Gear That Lasted At Least A Decade?

AKSkeeter

AKSkeeter

Well-known member
I have many items that I purchased in the 1980s/1990s that I still use today.
These have passed the "test of time", most from big game hunting in Alaska:
1) Helly Hansen Commercial Rain Gear
2) MSR Whisperlite stove
3) Leupold Scopes
4) Dana Design Arcflex backpack (company is now Mystery Ranch)
5) Leki trekking poles
6) Rapala fillet glove to protect hand from knife cuts
7) Maasdam rope puller for working on bull moose, getting boat unstuck
8) Eureka Summit Tent (survived many windstorms over 30 years)
9) Browning Citori shotguns (mine are 12 and 20 gauge, bought used in the 1980s, still hunting every weekday)
10) Filson Tin Chaps

Gear that lasted a decade:
1) Dogtra Arc E-collar
2) InReach Explorer
3) Granite Gear Crown 60-liter backpack
4) Grundens rain pants
5) SIMMS lightweight rain jacket
6) Crispi Colorado boots
7) Darn Tough socks

What are your favorite items that have passed the test of time?
 
Zeiss shooting glasses
Mulholland 20ga shell belt
Leatherman
Rebuilt Russell’s
Several Beretta 20ga SxS and O/U
Stormy Kromer
Smartwool XC winter gloves
Shooters Box(Old lined music case converted)
I like the old stuff, it wore on me. Literally.
 
I have an orange silk facemask that I bought for skiing when I was in high school in the 70"s. I don't ski anymore but it goes with me on every cold weather hunting trip. I bought most of my guns, scopes and binoculars in the 90's.
 
Filson Uplander boots
Filson original Tin Cloth waterfowl jacket
Filson tin cloth hat
Leatherman and Gerber multitools from Army days in early '90's
Compass
LC Smith shotgun from 1905
Thomas Perkes shotgun from London 1874-1885
Nikon binos from early '90's
Buck knife from early '80's
 
F&S Hunting vest
Gerber knife
Benelli shotgun
Windstopper gloves
Tri Tronics Sport e-collar

A whole lot more if we're just talking hunting in general. The items listed above are purely used for pheasant hunting. I would expect just about any firearm to last and operate properly for at least a decade unless its not taken care of.
 
Columbia Ptarmigan hunting coat. I love this coat, but not the current version of it. I think I bought it in the spring of '07, but I'm wearing it in a picture from November of '09. In another couple of years it's going to start leaking shells out of the pockets. I may have to give up bird hunting when that happens...;)

Knives and guns should last much longer than a decade. Of all the guns I own only one is newer than that, although they may not have been mine that long. I can't remember the last time I bought a knife.

My Garmin Alpha and one of the collars is close to 10+ years old. I'm using it on a second dog. The previous dog died at age 12 in 2020, but I didn't buy it when she was a pup. Considering how much peace of mind I get from those collars and that they are high-tech electronic devices, I've been wondering about whether I should replace them before they break.
 
How about what does not last a decade: gloves, maybe socks and the boots I have been buying. I have a pair of Thorogoods now that seem to be pretty tough. I need to write a date inside them or I will never remember when I bought them....unless they puke-out in the next year or 2. Coats (Cabelas and LLBean) and chaps (Filson and Stone Creek) should last over a decade....my first set of Filsons single tins must have went 2 decades, but they had worn the lower 6-8 inches off the bottoms before I broke out a new pair of Double Tins. My vest will last forever as I seldom hunt when it is warm enough for that. My first Sport Dog collar last as long as the dog, 13 years. I hope my new dog and collar will do the same.
 
Last edited:
Filson Tin Cloth Upland Jacket (don't wear any longer because I like the LL Bean better.)
LL Bean Waxed Duck jacket
Columbia vest
Russell South 40 Bird Shooter boots
Stormy Cromer wool hat
Some cheap fleece gloves I bought at Walmart that last forever and I nearly had a heart attack that I lost one last week, but didn't.
Carhart Cordura front work pants. About had it but at least 15 years old.
Bausch and Lomb binos from the 80s.
Surplus Czech military rain pants from mid-90s.
Filson Guide shirt.
 
I have a 30+ year old Farm and Fleet "carhart" knockoff coat that I still wear pheasant hunting. I bought it in Brainerd MN during an October fishing trip on Mille laks. It's ratty, but it's still the warmest coat I've ever owned.
 
My folks had a cabin by Garrison, just off Mille Lacs, I loved going to that Fleet Farm in Brainerd. They had a seperate building in the parking lot with an indoor gun range if I recall correctly. It had guns, gun parts, reloading supplies, kind of like you envision heaven being like. Sioux City got a FF maybe 5 years ago, but I remembered the one up north having way more sporting goods.
 
Bill's Gun Shop & Range. The Fleet Farm and the shop have a street between them now. Brainerd Fleet Farm is still great though. Tons of clothes and outdoor gear.
 
remy3424 said:
How about what does not last a decade: gloves, maybe socks and the boots I have been buying. I have a pair of Thorogoods now that seem to be pretty tough. I need to write a date inside them or I will never remember when I bought them....unless they puke-out in the next year or 2. Coats (Cabelas and LLBean) and chaps (Filson and Stone Creek) should last over a decade....my first set of Filsons single tins must have went 2 decades, but they had worn the lower 6-8 inches off the bottoms before I broke out a new pair of Double Tins. My vest will last forever as I seldom hunt when it is warm enough for that. My first Sport Dog collar last as long as the dog, 13 years. I hope my new dog and collar will do the same.
Click to expand...
Darn Tough socks are have a lifetime warranty...you wear them out and send them back for a new pair.
Plus made in the USA.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top