Overrated Gear

[IdahoBeav]

Knives that use replaceable blades.

 

[MuleDeerMike]

Another vote for Black Diamond headlamps being a complete PITA!

 

[Dr.Chill]

Knives that use replaceable blades.

Second this. Have a Gerber vital that initially was nifty, but now even fresh new blades wobbly in the 'lock' and lose their edge in a flash

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Knives that use replaceable blades.

A couple months ago I would have agreed. I am a huge benchmade fanboy…but, my buddy talked me into one of those 5” outdoor edge knives for our alaskan moose hunt. They were amazing.

 

[sivart]

agree. The Outdoor Edge is much handier than the Havalon. More rigid, and you can actually pry with it a little. I used Havalons for the last 10 years. After I used my buddies OE, I had to get one.

 

[DLIP]

Knives that use replaceable blades.

I went from a havalon to a $13 Morakniv and I don’t think I’ll ever have anything else.

 

[Drenalin]

As someone who’s far from intelligent it’s crazy to me how many people find headlamp buttons difficult.

Black diamond storm

Big button on/off and hold to brighten or dim

Small button cycles between colors and flood/spot light.
Press it once to cycle between spot/flood/color
when it lands on a color hold it to change colors.
Big button twice is strobe
hold both together til the blue light flashes to lock/unlock.

I didn't mind the buttons, but my experience with two of the Spot models is that 50% of them randomly stop working for no obvious reason. Not the battery, no trauma or damage to the light, it just quit. Hard to call a $30 headlamp overrated, but I was glad to discover I couldn't trust them before I was in a position where a light would have been necessary rather than handy.

 

[Drenalin]

Off the top of my head, stuff that doesn't work for me:

Kifaru pack
SG pack
Mystery Ranch pack
Kuiu packs
Kuiu Peloton 97
Kuiu Peloton 240 (specifically the "wind resistance")
Sitka lightweight hoody
Enlightened Equipment quilts
Sea to Summit pads (comfort is fine, not amazing, but warmth and weight suck)
Tyto knives (other replaceable blade knives are fine)
Jetboil (no issues, but no discernable benefit for me over the cheap BRS and a pot)

 

[Trackerbacker]

Off the top of my head, stuff that doesn't work for me:

Kifaru pack
SG pack
Mystery Ranch pack
Kuiu packs
Kuiu Peloton 97
Kuiu Peloton 240 (specifically the "wind resistance")
Sitka lightweight hoody
Enlightened Equipment quilts
Sea to Summit pads (comfort is fine, not amazing, but warmth and weight suck)
Tyto knives (other replaceable blade knives are fine)
Jetboil (no issues, but no discernable benefit for me over the cheap BRS and a pot)

I've gotta somewhat agree with the principle here.

Running value deals or outta the box solutions..I seem to be the only guy that can carry 5 days gear in an under 3000cuin bag, with room and weight to spare....

.....running coleman, ozark trail, amazon specials and basspro/cabelas (ascend) stuff....

....and in comfort and heat...



Whachya need all them liters and logos for?

 

[dank]

Off the top of my head, stuff that doesn't work for me:

Kifaru pack
SG pack
Mystery Ranch pack
Kuiu packs
Kuiu Peloton 97
Kuiu Peloton 240 (specifically the "wind resistance")
Sitka lightweight hoody
Enlightened Equipment quilts
Sea to Summit pads (comfort is fine, not amazing, but warmth and weight suck)
Tyto knives (other replaceable blade knives are fine)
Jetboil (no issues, but no discernable benefit for me over the cheap BRS and a pot)

Peloton 97 is my jam. Saves me 10 oz over my other mid layer options!! Rips easy but who cares. Holes and pilling don’t really reduce its effectiveness.

 

[Drenalin]

I've gotta somewhat agree with the principle here.

Running value deals or outta the box solutions..I seem to be the only guy that can carry 5 days gear in an under 3000cuin bag, with room and weight to spare....

.....running coleman, ozark trail, amazon specials and basspro/cabelas (ascend) stuff....

....and in comfort and heat...



Whachya need all them liters and logos for?

View attachment 472647

Don’t get me wrong, I like expensive gear. But a lot of it is overhyped and turns out to be pretty disappointing when I try it for myself. Some turns out to be outstanding. And lots of folks have the exact opposite experiences as me, so it’s good to have choices.

I will say though, to your point, a lot of us seem to be spending a good chunk of money chasing what turns out to be marginal gains. Attitude is more important than the stuff.

