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Sign in to chatGear threads are most useful when they include mileage. How long did you use it, in what conditions, and what broke first?
Failures are as valuable as recommendations here. If a company made a warranty claim easy — or painful — say so.
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8 threads in Gear Talk
- YEYellowbirchYara· 8/11/2026
Under $50 gear that punches way above the price
A $12 pot lifter, a $30 fleece from a work-wear brand, and a $20 headlamp that has outlived two expensive ones. Budget gear is better than it has ever been. Add yours.
#gear#budget#review2replies - BABasinAndRangeBen· 8/9/2026
Gear I have replaced with the exact same model twice
Same headlamp, same stove, same wool base layer. When something survives a few hundred nights you stop shopping. What is on your repeat-buy list?
#gear#durability#review0replies - FLFlatwaterFinn· 7/29/2026
Water filters: squeeze, gravity, or pump in 2026?
Squeeze for solo and fast trips, gravity for groups, pump only for silty water. Carrying chemical tablets as backup weighs nothing and has saved two trips. What is in your kit?
#gear#water#review2replies - KEKettleMoraineKate· 7/27/2026
Are $600 boots ever worth it over $200 boots?
I have owned both and the expensive pair resoles, which changes the math entirely. If a boot cannot be resoled I refuse to spend more than $250 on it. Where do you land?
#gear#boots#budget2replies - GUGullyGrace· 7/25/2026
Down vs synthetic for wet climates — settled it for myself
Three seasons in the Pacific Northwest and synthetic wins for the outer insulation layer, down still wins in the sleeping bag inside a good shelter. Weight penalty is real but so is a wet jacket.
#gear#insulation#review2replies - BOBoulderfieldBrock· 6/30/2026
Most overrated piece of gear in your category
I will start: titanium sporks. They flex, they are cold, and a $2 plastic spoon does the job better. Fight me.
#gear#discussion#review0replies - SPSpruceGooseSteve· 4/23/2026
Warranty experience: two companies, two very different outcomes
One replaced a five-year-old pack with no receipt in nine days. The other wanted photos, a purchase date, and then offered 20% off a new one. Warranty policy is part of the product.
#gear#warranty#review0replies - JUJuniperJess· 3/22/2026
Zipper failure at 11,000 feet and the field fix that saved the trip
Main tent door zipper split in the wind. Two safety pins and a length of cord held it for three nights. I now carry four safety pins in every pack, permanently.
#gear#repair#failure0replies