High Sierra Topix

An old blanket-sided round 1gallon canteen.

Belonged to my grandfather, used it when he ran cattle in Jackson Hole 1915-1916.

I do not use it much, mostly when car camping or just driving back roads. Still in pretty good shape except for about half the blanket wrap on one side.

Brings back memories of my grandfather.

My 1947 nickel plated Coleman lantern.Still looks brand new.It has an amber
globe that casts a warm glow,much better than the usual stark white light.

The oldest things I have in regular backpacking use would be my silva comapss ('74 or '75) or my Sigg aluminum pot from the early 70's that I still use occasionally on trips with multiple people. I still own a svea 123 from the 70s but never use it anymore.

Oldest piece of gear that I carry anywhere is a pair of mittens that my friend's mom knitted for me in I think 1973. Still take them when the weather is cold. Oldest piece of camping gear is my Coleman 2-burner, which dates from the 50's or late 40's. Inherited from my folks.
Oh, and I still have the first pair of XC skis I bought, which were used rental skis when I got them in 1977.
And my Bleuet stove might actually be older than the mittens by a year or two, but I only use it as the third burner when I am car camping.
The frame (but not the shoulder straps or hipbelt or packbag) on my frame pack is a Trailwise that I bought about 1972 or 3.

Great thread. I’ve been noticing that my equipment doesn’t last as long as it used to. I used the same Kelty pack for 26 years until it finally was held together with safety pins and duct tape in 1998. My 1971 Svea stove now sits in the storage shed because it cost more to repair than replace it with a Coleman Featherlite on sale at REI. Of course, that Coleman died in a few years and had to be replaced by an Exponet. I had an Eddie Bauer bag that zipped together with my wife’s I used for 25 years. So now when I go solo, I carry an REI bag I bought on clearance and my wife and I have zip-together LL Bean bags, which they no longer make.

So at this point, my oldest piece of equipment I still carry into the backcountry is my Sierra Design Orion CD tent I bought in 1998. The mosquito netting had to be repaired on warranty when a raccoon at Coast Camp in Pt. Reyes decided to tear through it while I was watching/photographing the sunset on the beach - all that was in the tent was my sleeping bag, a wool sweater, and my notebook, but that raccoon wanted to check it out anyway. I now leave the mosquito netting unzipped at Coast Camp. The tent is still going strong, never leaking in the worst storms and withstanding gale force winds. Then to prove my Luddite tendencies, I still use a film camera, though when I got an unexpected inheritance windfall 4 years ago, I upgraded my 1960's Leica M2 to an M7 and a 35mm aspherical lens and 90mm Elmarit M.

I still use my Kelty D4 frame pack that I bought in 1978, along with a cover for it, also of the same vintage.

The old pack generates some interesting comments on the trail .

The water-resistent lamination of the pack fabric is peeling off - and the pack is finally showing some signs of age with some seams starting to come apart - but nothing that can't be fixed... Maybe I should send it in to Kelty for an overhaul...

The oldes thing I use these days is a water bladder I bought in the early 90s, I think. My lightest pocket knife is from the late 70s, but I prefer to bring the heavier new knife becuase it looks more badass

I still have a lot of gear from the late 70s to early 80s, and much of it is still functional, but the only way these things will see use again is if I should actually should go through with my plan to do a "retro" hike and do the Muir Trail or something similar with the kind of gear I first hiked the Sierra in 1987, right down to the 35mm film camera

Reading the posts, I realized I completely spaced the things I take backpacking but also carry with me daily - my 1980s Swiss Army knife with the locking blade and my camera gear. My Gitzo tripod was purchased in 1997 and it's still working great and the Leica 50mm lens I bought on EBay in 2007 for $206 (the best camera equipment bargain of my life) was made in 1965 according to the serial number. It still performs flawlessly.

reading the last post and the word "spaced" it came to me - I still use one of those "space" blankets I bought about 25 years ago for emergencies. I never go out without these and have actually used two of them over the years, but the original one I bought is still in my gear box and has been out on the trail last year. Not much technical progress in the aluminized foil technology since 1980

Wow, I think a "retro-hike" would be very educational! We could have like 6 groups, each with the most representative gear of each decade. 1950's would be primarily WWII army surplus, no synthetics, use only fires, tarps, army rucksacks, wool. 1960's gets to add primus stoves and external frame packs. 1970's adds some synthetics, fleece, and now some light weight tents are available. 1980's switch to internal frame packs and cannister stoves. 1990's- here comes the titanium cookware and the UL revolution, light hikers and trail runners vs boots. Somewhere along the line everyone started using trekking poles. 2000's - GPS and other electronic technology added. I bet you would find that everyone still had a great time. That has not changed.