 

[Drenalin]

Peloton 97 is my jam. Saves me 10 oz over my other mid layer options!! Rips easy but who cares. Holes and pilling don’t really reduce its effectiveness.

I’ll be one of the first to admit that we all have preferences and my experiences will not necessarily be everyone else’s. I’m glad it works for you.

I had the hoodie and the bottoms. Durability was poor, but that was way down my list of dislikes. The hood, fit wise, was awful and completely useless. I despised the amount of static electricity it held, which made taking it off and putting it on a PITA. The zip off bottoms were not life changing for me, I strongly prefer not jacking around with my undies and just carry puffy pants now instead. Wasn’t impressed with the warmth enough to offset any of those concerns. I’ll take the weight penalty and stick with Sitka’s heavyweight hoodie for a mid.

 

[fngTony]

I’ll be one of the first to admit that we all have preferences and my experiences will not necessarily be everyone else’s. I’m glad it works for you.

I had the hoodie and the bottoms. Durability was poor, but that was way down my list of dislikes. The hood, fit wise, was awful and completely useless. I despised the amount of static electricity it held, which made taking it off and putting it on a PITA. The zip off bottoms were not life changing for me, I strongly prefer not jacking around with my undies and just carry puffy pants now instead. Wasn’t impressed with the warmth enough to offset any of those concerns. I’ll take the weight penalty and stick with Sitka’s heavyweight hoodie for a mid.

Interesting. I’ve had the exact opposite experience. In fact I’m a total peloton 97 fan boy.

 

[grappling_hook]

As someone who’s far from intelligent it’s crazy to me how many people find headlamp buttons difficult.

Black diamond storm

Big button on/off and hold to brighten or dim

Small button cycles between colors and flood/spot light.
Press it once to cycle between spot/flood/color
when it lands on a color hold it to change colors.
Big button twice is strobe
hold both together til the blue light flashes to lock/unlock.

 

[TX1]

I'll ruffle some feathers here....TOYOTA.

I bought a 2006 loaded Tacoma TRD because I heard all the hype....What a POS.

Immediately I noticed the rear springs were flat and the 'truck' would bottom out with nothing in the bed, over speed bumps.
Toyota corporate told me I was crazy until some years later when they were forced to issue a recall and then refused my reimbursement request for the springs because I didn't have the dealer diagnose the problem.

Add to that the weakest frame (Tundra, too) of any pickup, body trim that just decided to leave at freeway speeds, rear window rattled out of place on a cobble road, horrible upholstery, fuel door that doesn't even have hinges and rusted off, 'alloy' wheels that corroded and flaked at 60k, six-speed manual that had ratios chosen by first graders,...I could go on and on.
That 5' bed on Tacomas is a pathetic joke.
Just a poorly-engineered and cheaply made POS.

And the fanboy Koolaid keeps them in business.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that feels Vortex and Leupold are in the ranks of overrated.

Had a 2015 POS whistling door seals at 60mph i always wondered why any company would put TRD (turd) on the side of their vehicle

 

[justin davis]

Sleeping bag ratings. Why don’t the manufacturers rate them for comfort rather than survival. I have to buy one that’s rated almost 20 degrees colder than I think it’s going to get at night.

Western mountaineering bags do. They keep you warm well below their ratings

 

[Dust Rider]

Just threw out my last Black Diamond headlamp. This one made it maybe two or three years. held together with duct tape for the last year as it kept splitting open and batteries would not secure in place.

 

[Carrot Farmer]

Just threw out my last Black Diamond headlamp. This one made it maybe two or three years. held together with duct tape for the last year as it kept splitting open and batteries would not secure in place.

an upgrade I did this year, Peax Headlamp! I'd trade all of my Blackdiamond headlamps for 1 Peax...definite game changer for me. I love the 3 different settings for the redlight(its a spot, not flood!)

 

[BBob]

Interesting. I’ve had the exact opposite experience. In fact I’m a total peloton 97 fan boy.

Same. My 97 is one of my oldest Kuiu pieces at around 5 years old. It's always in the pack and probably my most worn piece of clothing. It's still totally fine save for some pulls and snags here and there on the sleeves.

 

[dingle]

an upgrade I did this year, Peax Headlamp! I'd trade all of my Blackdiamond headlamps for 1 Peax...definite game changer for me. I love the 3 different settings for the redlight(its a spot, not flood!)

Man, a switch might be long overdue. Recommended models? I'm a red devotee but sometimes it's nice to have a cold white available.