I thought about the old gear that i had, and i have lots. One of my favourite pieces of gear from bygone times was the Sprayway Yeti. (I think thats what it was called) but i could be mistaken.
It is a full winter jacket that i purchased roughly in the early to mid seventies.
I cannot remember how much it cost then, but i expect that it wasn't cheap.
It's basically a 3/4 length jacket, made of Nylon with a Polyurethane coating. Then it has a fleece lining which is unattached at the base for air circulation.
It has 4 very large outer pockets and 2 hand warmer pockets. On the inside there is one pocket.
It has a waist drawcord and an Opti heavy duty nylon zip.
All the fastenings are heavy duty studs.
Nothing has ever failed on this jacket. Even the coating is still A1 and the fleece looks new.
On the inside it says this jacket is made by Chris Barnett. So well done to him and to Sprayway.
Photo of me wearing it when i was backpacking in Iceland.
Sorry the quality of the Iceland picture is not that great. Old photo's don't keep well.
Sorry the quality of the Iceland picture is not that great. Old photo's don't keep well.
It weighs 1.4kg. I can't believe that i used to wear or carry this on long backpacking trips.
However at the time it was fit for purpose and i must have thought a lot of it because i still have it.
It never let me down and i cannot remember ever being cold or soaked through when wearing it.
However at the time it was fit for purpose and i must have thought a lot of it because i still have it.
It never let me down and i cannot remember ever being cold or soaked through when wearing it.
Strange isn't it that you were able to go backpacking in Iceland (and survive) with a jacket that most outdoors magazines would say was unsuitable for even the High St.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes feel that gear, rather than being a means to an end has become an end in itself and sad to say I'm as guilty as anyone.
Richard
Richard,
ReplyDeleteLooking at it now, it seems unreal. But the gear we used 30 - 40 yrs ago was made to a completely different set of rules. Everything was so much heavier, more bulky, cooking gear was made from brass or stainless steel.
How i used to carry all that weight, thats what i would like to know.
Maybe thats why i suffer with my back from time to time now.
Thanks for your comment.--Alan
And then again what we wore and carried 30 years ago was still much lighter than stuff used by my dad's geneation 20 or 30 years earlier. Our kids never had it so good! For my part, as my knees get creakier, I say three cheers for ultra lightwight gear!
ReplyDeleteTony i couldn't agree more. Gone are the days of tweed jackets and breeches. Norwegian wool jumpers, mitts and socks. Optimus brass stoves,paraffin lamps etc. Thank God.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to reading your CW postings BTW. Thanks for dropping by.
Unlike now, I never really thought about what weight I was carrying (and I was usually carrying climbing gear as well as camping stuff).I guess it was just the norm in these days. I can never bear to throw old gear away but thankfully I don't add much to the pile now because I don't replace much!
ReplyDeleteHi Gibson,
ReplyDeleteI need to get into that train of thought.
I am such an easy target for new gear. I do have to watch the prices but as long as it's within my meagre budget i will buy it. As long as its lighter than my current version. I too don't throw much away.
That rainy day never seems to arrive though. The loft is getting ridiculously full.