Gear report good and bad

[climbingone]

Hi All
Just back from Mt feathertop after a first time overnighter for my youngest daughter Suzy together with her older sister
Fails = My x' s Macpac backpack, admittedly its about fifteen years old hasn't had much use but the plastic on the back of the shoulder straps disintegrated my fault for not checking
my Sea to summit spoon ( Lexan I think) broke on the first morning. The Vango Banshee tent that I purchased for 99.00 pounds from Craigdon in Scotland about a year ago is a very well made tent it was tested with some extreme winds over night did not move a speck on the down side the size of the tent must be intended for hobbits at about 6Ft it was a wee bit cramppy for me but my daughter, the 14 year old found it just right. The Katmandu tent ( a copy of a northface mountain 25) is bulletproof, 3.5Kg but bulletproof. Really big tick to the Montane Prism Primaloft Jacket from Backpaking light in Melbourne it was a big winner, I have used it endlessly around town because it packs down to nothing and it was even better in the mountains forget the fleece and go for a prism. Purchase a new Exped Synmat Ul big tick worked perfectly, a bit noisy but very comfortably from Bogong in Melbourne, big tick for the black wolf blow up pillow from Anaconda that also worked perfectly just like sleeping in my bed at home. Oh MSR whisperlite international stoves are idiot proof, I have had a whisperlight for years but just replaced it with the international first morning pumped it up turned on to let a small amount of fuel in to the priming cup then thought i turned it off, WRONG turned it on flat chat, one meter flame for a few seconds then it kicked into gear started running like a charm ( not the recommended way to light the thing even doing it 100 percent wrong it did not fail) last by not least was a new OR hat Sunshower Sombrero from Bogong Melbourne worked well. Note to daughter listen to dad when it comes to the choice of footwear so you don,t get blisters
You will note I don't work in the industry but support any and all of the shops in Melbourne or on the net depending on what takes my fancy
Climbingone

[quicky]

I would love to have been a fly on the wall on your trip!

In all seriousness, I think we've all had some epic fails or blunders with gear, balanced with joyous revelations that make everything ok, motivating us to do it all again.

For me, the best thing about your trip was actually getting out there with your daughter(s) and building awesome memories. I can't wait to take my daughters to Feathertop...although my 3 year old daughter and Bon Accord Spur don't sound like a good mix at this stage!

[nq111]

H
Fails = My x' s Macpac backpack, admittedly its about fifteen years old hasn't had much use but the plastic on the back of the shoulder straps disintegrated my fault for not checking

Check with Macpac - I haven't dealt with them in a few years but they always had phenomenal service any issues with their gear. Even when the gear was well past its sensible life (had a harness replaced - new for old -and rat chew holes patched on a near thirty yr old pack for next to nothing)

[Ent]

Always good to read gear experiences from form members. Nice to know what works and what does not work.

Cheers

[MartyGwynne]

Hello I had my 15 year old macpac pack harness fail last year, I managed to use cable ties to hold it together for the next 6 days and then took it in to remote repairs $70 and all new again. Very happy as it is still a good old pack and is my go to one for rough walks.
Get yours fixed climbingone

[blacksheep]

Hello I had my 15 year old macpac pack harness fail last year, I managed to use cable ties to hold it together for the next 6 days and then took it in to remote repairs $70 and all new again. Very happy as it is still a good old pack and is my go to one for rough walks.
Get yours fixed climbingone

I did suggest he take in to a store...we can replace the shoulder straps on the spot most of the time.

[MartyGwynne]

What B-sheep do you mean you would replace a harness which has just died from use even after 15 years?
I would love to see that.
I was just happy to have mine repaired and back in use again.

[blacksheep]

What B-sheep do you mean you would replace a harness which has just died from use even after 15 years?
I would love to see that.
I was just happy to have mine repaired and back in use again.

Yes, we make several sizings in shoulder straps and hold them in stock. We also keep all the parts here in nz, with remote in AU, with a repair agent in UK, and with our distributors in Japan, Eu and HK.

The rubber frame guides tend to fail around 15-20 years into their life as rubber perishes. Some customers prefer to have them replaced , some choose to replace the whole shoulder strap. It costs $40-70 depending on a few factors, but you can add another 15-20 years to your pack.

[nq111]

What B-sheep do you mean you would replace a harness which has just died from use even after 15 years?
I would love to see that.

That is what I was talking about!

[climbingone]

Final report
I did as black sheep recommended both my daughters and my cascade went in for repair three days later, $110.00 $68.00 for my daughters pack straps and $30.00 to replace the top front zip on the cascade that has been a problem since new. Looking forward to another 20 years,. I looked at replacing the cascade with a lighter pack but in light of recent events I think I will carry the extra kilo and have canvas.
thanks for the reply's
Climbingone

[cdg]

I have a Wilderness Equipment pack that i bought in the early 90's and when it had some issues (mainly because it has been flogged hard for twenty years) i thought i would simply replace it. However, they are now made in Vietnam. i will not buy a non-aus made pack. so i have had it repaired locally. the cost of the repairs was about half the cost of a new pack, but i had some modifications made to the pack at the same time.