Worst piece of gear you ever bought?

[Skeeterbait]

What's the worst piece of gear you've ever purchased? Mine was an overly-large tent I bought when I was new and didn't know what I was doing. It never occurred to me that large tent = too big to keep warm with two people in it.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

15 foot Coleman Ram-X canoe, circa 1982. It was cheap ($169 as I remember), and damn well should have been. Hull was too flexible, huge keel made it nearly impossible to turn, the transition from hull to side was too sharp, and it was too fat for its length and was a bear to paddle.

Taught me a LOT about canoes, tho LOL.


Oddly enough I sold it to a guy that absolutely fell in love with it! I guess there's something for everyone.

 

[Grandpa]

When the Forest Service first came out with the rule that every forest visitor would be required to carry a bucket, shovel and axe, someone made a light weight shovel with a sharp edge to emulate an axe. I suckered and bought one for my truck. First visit to the forest and a firepit was full of ashes. The very first shovel full of ashes and the shovel developed a 90 degree elbow. I didn't bother trying to cut anything with the axe part. I think a tool made out of rubber would have been stronger.

 

[Dusty]

I bought this ridiculous battery operated plastic lantern that collapsed down, thinking it would be better than a kerosene lantern. It wouldn't open when you needed it, and it wouldn't stay shut when you wanted it closed.

 

[Lamebeaver]

A pair of Itaska "breathable waterproof" boots. Worst pair of hiking boots I ever owned.

 

[hippieP]

I have never had much luck with anything breathable before, I think its a product curse. I think our worst buy was a tent we got years ago and it said something like 'indestructible" and within 3 months it died.

 

[oldsarge]

After the first Rambo, and before Jim Lile released the Knife he made for the movie. I picked up a knock off of the infamous survival knife John J used. Every body thought that this was the knife of all knives and wanted one. Big mistake! What a piece of garbage this knife turned out to be (the knock off) I would have rather used a dull butter knife. It was a few years later that Mr Lile released the knife he made for the movie for sale. I bought one and even though it was a made of quality material and the workmanship was better it was totaly useless in the field. I did try a few other "Rambo" styled survival knives, still a waste of my money, couldn't sell them off quick enough!

 

[charley]

A tent that was near impossible to set up. It was so hard to put up, I lent it to a friend once and he came back that night cause he couldn't get it set up.

 

[Judy Ann]

A tent that was near impossible to set up. It was so hard to put up, I lent it to a friend once and he came back that night cause he couldn't get it set up.

LOL!!!

My brilliant idea for hauling my 68 pound canvas tent 1/4 mile using a handcart meant for fishing gear and coolers on the docks didn't hold up on 10" steps. Broke on the fifth step! Don't buy a hand truck/cart with plastic wheels even if the rest is made of metal. Someone here told me that I would get what I paid for, but I didn't expect steps on a walk in site where mainly boat folks camp.

 

[omegapd]

I bought this ridiculous battery operated plastic lantern that collapsed down, thinking it would be better than a kerosene lantern. It wouldn't open when you needed it, and it wouldn't stay shut when you wanted it closed.

I fell for it too. The plastic "glass" part broke when I shut mine too hard.

 

[Newanderthal]

A Browning knife. It was a folder with a 4" blade. The steel was soft as lead, the serrations broke, the lock didn't work at all (blade snapped shut and sliced into my fingers) and the belt clip broke off. It lasted about 3 months.

Don't ever buy a Browning knife.

 

[Lorax]

I might take a little heat for this, but it would be the Big Agnes inflatable sleeping pads. As comfortable and lightweight as they are, I have three and I'm always returning one to be replaced by their 100% guarantee (which they always make good on) If it wasn't so comfortable, I wouldn't keep returning them. I really like the pads.
These pads average 18 nights before developing slow leaks. I treat them like fine glass, even using them in a hammock where nothing could poke them from the ground.

We did a backpacking trip in the BWCA. There were three of us with the same pads. Two out of three lasted only three nights.

I've had great experiences with my gear, which I use to the fullest. It's all been great over the decades of doing this stuff. That is the only piece of gear that has failed me and failed repeatedly.

 

[Skeeterbait]

Oh, I just thought of another one. This little gadget you were supposed to hang around your neck, and it would repel mosquitoes with a high-pitched sound. May as well have been a dinner bell.

 

[oldsarge]

Oh, I just thought of another one. This little gadget you were supposed to hang around your neck, and it would repel mosquitoes with a high-pitched sound. May as well have been a dinner bell.

I bet it kept the mice and cockroaches away though!

 

[catspa]

A Browning knife. It was a folder with a 4" blade. The steel was soft as lead, the serrations broke, the lock didn't work at all (blade snapped shut and sliced into my fingers) and the belt clip broke off. It lasted about 3 months.

Don't ever buy a Browning knife.

I'd bet you money that it was just a cheap import with the Browning name stamped on it. Winchester and S&W did the same thing several years ago, and Colt last year.

When you think about it, if you were running the Browning factory, why would you divert the skilled labor, machinery and materials from making $1000 guns to making $40 knives? You wouldn't...

Parker

 

[briansnat]

Probably my first backpacking stove, a Coleman Peak 1 multi-fuel. It was heavy, bulky and leaked pretty much from day 1. Because of the leaks the whole thing would burst into flames from time to time while I was using it.

After a few seasons of using that POS I replaced it with a MSR Whisperlite

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...

Two items come to mind...one was a knockoff of a Marine K-bar knife. Wouldn't even take an edge, yet alone keep one. That was several decades ago.

The other was those lighters with the see-through fuel reservoirs. I've had them fail after turning the spark wheel as few as six to twelve times.

 

[ponderosa]

Probably my first backpacking stove, a Coleman Peak 1 multi-fuel. It was heavy, bulky and leaked pretty much from day 1. Because of the leaks the whole thing would burst into flames from time to time while I was using it.

After a few seasons of using that POS I replaced it with a MSR Whisperlite

Heh, my first backpacking stove about 20 years ago was a Coleman Peak 1 multi-fuel. It is definitely big and heavy by today's standards, but back then it was considered to be pretty sleak. I am surprised to hear that you apparently got a lemon, too bad. Mine has been an absolute work horse. I don't take it backpacking anymore, but it is my favorite stove for car camping. It simmers and lights up like a torch and everything in between, and has never disappointed me in any way. It's actually one of my favorite pieces of gear I've ever spent money on.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

I'm still using a Coleman Sportster single burner stove that I bought new about 1973. Absolutely bulletproof. Not light at all but 100% reliable. Teriffic heat output on high, but simmers with the turn of a lever.

 

[DMan]

It had to be hands-down a pop-up that we used, to have shelter from the rain. It was so bulky which was bad enough but it was hard to put up, especially when it was only my wife who was around to help. The pins would always end up falling through so I had to keep the poles up with screwdrivers in the pin holes.