for the last million years???- LOL!
Patagucci have some nice gear, albeit $$$, but some of their products are definately wrth it.
Cam, I hope this isn't propaganda and you have been recruited by Patagonia?!.
Of all the brands available on "the Stretch" aka Kent St, I would if pressed go to Mountain Equipment and Trek & Travel ( pretty sure still owned by Arthur?).
The brands stocked are the better ones- Arcteryx, One Planet, STS et al

No -- I know he worked for macpac previously...? EDIT: OK now I see. Well I am not trying to lecture anyone just giving my opinion. Patagonia are top-notch but Arc'teryx are top-notchest in my experience. =D

Since you mention it, One Planet are the only other brand I know of whose quality of construction and attention to detail are just mind blowing. That kind of obsessive attention to manufacturing perfection is really going beyond necessity and function but it does imbue the products with a sort of magical quality.

[blacksheep]

I agree Arcteryx are exceptional, but they were not in stock in any store in Kent st...weird. Neither was Norrona, Haglofs, Fjal raven, Klattermusen and many more benchmark brands.

Nope, not working for the'gooch. Got another plan hatching, just wanted to see how high the bar was, who sets the bar at a level that can be stepped over and which ones need a run up. And Pata gear was still the loveliest of them all. So many retailers racing to the bottom, and so few climbing confidently and stylishly to the top..

[GPSGuided]

So many retailers racing to the bottom, and so few climbing confidently and stylishly to the top..

Is shows the level of disposable income within the society...

[blacksheep]

So many retailers racing to the bottom, and so few climbing confidently and stylishly to the top..

Is shows the level of disposable income within the society...

..and reflects our values system (not "value" system). I hope our grandkids forgive us.

[GPSGuided]

..and reflects our values system (not "value" system). I hope our grandkids forgive us.

I suspect that our children would get to feel the exuberance our generation. No need to wait for our grandkids.

[wobbly]

After 30 years of use I think my Trangia would divorce me if I didn't claim it was my best piece of kit- although when the sun goes down its my theramest prolite that gets invited into the tent. Worst piece of kit has to be my sea to summit gaiters, one trip and they fell apart - even if it was the Ducane traverse I'd expect much better.