Good point on the Taj3 thread.

I have a buddy who failed to test his 19 year old MEC Wanderer before our summer trip. He hasn't used it in years. These were great tents in there day. When he tried to assemble it on our first night the shock cord holding the poles together had deteriorated and busted. The result was that it took a group effort every time he had to assemble his tent.

This was not a catastrophic failure but a soft lesson in the importance of checking your gear before it's too late.

I enjoy testing and evaluating equipment and procedures. I like to identify the strengths and weaknesses so I can choose and use the equipment efficiently.

I was surprised when I found no common audience here. My guess is that this casual interest in equipment is the result of different priorities. I feel that the success and enjoyment of activities can be improved with a clear understanding of equipment and procedures.

I don't test all my equipment before trips, but I always make sure I test my water filter device, stove, and send a text message to and from my InReach. I go out frequently enough that I am confident in my tent and other equipment.

For winter camping, I always do an easy one to two night stay at a State Park with my vehicle right there. Just to get back into the mindset of winter camping, and to make sure I have all the equipment and it is functioning properly.

I wish I'd tested my camera before my last trip! I'd have found out that the memory card was missing.

Tomcat: "I enjoy testing and evaluating equipment and procedures. I like to identify the strengths and weaknesses so I can choose and use the equipment efficiently……I was surprised when I found no common audience here. My guess is that this casual interest in equipment is the result of different priorities. "

There are members here who have been using and evaluating, repairing, building, and modifying equipment for longer than I have been alive. Maybe you just haven’t engaged the right people on the right topics. I have learned a lot from discussions of equipment here. Try posting a report on some of your testing of a category of equipment so we can all learn from your evaluations. I’m a twice-retired polymer scientist who is always interested in good technical evaluations.

Tents, stoves, sleeping pads and water filter all get tested before trip

Ditto what cowdoc said plus everything that requires power - cameras, comms, lights etc.

Tomcat: "....I was surprised when I found no common audience here...

I never thought there was a shortage of gear testing, reviews, comments and discussions. Not too much, not too little, but just right.

bobbernumber3: "

Tomcat: "....I was surprised when I found no common audience here...

I never thought there was a shortage of gear testing, reviews, comments and discussions. Not too much, not too little, but just right. "

I meant no offense, I was simply stating that I feel my personal approach to selecting equipment is not commonly shared. I am by nature a problem solver and task management with regard to equipment interest me. I approach equipment selection both individually and as a whole. I identify my equipment requirements then research, purchase and evaluate equipment to meet those requirements. When I feel I need advice I ask questions with enough information for a pointed response.

I have had gear failure in the past on trips when I was first starting out. I now inspect my gear before a trip. Tent and tarp gets setup and looked at. Water filter gets tested. Stove gets fired up. Air mattress gets blown up. Fishing tackle gets looked at and sorted out. Knives sharpened, ropes coiled. Virtually everything gets a once over.

Tomcat: "

bobbernumber3: "

Tomcat: "....I was surprised when I found no common audience here...

I never thought there was a shortage of gear testing, reviews, comments and discussions. Not too much, not too little, but just right. "

I meant no offense, I was simply stating that I feel my personal approach to selecting equipment is not commonly shared. I am by nature a problem solver and task management with regard to equipment interest me. I approach equipment selection both individually and as a whole. I identify my equipment requirements then research, purchase and evaluate equipment to meet those requirements. When I feel I need advice I ask questions with enough information for a pointed response. "

Your approach sounds like what most folks do... figure out what you need, shop around, compare, try out some new gear and repeat as needed.

bobbernumber3: "

Tomcat: "

bobbernumber3: "

Tomcat: "....I was surprised when I found no common audience here...

I never thought there was a shortage of gear testing, reviews, comments and discussions. Not too much, not too little, but just right. "

I meant no offense, I was simply stating that I feel my personal approach to selecting equipment is not commonly shared. I am by nature a problem solver and task management with regard to equipment interest me. I approach equipment selection both individually and as a whole. I identify my equipment requirements then research, purchase and evaluate equipment to meet those requirements. When I feel I need advice I ask questions with enough information for a pointed response. "

Your approach sounds like what most folks do... figure out what you need
, shop around, compare, try out some new gear and repeat as needed."

