The Olden But Golden Thread: Post Your Oldest Gear That Has Remained Faithful Down The Years

[Norrland]

Mine is my trusty Thermarest Anniversary Edition from 2012. Never punctured once and seems indestructible. I guess the 75d bottom and 70d top help matters. R value of 4.8 it's good for most seasons and mix with a thin foam mat or two for winter and it makes a great sleep system. Weighs 680g.

From the original product leaflet:

"In 1972, Cascade Designs patented the first Therm-a-Rest® self-inflating mattress. In celebration of the 40-year anniversary, the company is releasing this limited edition mattress, retro-branded with the original 1972 logo and mattress color. It may look like a throwback, but features an exclusive cutting-edge, lighter-density foam, resulting in the most comfortable, thickest and warmest self-inflating mattress in the Fast & Light® category. The individually seria-numbered mattresses also feature a glow-in-the-dark valve and a new softgrip bottom fabric to prevent slipping on the tent floor."

I would post the trangia 27 also but that's a bit boring as everyone has had/does have one

 

[Boozawooza]

Nike shorts been going strong since 6th form 20 years ago

 

[OwenM]

I'm still using a couple of Northcape caplene shirts, can't remember how old they are but it must be twenty years since the firm went bust.
That was their problem, stuff so good it never wore out. So no one needed to buy replacements.

 

[Foxster]

I have a couple of Chinagraph pencils I use to mark up laminated map sheets that I pinched from school in 1977.

 

[Heltrekker]

Still using the survival blanket I bought in Millets in the 1980's and the Silva compass I bought for 'A' level geology at about the same time

 

[edh]

I'm still using a couple of Northcape caplene shirts, can't remember how old they are but it must be twenty years since the firm went bust.
That was their problem, stuff so good it never wore out. So no one needed to buy replacements.

I've got one of those...40 years old I reckon

 

[OwenM]

Still using the survival blanket I bought in Millets in the 1980's and the Silva compass I bought for 'A' level geology at about the same time

Yes Silva compass and Swiss Army Knife my Mum and Dad bought me when I was eleven, that would have been 1968.

 

[Robert P]

Paramo trail shirt from the late 90's, still going strong

 

[Henry]

I’ve got my go-to warm hat, bought from a shop in mid Wales in 1997. VAT free as it was a child’s hat although it fitted me?!? stretched over the years...

I think it’s made from an asbestos/kryptonite mix. Ridiculously warm and indestructible. But I do look like an idiot in it.

 

[Robert P]

That has got me thinking about hats too. I'd count the Lowe Alpine Mountain Cap from the mid 90's, but I'm on my third (I think both predecessors were blown off my head and away by gale force winds...)

 

[Foxster]

I’ve got my go-to warm hat, bought from a shop in mid Wales in 1997. VAT free as it was a child’s hat although it fitted me?!? stretched over the years...

I think it’s made from an asbestos/kryptonite mix. Ridiculously warm and indestructible. But I do look like an idiot in it.

Pictures or it didn't happen

 

[Henry]

Pictures or it didn't happen

When I get home...

 

[Nevis]

VIGA tracksters, bought mid 80's when in the Royal Marines, only bought a new pair last month.
Buffalo top from RAF mountain rescue in the mid 90's, it's seen so much action I can't believe that it's still working as it should

 

[Jim_Parkin]

Paramo trousers from 1992 - still used in winter when it's around freezing, especially snowing.

Karrimor "KIMM fleece" (I think) - certainly part of their KIMM range from 1994. It was reversible Polartec 100(m-I think) with a non fleecy side for less warmth/better evaporation/wicking next to the skin, and fleecy side with smooth outer for usual wear and a deep neck zip. and small chest pocket. I last used that March.

Vango Hotstuff flask from 1987.

I have just found (well Dad did) my Peak One petrol stove from the late 1980s too. THAT is one that I think I'll give a miss. It was terrifying to me as a teenager, and I can't imagine not being used for 20 years has improved it.

 

[Norrland]

You guys with your 1980s gear I can't compete with.

 

[Balagan]

3/4 Thermarest pad from before they had names. Well, circa 2000 IIRC. I no longer use it but I have lent it to the odd scout recently.

 

[Build-a-Bear]

A second-hand thermarest neoir original (short/rectangular) that started hiking before I did... Not many alternatives in that format and similar weight and insulation

 

[Jim_Parkin]

I’ve got my go-to warm hat, bought from a shop in mid Wales in 1997. VAT free as it was a child’s hat although it fitted me?!? stretched over the years...

I think it’s made from an asbestos/kryptonite mix. Ridiculously warm and indestructible. But I do look like an idiot in it.

I have a balaclava that I've used as a beanie since 1987

 

[lentenrose]

ccf mat--- so old that i cannot remember how i got it---touch under 400 gms------10 mm thick-----good all year round including on snow------but the feature i really love-----shiny plastic one side----easy wipe clean

 

[dovidola]

This manky bit of CCF has been with me on every trip since I bought it in the mid-70s:

 

[el manana]

They just never seem to run out....

 

[Baldy]

They just never seem to run out....

View attachment 31255

and they're light

 

[The Cumbrian]

I've still got a couple of Lowe Alpine Henley Dryflo t-shirts from the mid 90s. They're still going quite strong and I wish they would make them again. It's hard to find a base layer t-shirt that actually fits like a relaxed t-shirt these days.

 

[Shewie]

I've a few bits remaining from my first ventures into the hills in the early 90's

MSR Blacklite pot set (still gets used on car camping trips to Europe)
MSR Whisperlite (winter stove for pulk trips these days)
TAR 3/4 length self inflating pad
Ortlieb 4L water carrier

The oldest has to be a two tone pink and purple Berghaus fleece pullover which I can remember swapping for a skateboard with a pal at school, the wife still wears it for decorating scruffs

 

[Ian Barton]

The oldest gear I still use is a pair of Lowe Alpine fleece gloves, bought some time in the 1980's. I still have my first rucksack, a Karrimoor Pinnacle bought about 1975. I have also got my Haston Alpiniste rucksack,.I used this until a couple of years ago, but it now has too many holes in it. Bought in the early 1980's. It came with an unlimited repair guarantee and was fixed several times by Karimoor, mostly for damage to the bottom caused by dumping it on granite boulders in the Alps.