Thread: What's your favorite piece of gear?

OK, what is your one, favorite item, that is really a can't do-without type thing. It doesn't have to be your most practical, although it may be.

Mine happens to be one of my more practical things.
My sleeping bag.

It was an older model, the big green one with the center zipper. It was the one before the MSS came out. Rated for 15 degrees or something. Mos of my traveling was in northern states, and that sucker got used a lot. Had to unzip it a bit in late spring and early fall, but it kept me warm no matter how cold it got out. It is heavy, like 8 pounds for the bag, but I love the thing. I even put away my newer, lighter ones last winter and took it back out to give it a try, and I remember why I love it so much. It's nice and roomy, and oh so comfy.

So what's your favorite?

Mine would be my cookset. It's a Snowpeak 900 Pot with a Bushbuddy stove.

a little weird, but I really like having a velcro pocket, and sew some on every righthand pòcket I come into possession of. Not having a velcro pocket bugs me more than absence of anything else, I alwasy think I`m going to lose stuff.

Tarp.

It's a tent, sleeping bag, blanket, bug repellent, and protection from homebum-dookied wet ground.

My multitool. I feel undressed without one.

Big frozen jug o water. I like my water cold for the first hour or two i guess.

My hammock & my Leatherman Wave multitool. I think I'd be lost without either of those.

Either my rose stem or my rigs. I wouldnt dream of going anywhere without them. No really my favorite is probobly my bivy sack.

Nothing like a good old speedball, huh?

definetely will keep you warm.

i just recently turned my favorit piece of gear into a skirt for the worlds best babbysitter...they were a pair of army airforce pants....basicly they looked like sleepingbag pants...even has homebum blankent lookin stuff lineing em...they have a pocket on the side for an emercancy air tank that fits a 3 cell mag lite perfectly...can't even tell the maggie is in the pocket...made sure as a skirt it kept that pocket....i got ta remember ta get a pick of that skirt before she leaves next week...anyways other than those....all the stash pockets i sew into everything...

Condoms.

4" mini vise grips I don't leave home without em'.

I would have to say my knife. either that or my nalgene

Deffinatly my fanny pack...
great tool for the utility obsessed traveler, inside, 4 inch vice grips, spange, skeleton keys, drugs, a small notebook, 2 pens, guitar picks, beads, cord, small led flash light, like 5 lighters, patches, intertube patches, rubber cement, sewing kit, container w/ body jewlery, and some xanax?

i gota say for the most part vise grips are way more versatile then multitool pliers

My Maglight!

I kinda miss my tool-belt. Not particularly attractive or comfortable, but damn that thing saved a lot of weight off my back.

my dogs saddle bags,I hope i never have to lug around that fuckers food again.

my nlyon rope for hangging out clothes, tieing stuff, etc
my bandana for every imaginable use.

Originally Posted by bote

a little weird, but I really like having a velcro pocket, and sew some on every righthand pòcket I come into possession of. Not having a velcro pocket bugs me more than absence of anything else, I alwasy think I`m going to lose stuff.

ha. I can feel ya on that one. I used ALWAYS have a hoodie with the pouch pocket in the front, and I'd seal that bitch up with zippers on both ends cuz nothign sucks more than dropping your cigs or your handy knife outta that stupid open ended pouch.
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of course, everyone needs a a bed roll. that's probbaly the most important thing. but as for my FAVE piece... hmm... my padded camera bag. I'm always worried my camera will get smashed and scratched to hell (not that it would really matter in the end how it looks but I just don't want it to get broken) but my padded camera bag saved my pentex so many times. even left it on the hood of my car once and drove off... camera only has a mild ding in the very top and still works like a charm. I think the fact that my camera is almost unbreakable helps a bit too. try doing that with some digital hunk of fine tuned plastic and see what happens. pfft

sealing hoodie pockets with zippers is a great idea! I'm bringing thread and a sewing kit on the road this year.

I always had the issue that I'd get kicked down nice pull-over carhart hoodies from my mom because she did the carhart ordering for the farm store she worked for. I hate pull-overs though because I wear glasses and it's a pain in the ass. So, I'd cut zippers off of jackets, split the hoodie in the front, make it a zip hoodie and put zippers on the pockets to keep my cell, smokes, and other random crap handy and secure.

Other than food all I really carry is my sleeping bag, tarp, hoodie and my msr water purifier. All of which I'd say are my favorite piece of gear depending on where I am and what kinda day I'm having.