I think your missing his point… but I also “test” to be sure my current gear is up to snuff… boots were a big one for me. Sometimes gear looks ok and then you get out there and it fails. So yeah, it’s good to test your gear whether it’s set up a tent, fire up your stove and just go through things to be sure…
I always chuckle when people ask, “going in two weeks, what should we bring for food. I’m thinking… dude… I spend all winter coming up with what I bring. I’m dehydrating, packaging and trying out my latest recipes. No surprises out there… cooking on the stove I use I can have my fuel amount’s pretty dialed in.
I can see the pain on the tent pole deal… my Big Agnes tent had that happen this year. I’ve just got to liking my current Forest River tent… hard sides… tough roof… bathroom is nice to have too. Haha!

I took a "great" tent of a son's friend. Guess what? It leaked when it rained. My trip, my gear.

It's a part of my checklist for packing - inflate pad overnight, set up tent/tarp, test stove/canister, water filter, headlamp, Inreach, replace expired/used items, etc.

Tomcat: "I enjoy testing and evaluating equipment and procedures. I like to identify the strengths and weaknesses so I can choose and use the equipment efficiently.

I was surprised when I found no common audience here. My guess is that this casual interest in equipment is the result of different priorities. I feel that the success and enjoyment of activities can be improved with a clear understanding of equipment and procedures. "

You have a common audience with me. I can't say that I set up my tent at home before every trip, but I check everything else, especially the stove(s), water filtration and my SPOT device. The peace of mind knowing all gear is in good working condition is worth any minor inconvenience of having to do it at home.

Yep - could have pre-tested the Katadyn as it somehow converted to making mouth burning, chemical infused water over years without use. Fortunately we had the MSR pump with as well, just took time.

I typically don't test gear (see above statement), however most gear is used once or twice per year and is cleaned and cared for at the end of the season. I do however unpack and verify all key items are still in place on a tent or kitchen bag.

It's a good reminder though and one I should implement, if you haven't used a piece of gear for a few years, it's certainly worth knocking the dust off and giving it a run through. Especially for key gear items.

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I almost got burned this past June, having not tested my stove prior our Quetico trip. We paddled all day to get to "the interior", arrived at camp and pulled out the stove (Coleman 533) and tried to make supper. I could not get any pressure. I applied some Crisco to the cup in desperation to make a seal, but that wasn't the issue. It seems the valve had been stuck in the open position, perhaps due to rust or debris. It was a frantic 20 minutes of fiddling before the valve started working and then it worked throughout the trip without issue. We had a burn ban in effect, so it would have been a sad paddle out if we could not get the stove working. I might have to start packing a (non-twig) stove for backup.

I think stove tops the list in terms of packable gear for me. Last year my dad's brand new Jetboil stove failed during it's first ever use while boiling water, never worked again and he had to warranty it after the trip. It rained a lot that week and a campfire was out of the question, luckily I had my pocket rocket that essentially saved the entire trip.

arnesr is probably aware of this, but for others reading it - generally speaking the only permissible stoves during a fire ban are pressurized gas stoves with a shutoff valve. This eliminates twig stoves, alcohol stoves, etc.

Every year we always set up our tent, run water through the gravity filter, and test the stoves and the fuel bottle pumps (I use white gas.) This year I will disassemble the stoves and clean them.

We also pre-test any new food that we make. We don't pre-test the freeze dried stuff, of course. But if we make a new pre-made or boil-in-bag meal, we always try it at home first. I suspect I'm not much different than others in that regard.

Mike

Also, I check and tighten all the nuts/bolts, screws, rivets on my canoes. Plus, I take a small bag of extras in my repair kit that contains extra shock cord for tent poles, tent screen repair, extra buckles for packs, heavy duty thread/needle, zip ties and duct tape.

We typically test the majority of our gear a week or two before each trip. It gives me a good excuse to do some backyard camping with the kiddos. Extra hands-on time with gear before a trip never hurts and with as spendy as some gear can get it's nice to use it for more than just wilderness trips. Not to mention it helps build excitement for upcoming trips on the calendar.

boonie: "arnesr is probably aware of this, but for others reading it - generally speaking the only permissible stoves during a fire ban are pressurized gas stoves with a shutoff valve. This eliminates twig stoves, alcohol stoves, etc. "

Thanks for pointing that out, I was not aware as I have not used a twig stove, but assumed that if the fire was contained in a metal box it would be ok. I will make sure I don't use one now if there is a fire ban.

I was surprised years ago when I found out I couldn't use my alcohol stove. I had been contemplating a tri-stove - alcohol, twig, esbit - but have made the change to a canister stove. An extra burner is small and light, which is more important for a solo than a larger group where another gas stove is not such a burden. I think a lot of people won't go under a fire ban, but I travel too far/plan too long to skip it, so have done several. I enjoyed my 2021 trip (also had EP closures) - very few people in a normally busy place :)