If I were buying my gear today, I would NOT buy.....

[KDogg]

Anybody ever bought a bear bell?

lol...made me think of a joke:

What's the difference between black bear poop and grizzly bear poop? Black bear poop is purple and full of seeds, Grizzly bear poop is black and full of bear bells.

[Tipi Walter]

My Puma down bag still has its loft like when new and it's never been washed and has hundreds of bag nights since I got it. Here's what it looked like when new in 2007---





Here's the bag today in October 2017. This bag has seen over a thousand bag nights in ten years w/o washing. Still lofted up and good to go. Of course I always wear baselayers when inside with minimal fouling. Maybe being a vegetarian for the last 45 years keeps the down happier and less soiled?? Who knows.

[MuddyWaters]

With 36 oz down and 9 " loft, a puma likely has a bit of overfill, and is a different beast from a UL bag or quilt achieving 2" loft with minimal down, where even fabric wt compresses the down slightly.

[flemdawg1]

Big Agnes Air Core pads owned 4, all leaked after a trip or 2.
BPL pack, back when Ryan Jordan was trying to brand and sell gear, they came up with a pack. I bought one used, so I couldn't even return the piece of garbage. And on the very first trip the hip belt fell off, continously. It was only secured to the pack by a 2x5 piece of velcro. Tried to glue, then had it sewn on. Just never was comfortable.
Golite Jam 50, another hairbrained used purchase. My pack list just wasn't quite UL-ready, and spent 10 days in GA/NC with a literal pain in the back.
Cheapo Chinese Croc-ish sandals, took to Maine, didn't survive the 2 week trip even just wearing around camp.
Any cheap walmart headlamp, not bright nor reliable. Bought 2, one an Energizer, one a Ozark trail.

[Ashepabst]

a name brand synthetic 20* bag that's only as good as 35*-40* after 5 years of light and well-cared-for use. it was only cheap until I had to replace it.

[rafe]

If you dont wash it frequently, you dont have the 800-900 fill power you paid for. You dont have zero obviously, but you have a compromised bag. By the time i get 20 night, mine are pretty bad looking.

I don't understand why roughly 100% of the moisture in the bag would not eventually leave the bag with proper care and storage.

"Loose as a goose when not in use." That's the rule I've heard. Works for me. At home, in big mesh bags, very breathable. When I get to camp, the first thing I do is unpack and fluff out the bag.

My three older bags got occasional washings, but by no means "frequent." More like once every few years.

[Tipi Walter]

I don't understand why roughly 100% of the moisture in the bag would not eventually leave the bag with proper care and storage.

"Loose as a goose when not in use." That's the rule I've heard. Works for me. At home, in big mesh bags, very breathable. When I get to camp, the first thing I do is unpack and fluff out the bag.

My three older bags got occasional washings, but by no means "frequent." More like once every few years.

If my pics don't convince anyone about not needing to wash a down bag, nothing will.

[blw2]

a name brand synthetic 20* bag that's only as good as 35*-40* after 5 years of light and well-cared-for use. it was only cheap until I had to replace it.

tell me more, please....One of the things still on my list is a warmer quilt. I don't want to repeat the mistake

[Patrickjd9]

Big Agnes Air Core pads owned 4, all leaked after a trip or 2.

My only problem with an inflatable, also a Big Agnes, was with putting it on a shelter floor. I now spread my tent onto the floor underneath the pad and then put my sleeping pad on top of the tent.

[MuddyWaters]

I don't understand why roughly 100% of the moisture in the bag would not eventually leave the bag with proper care and storage.

Because your bodys respiration, and perspiration, is not just "water".
Why do clothes smell and get dirty after you wear them?
Why does bath towel smell if dont wash it?

Why can a dog track your scent?

[DownEaster]

I don't understand why roughly 100% of the moisture in the bag would not eventually leave the bag with proper care and storage.

Because a fair amount of that moisture is bound up in the cells of fungi and bacteria. Fungi (molds, yeasts, mildew) absorb moisture and nutrients though their cell walls, so water vapor and organic contributions (skin cells, oil, snot) circulating in the area will promote their growth. The various fungi have mechanisms to prolong life even when the moisture and nutrients are absent for long periods (chitin in their cell walls to retain the captured moisture, for instance).

You can try shining a black light (UV "Woods lamp" used for forensics) on your bag, and you'll see lots of traces of organic contamination. And that's just on the outside. Fluffy insulation provides a huge amount of surface area on which things can grow.

[rafe]

The fact remains, 75 to 85% of AT thru hikers use down sleeping bags, per the surveys cited below:

https://thetrek.co/by-the-numbers-to...bags-and-pads/

https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail...-hiker-survey/

If you're getting a lot of snot on your bag, I just have to say, yer doin' it wrong.

[Jim Adams]

I usually buy nothing but down. If you are getting wet from sweat then you are not venting. If you get it wet from rain in the shelter,then you aren't sleeping with your head toward the opening of the shelter. If you are getting it wet inside your tent then you need a new tent. I stopped buying synthetic 25 years ago and will never go back. I do a lot of canoe camping in Canada, have two A.T. thru hikes under my belt, 1990 and 2002, 1000 miles of PCT and tons of nights camping on other trails. Learn to keep your down dry and stop worrying. BTW, never sleep with your head toward the back of the shelter! If it rains into the shelter it will hit your face and wake you up and also the mice run along the walls.....much better to have them run over your feet than your face.

