Biggest change in gear from when you started walking?

[Moondog55]

I was thinking about this today on the train
For me I think it is the simple shoe lace.
When I started wear boots it wasn't uncommon to wear out a set of bootlaces a day in rough terrain when not wearing gaiters and not all of us could afford gaiters [ even the army jungle gaiters were expensive when at secondary school and no youth allowance] and now I don't think I have worn out any laces in a normal year
I bought a pair of the super expensive Tobby boot laces in England in 1979 and while worn they still aren't worn out
Funny tho because I still carry a couple of pair of spare boot laces

[GPSGuided]

Material! I still remember my old and heavy thick canvas backpack that I acquired in my cadets days. Uncomfortable, doesn't close well, no water protection and the list goes on. But, it's still there in storage. Just doesn't breakdown. Now, it's all lightweight synthetic material. Cordura was king when it came out...

[RonK]

Most of us (well, some of us) have escaped the notion that our gear should "last a lifetime", which has liberated us to choose gear which is much lighter and more comfortable.
Our gear may no longer last a lifetime but our walking lifetime may well be extended.

[wayno]

sheer variety of whats available.. used to have very little choice in what was in the NZ shops. often maybe a couple of choices. little in the way of imported gear and that was prohibitively expensive.. today theres a mind boggling array of gear, designs weights, specific gear for specific conditions.... i've got a bigger range of gear at home than ever existed in the shops, not to mention the amount of technology and design thats gone into gear now...

[north-north-west]

One used to be able to find practical female clothing. Particularly pants. Now it's all fashion conscious low-waisted ultra-tight rubbish that seems to be designed to discourage serious walking.

[Tortoise]

Now it's all fashion conscious low-waisted ultra-tight rubbish that seems to be designed to discourage serious walking.

+1!!

The big one that comes to mind is the tent - my enjoyment of early walks was determined by whether or not it rained, and how many mozzies/leeches etc came under the sides of the old (1940s or so) floor-less japara A frame tent that leaked. Had to 'run the drips down to the wall' during the night so they didn't keep dripping onto my sleeping bag. LOVE being snug in a zipped up inner (though it failed once when a rat ate through the zip and joined us in the night).