Gear over the years – A look back, Part 4

I’m looking more at the gear, clothing, and techniques Joan and I have used. Many of these dates are guesstimates as we’ve used them for so many years, but I frankly forget when we first started using them. The year 2010 seems “good enough.”

Part 4 of an ongoing series looking at gear, techniques, and related Joan and I still use over the years.

• ALPS Mountaineering table: First used – 2010, First mentioned – 2017, Used by – Both of us.

A $100+ table for camping may not seem like a budget-friendly camping choice, but if you disperse camp often (which we do), a handy table gets used a lot. The ALPS Mountaineering table continues as a mainstay piece of equipment for Joan and me with our many camping trips.

From Joan

• 100 wt fleece:  First used – 2010, First mentioned – 2015, Used by – Both of us.

The humble 100 wt fleece. In truth, I first used this piece of gear way back in 1996. But then I stopped using it for something fancier and better, only to rediscover the utility of it and why this humble piece of gear still works well.

In Dominguez Canyon one October. PCO Joan.

I may sometimes use different fleece, but the 100-wt fleece is always stashed in my day pack and SAR “go-bag.”

It’s cheap and it works.

• Dirt Bagger Stove Platform:  First used – 2010, First mentioned – 2015, Used by – Both of us.

A DIY model made with a turkey pan, duct tape, foam scraps…and that’s it.

Stable for snow, reflects heat, it’s light and cheap. And, to use a common phrase, it works.

• Western Mountaineering Versalite 10 degree:  First used – 2010, First mentioned – 2020, Used by – Joan.

Joan sleeps colder than me and needs a cold-weather sleeping bag (versus a quilt) to stay warm during the High Desert winters.

Her bag of choice? Western Mountaineering Versalite 10-degree bag.

Made to the usual high-quality standards Western Mountaineering excels in overall, it is not precisely inexpensive, but Joan won’t use anything different for cold weather use and for how long it’s lasted.

• Generic 200 wt fleece :  First used – 2010, First mentioned – 2020, Used by – Me

Another generic item that’s durable, inexpensive, and effective. I mainly use my fleece jacket to layer in camp. And I used it fairly often for sub-10-degree ski tours. You can pick up a new one for under $30 and a used one for even less.

• Boiled wool mittens :  First used – 2010, First mentioned – 2016, Used by – Both.

Boiled wool mittens are the original, warm, and very weather-worthy soft-shell.  

I’ve rocked the classic Daschstein mitts for a while now. Joan used her upcycled, less expensive, but no-less-effective ones found on Etsy to help her combat the effects of Reynaud’s. It is an excellent and long-time-proven piece of kit.

• “America the Beautiful” Interagency Pass :  First used – 2010, First mentioned – 2017, Used by – Both.

Our gear pick of the year for 2017 is an item we get every year. It allows entrance to USFS, BLM, and NPS sites (among others), and we always get back our money in spades. Easily one of our favorite pieces of gear. You can get a free or heavily discounted pass if you have a fourth grader, retired military, senior, or other categories.

2025 pass from the USGS website.

• “Real pans” for camping :  First used – 2010, First mentioned – 2012, Used by – Both.

I’ve often said that camping cooking gear, especially utensils and pans, tend to be overpriced and less effective than something from a discount store. Get yourself some non-stick pans and utensils from a discount store, and your friends may also think you have “fancy” gear!

Pancakes!

• “Scraps of foam”: First used – 2010, First mentioned – 2014, Used by – Both.

Scraps of foam find an ever-increasing use in our backpacking and camping kit.

Don’t have scraps? You can buy a foam pad for cheap.

• “BagTex”: First used – 2010, First mentioned – 2014, Used by – Both.

A poor person’s VBL – bread bags, oven bags, or nitrile gloves for the hands.

Another inexpensive and effective trick to help with cold weather conditions.

• Campmor zipper pulls: First used – in 2010; First mentioned – in 2014, Used by – Me.

Light, inexpensive at $1 for six, and less bulky than a girth hitch or other zipper pulls, it is something I bought in bulk years ago and still use for my rain gear pit-zips, my day pack, and other items.

• Cold food: First used – in 2010; First mentioned – in 2013, Used by – Both.

Using cold food instead of cold soaking is another tool in the kit for backpacking food. I like to go cold on hot weather hikes or where there is much bear activity as I can quickly eat my last meal of the day and then hike on before camping for the evening.

Joan, in particular, makes good use of this technique on her longer hikes, more so than myself.

You normally would not carry fried chicken, but you could! 😀