[Elaikases]

I usually buy nothing but down. If you are getting wet from sweat then you are not venting. If you get it wet from rain in the shelter,then you aren't sleeping with your head toward the opening of the shelter. If you are getting it wet inside your tent then you need a new tent. I stopped buying synthetic 25 years ago and will never go back. I do a lot of canoe camping in Canada, have two A.T. thru hikes under my belt, 1990 and 2002, 1000 miles of PCT and tons of nights camping on other trails. Learn to keep your down dry and stop worrying. BTW, never sleep with your head toward the back of the shelter! If it rains into the shelter it will hit your face and wake you up and also the mice run along the walls.....much better to have them run over your feet than your face.

Good point about the mice.

I've been lucky, in the off season, so to speak, the mice are no longer out and about.

[nsherry61]

Because your bodys respiration, and perspiration, is not just "water".

True, although most of your respiration is just water, kinda like distilled water actually, not completely clean, but pretty darn near.

Why do clothes smell and get dirty after you wear them?

Contact with your skin. If you are wearing something that covers your skin, then very little smell and dirt gets onto the outside layers unless they wick moisture off of your base layer, something that nylon taffeta isn't particularly great at. How often do you need to wash you winter coat due to body contamination vs. dirt from outside?

Why does bath towel smell if dont wash it?

Because your skin bits, skin oil, and moisture you towel off your naked skin make great breading grounds for bacteria.

Why can a dog track your scent?

Because they smell ridiculously minute bits of you and your associated biome.

Because a fair amount of that moisture is bound up in the cells of fungi and bacteria. Fungi (molds, yeasts, mildew) absorb moisture and nutrients though their cell walls, so water vapor and organic contributions (skin cells, oil, snot) circulating in the area will promote their growth. The various fungi have mechanisms to prolong life even when the moisture and nutrients are absent for long periods (chitin in their cell walls to retain the captured moisture, for instance).

Not really an issue with sleeping bags unless they are made with older down that wasn't cleaned as effectively as most moderns downs are, or you let them get really dirty.

You can try shining a black light (UV "Woods lamp" used for forensics) on your bag, and you'll see lots of traces of organic contamination. And that's just on the outside.

Actually, that black light thing is little more than a ubiquitous movie myth. Blood does NOT fluoresce under black light, although other things do, both organic and inorganic. So, your bag may fluoresce under black light and some of the fluorescence may be organic (feathers are organic also by the way, don't know if they fluoresce), some of the organics on your bag will not fluoresce and since lots of stuff that isn't organic also fluoresces this idea kinda fails as a diagnostic tool.

Fluffy insulation provides a huge amount of surface area on which things can grow.

That is unambiguously and absolutely true, so long as there are moisture and nutrients available to sustain them.

[Bronk]

Things I left in hiker boxes:

Can opener
Binoculars
Extra clothing...the only duplicates should be socks and underwear...everything else is part of a layering system and when it is the coldest of the cold you have every piece of clothing on.
First Aid Kit...I started out with a box about the size of the yellow pages...for you millenials who don't know what a phone book looks like think about the size of a ream of copier paper. I slowly pared it down to the point where all I carried was a few bandaids and a few alcohol pads and a few ibuprofen pills which I rarely used...if you are taking them everyday you are doing something wrong and risk a serious injury because you are blocking pain that should be telling you to stop. Beyond a minimal first aid kit you are going into town anyway...carry what you can get away with until you get to the next road.
Books...carry only one at a time...leave it in a shelter when you are done with it and pick up a book you find in the next shelter.
Food...will take some experimentation to find the right amount...I started out with way too much and ended up going in the opposite direction and then coming full circle.
Duplicates in general. You don't need two flashlights. Or two cook pots. Or really two of anything except maybe a backup lighter. If you've got two of anything in your pack seriously reconsider it.

[TTT]

My nightmare is zips. There is no standard as to how it un-clips at the bottom.
My nightmare is converting miles to kilometers and gallons to liters
My nightmare is converting Fahrenheit to centigrade
My nightmare is converting European to USA to Asian sizes

[DownEaster]

Duplicates in general. You don't need two flashlights. Or two cook pots. Or really two of anything except maybe a backup lighter. If you've got two of anything in your pack seriously reconsider it.

How about water bottles? A second SmartWater bottle adds very little weight, and the difference between one and zero liters of water carrying capacity (should one bottle break) is huge.

[MuddyWaters]

How about water bottles? A second SmartWater bottle adds very little weight, and the difference between one and zero liters of water carrying capacity (should one bottle break) is huge.

Ummmm...it go without saying that if you actually NEED two of something, its not redundant. If you need to carry 2L, not a problem. If you need 1, and carry a spare...thats redundant.

Yeah, can use a single 2L platy, it holds 2.5L at only 1.27 oz, but its a bit unwieldy as a container to put in side pockets and drink out of , two smaller bottles works better
Ive gotten holes in bottles and patched with duct tape.
In a pinch you can carry water in ziplocks, food packaging, pack liner, cook pot, etc. I have carried 2L in gallon ziplocks as contingency containers before. Or even hike source to source.

[Lone Wolf]

would not buy any water filter/treatment. walkin' sticks, anything titanium, cuben fiber, down filled anything, $150 trail "shoes" that last 300 miles