Useless/Unused Canoe or Camping Gear You've Had

I know a lot of folks like them, but I've never gotten gotten useful tent lighting out of solar powered, inflatable Luci Lights. By that, I mean light useful for me to read by. The light is just too diffuse, unfocused or weak to read by, which I MUST do every night of my life. A headlamp on my head or suspended above me gives the focused reading light I need. Plus, the Luci won't charge on rainy or gray days.

Although I used them a few times during my initial gaga and pink elephant period after purchasing my first canoe in 1980, a MR Explorer, the 2 hp outboard motor and motor mount sat unused in my garage for decades thereafter.

You can send yours to me. I use them constantly for reading. They fit in a hammock peak net, they hang from a gear net in a tent, they stick on canoe bows in quiet low-tide ocean sounds, they hang in AT shelters. I did hurricane relief in the Virgin Islands once and they were a godsend down there. They also don't blind other people in group camps, similar to the red-light function on some headlights.

I paid good money (and a lot of it) for a Fjallraven anorak I thought I'd wear every rainy and cold day in a canoe. I've worn it once; it wetted out in twenty minutes and I've never used it again. I think Fjallraven makes the best outdoor pants in the world (Kebs) but I won't trust their raingear again.

MyKneesHurt……..
That’s funny, I never thought of my Fjallraven anoraks as rain gear, only wind proof, never used their wax either, I wanted them to be semi breathable. I wear the ones I have most days in the fall, winter and early spring as a wind proof outerwear over appropriate for the current weather, insulating layers.
If you are a big guy, like XXL send me a PM with color, size, model, picture & price and I could very well buy it from you.
……..Birchy
ps
My knees hurt too, wish I hadn’t jumped off of so many things. I’ve been taking “Move Free” a Glucosamine/Chondroitin over-the-counter joint supplement, which seems to help or maybe just the placebo effect.

In the unused category I seem to have gathered together several rain jackets. I still hold onto 2 sets of army surplus rain jackets and pants because they've always performed well. Seam sealer treatment has seen to that. Goodness knows why I've added other rain gear to the collection, each one seemed like a good idea at the time. At last count I have 4 more jackets and 2 more pairs of pants?? I've never been much of a collector besides the growing items on my To Do list. Maybe I'll add Rain Gear Purge to the list.

Boreal Birch said:

MyKneesHurt……..
That’s funny, I never thought of my Fjallraven anoraks as rain gear, only wind proof, never used their wax either, I wanted them to be semi breathable. I wear the ones I have most days in the fall, winter and early spring as a wind proof outerwear over appropriate for the current weather, insulating layers.
If you are a big guy, like XXL send me a PM with color, size, model, picture & price and I could very well buy it from you.
……..Birchy
ps
My knees hurt too, wish I hadn’t jumped off of so many things. I’ve been taking “Move Free” a Glucosamine/Chondroitin over-the-counter joint supplement, which seems to help or maybe just the placebo effect.

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Their cotton anoraks are certainly not rainproof. This was a Vardag Hydratic, designed for rain, I should have made that clear! -MKH

I like to wax the bottom half of my Keb pants. Keeps them from picking up so much mud and dirt, and I have a pet theory that it lets me wade up to my knees and essentially have 'quick-dry' pants.

If I were you, I would complain to Fjallraven long and loud about that rain proof anorak.
Nothing worse than rain gear that doesn’t work. The only two cases of hypothermia that I have personally seen, have been due to poor rain gear in cold autumn rain. Both cases were caught early enough that no lasting harm was done. Quick fire, tarp, hot chocolate and warm dry clothes cured both the problems fairly fast.
Fjallraven I believe is a stand up company, they should want to protect their good name and stand behind their product. I suspect they, like the rest of the world does not make their own stuff anymore, but have it made in some country not named Sweden.
My anoraks are the G-1000 fabric that are 35% cotton. For rain gear I have Bergen’s super light for tripping and Helly Hanson’s commercial fishing for more sedentary, sit in the boat, all day fishing, no portages rainy day activities.
……Birchy

I've had a few Goretex items of clothing, but have always been skeptical that any kind of fabric can be truly waterproof and breathable. One or the other is usually compromised. I like neck openings (with a wide brim rain hat) and pit zips to release heat in rain gear when I am moving such as paddling.

I got one of those UV water purifiers once. Never used it. Maybe they work great but I guess I'll never find out now.

Alan

In answering another thread, I was reminded that early in my career I bought two Carlisle and two Mohawk paddles, both of which are made from metal and plastic. The Carlisles were heavy clubs and I never used them after the first few times. The Mohawks were lighter and more usable, but they also began collecting dust after I discovered many fine wood paddles and, later, carbon paddles. Aside from their ungainly weight, I simply don't like the hand feel, the shaft feel, or the flex feel of a metal or plastic paddle.

Many years ago I got a pair of neoprene gloves*. They had plastic printed on the palms and bottom of fingers. It looked like a place for non-stick grip, but it was really hard and slippery. I couldn't grip the paddle.

The first cold trip I ended up paddling without them because I was concerned I wouldn't be able to roll with them. It was so cold there was ice building up on my kayak and life jacket. And I had to paddle bare handed because the gloves were so slippery.

I've only used them since as gloves for playing in the snow.