Mine is also my sleeping bag. It's a Eureka! Women's Casper +15degrees. It scrunches down to about a 6"x9"x6" size and is only two lbs. A good half of my travels are in the northern states and it's never let me down to be at least comfortable, if not toasty.

Originally Posted by Tosh

Deffinatly my fanny pack...

fanny packs are not nor will ever be a good thing...please burn the ones ya have and sew a god damn cargo pocket on yer pants...and calling em a chaos pack does not make them an allright thing...shit carry a fukin side bag already....fukin kids taday...

zippers+pockets+dental floss=no fukin reason fer a fukin fanny pack...

my pack...it holds my life pretty much

my boots theyre always there for me

A sharpie!
I can start my own business for a dollar and work wherever I chose.

my camera! its what I love and its always around me, its my art.

Gretchen, my little no name 15" machete I picked up at a yard sale a few years back. Fits in my big bag, stays fairly sharp, takes a beating without being too heavy.

Still want to get a Cold Steel one day....

P 38 can opener

yeah those p38 can openers are neat. i lost a p51 years back and all i can find are the rubbish highlander ones that rattle and bend.

currantly my favourate item is my french naval gortex foul weather jacket worn over a down filled puffer jacket, realy warm and waterproof. we have had ten days of snow here and i am still toasty.

other than that, it's my bed roll, gortex bivi,two vangos sleeping bags and a down army one, thermarest compact air mattress and mozzy net.

it's freezing here, still compared to canada it probally is half tropical.

oh yeah, and my casio tide calculation watch.

I'm with you on that one...camera is king...my speed-roller is second.

I got a p38, on a carabiner with a knife,spoon,fork thing you might find in the cub scouts, & a church key(old school bottle opener)& a water spiggot key that works on some, commercial spiggots located alongside buildings. Those & my rail atlas(though outdated nice to have.

"in town",$50 in small bills and 5 silver dollars.In the back country,my Hudson's Bay blanket.Everywhere,a stout single edge knife with about a hundred feet of cord wrapping the grip area.

toothbrush.

Practically speaking, my multi tool. But nothing gives me more comfort than my copy of the H.L. Mencken Chrestomathy. Reading his essays make me feel justified in my cynicism.

1. North Face 0 degree sleeping bag. Weighs a good bit, but keeps me ALIVE and warm.
2. SOG Navy Seal fixed-blade knife. Everything else is replaceable and/or I can deal.

tooth paste.

a few years back i was drunk and stole a little pocket tv from radioshack, that way you never have to go without the simpsons, the thing eats batteries though and i hardly ever even remember i have it but it was cool for a while, the most important thing in my pack is probably my sleeping bag, floss and sewing needles, and my multitool, ... atlas is always handy too

Originally Posted by Bikesntapes

Practically speaking, my multi tool. But nothing gives me more comfort than my copy of the H.L. Mencken Chrestomathy. Reading his essays make me feel justified in my cynicism.

H.L. Mencken... you sir are correct in choosing your favorite gear

Might I suggest that you Mencken fans peruse Ambrose Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary".A bit drier than Mencken,but still worthy.

Example: prophesy,n. The art and practice of selling one's credibility for future delivery.

i just got new gear. ill let you know what my favorite piece is in a few days.

1. Dr. Bronner's magic soap. Small size. Concentrated, can wash socks in cold water, clean cups and pans, brush teeth, shave, ect. When bored can read the crazy label, a little bit of americana.


matt

Tool belt pouch.. Yes sir

my jaw harp is pretty sweet... i like my collapsible opera glasses. also like having a camelbak bladder (platypuses are even better) i like having leggings or longjohns. becker necker knfe. yoyo.

obviously i could do without most of these things, but this thread seems to be more of a "coolest, most unique items in your pack" than strictly most practicaal

Originally Posted by mattdoc

1. Dr. Bronner's magic soap. Small size. Concentrated, can wash socks in cold water, clean cups and pans, brush teeth, shave, ect. When bored can read the crazy label, a little bit of americana.


matt

this stuff is fucking AWESOME!... well, this stuff and Avon's Skin So Soft. both are good for SO many uses

Definitely my pack. Had if for years. Got it from some crazy guy stuck in the shit town I was living in so I could carry paint around a little less obviously. It needs some work done... holes and busted zippers n such but I love it. If something doesn't fit in there I don't want it.

Aside from that. Floss.