15
Friend told me I baby my gear too much and it stuck with me
So I was out in the Sierras last weekend on the JMT stretch near Tuolumne and my buddy Mike laughed at me for wrapping my tent poles in foam before shoving them in my pack. Said I spend more time protecting my stuff than actually enjoying the trail. He rolls into camp with a beat up 10 year old osprey that's got duct tape patches and his tent just thrown in loose. Got me thinking. On one hand I've never had a pole snap or a zipper fail mid trip because I'm careful. On the other hand he's done 2000 more trail miles than me in that same decade and never once had a trip ruined by broken gear. Ever since that conversation I've been second guessing whether I'm being smart or just paranoid. Who's right here? Does being anal about your gear actually save you headaches or does it just add weight and stress?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
faith_perez18d ago
Your foam wrap thing might be overkill but not because it's wasting time. A broken tent pole in the Sierras can actually ruin a trip if you're miles from a trailhead and the weather turns. Being careful with your zippers and poles is smart, the difference is he just accepts that risk and you don't.
2