*The brand shall remain nameless since I've gotten great gear from them over the years

I have given away a lot of bad chairs. A few sleeping pads have not been good at insulating from the ground. I bought some Kelty Tioga packs from eBay that I really like but gave some of them away because I don't backpack much at 74. Some equipment just got updated. Wish I never got rid of the old Optimus 80 brass stove. I have given away some A frame tents and once canvas tent. Pass on your unused equipment to someone that can use it.

Useless/unused gear... where to start! but I guess that's all of us.

• I've been through almost every kind of cookpot, and have settled on a 5-cup aluminum boiler with a bail. I use a few smaller 'brew kits' for day hikes, all in the 20oz range, but still with a bail. I still have many pots and pans that go unused. I have given many of them away to my nephew-in-law, who is still young and poor, and he enjoys experimenting, as I did.
• I actually bought a lexan fork/knife/teaspoon/tablespoon set... the fork and teaspoon live in my work/travel backpack for use in Asia, where they don't always have forks, and the spoons are often oddly shaped. The knife remains unused. All I ever camp with now is a tablespoon.
• I have far too many backpacks. The two main users are both discontinued GoLites. A 70L Jam, and a 90L Gust. I think there are currently 5 others.
• I have occasionally purchased a bad article of clothing. I have a far-too-expensive windshirt that I never wear. I have managed to cull my shirts and vests. I maintain a few rain jackets, but mostly they reside in bags in my cars, as spares/for emergencies. I too ditched my neoprene gloves; just didn't work for me.
• Fishing rods and gear. I will say no more.
• Nalgene bottle. I now use, almost exclusively, an old Gatorade bottle (or wide-mouth Aqua Fina).
• Axes, hatchets, knives. Again, no comment aside from "I have one for every occasion."

Good thread.

I have a quite useful Sealine waterproof rolltop duffle which I use all the time. However it has the most useless feature that I just cannot fathom. On the side is a small zippered compartment, maybe for your wallet or a snot-rag, whatever. It has a nice waterproof zipper. Unfortunately it also has a drainhole in the bottom.

I have far too many ways to purify water to just use my platypus.

I also have a thing with stoves!

I should admit to a gear problem in general. I’m 50 and have in the outdoors in some form since birth. It started with hunting, fishing, and canoeing with my grandfather and uncles, moved to Boy Scouts, then climbing and mountaineering until my body couldn’t do it anymore. Throw in a bunch of guiding, a long off and on stint in outdoor retail. It’s come back to hunting and fly fishing as my body ages.

All that to say, my basement looks like a combo of a gear shop/ museum. There are too many memories wrapped up in that gear.

Cookannapurna said:

I have far too many ways to purify water to just use my platypus.

I also have a thing with stoves!

I should admit to a gear problem in general. I’m 50 and have in the outdoors in some form since birth. It started with hunting, fishing, and canoeing with my grandfather and uncles, moved to Boy Scouts, then climbing and mountaineering until my body couldn’t do it anymore. Throw in a bunch of guiding, a long off and on stint in outdoor retail. It’s come back to hunting and fly fishing as my body ages.

All that to say, my basement looks like a combo of a gear shop/ museum. There are too many memories wrapped up in that gear.

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I hear ya' ...
i'm just shy of 65 and taught various youth groups for decades- everything from boy scouts to army cadets to church groups, in my basement I've got about 8 large bins of "group" gear, a dozen sleeping bags, and just gave away a 1/2 dozen pads, the garage has another pile of gear too- there's floor to ceiling shelving covering about 12' of one wall full of small items like hatchets, saws, dishes, stoves,compasses, and fuel bottles (about 5 gal worth) there's also about a 1/2 dozen tents...
at one time I had enough gear to fully outfit a scout troop or school group, but I've slowly been going through and paring down my inventory; One girl guide unit got 5 pads, another got 2 coleman stoves, a scout group got around 6 sleeping bags and a couple of filters, a church group got 2 cooksets with utensils, and one scout district got 6 canoes and the trailer, paddles, and pfds...
My aim is to get it down to about 2 bins worth by the time I croak- I don't want my kids to have to deal with it (she's already fully outfitted)

A guy I know moved to South America around 2010 and I ended up with was his truck tent.

The truck tent was supposed to mate to a pick up truck with a cap over the bed. With the tent set up, you could back your truck up to the tent and the tent became a living room attached to the cap. I used to regularly sleep in my truck bed, so this seemed like a great idea.

It was four years before I tried it out. Only when I went to set it up did I realize there were no poles in the tent’s duffel bag, and the tent was useless. Only last week, I took the tent to the dump. I saved it thinking I could use the tent material for something. I did scavenge some screen for making a bug net window for my van, but yards and yards of coated nylon went to the dump. Even after realizing the tent was useless, I hung onto it many years. Sometimes I make me wonder!

Through the aughts, a pair of candle lanterns were staples on my gear list. I almost took them camping Veterans Day, as campfire substitutes during the fire ban. But I was out of replacement candles, because I never use them anymore. The lanterns have been replaced in the pack with the Luci light Glen dissed in the opening of this thread. This made me realize I should get rid of these lanterns.

Just while writing this I checked REI’s site to see if they still stock the candles. Indeed, they do. And they have lanterns, too, for thirty bucks. Seeing that selling price, I won’t be quick to just throw them in the trash.