Sentimental/Emotional attachment to old items of gear

[Moondog55]

As some of you know I recently sold off some of my old climbing equipment. Just making the decision to sell them off was hard as they are.were mementos of good times in the past, and I don't mind admitting that a tear came to my eye when posting my piolet to California.
While it's good to know that my gear ( Zeros ) is going to small private museums and the ice axe is going to Patagonia to make in-store displays it was still a hard decision.
I don't think I would be the only person who has felt like this at various times.
Who else??

[Bubbalouie]

In terms of hiking equipment, my old gpsmap 62s.

That said, hardest to sell thing for me was my old car. It was a modified 300zx, it was noisy, ran like trash 3/4 of the year, was hot as heck in summer and guzzled 98 octane like an old spit fire. By far the least practical (and environmentally damaging) car I've ever had, I was still sad to sell it. I'm glad it's gone now though.

[wayno]

sometimes practical considerations overrule sentimental onces...
usually for me its lack of space and hard stares from my girlfriend that mean an item has to go..... but also i'm not into enduring any more discomfort than i have to for want of upgrading an old item, once upgraded then the old item is taking up space and as space runs out in my apartment then i have to free up the space and get rid of the old...
i know, to most people its old tatty gear but to you and I theres a lot of great memories tied up with gear that has kept you safe and helped you in the outdoors more than can be measured by time alone

[MartyGwynne]

Umm yes just have a look in my shed!
Why throw perfectly good things away let alone sell them….

[perfectlydark]

Cars can d3finatly fall into this category. As are my old gaming consoles. I just cant part with them despite not using them and knowing they are actually worth a decent penny

[taswegian]

I concur with sentiments.
I still have my original H frame by Paddy Pallin.
Long since replaced, now hangs on hook in garage to remind me of how uncomfortable it could get!
Its probably got historic value beside many cherished memories. Then PP No 2 pack complete with repair after Tasmanian Devil ate the side one night. My bushwalking daughter would never let that go.
We did dispose of the very first japaras and down sleeping bag though.

[north-north-west]

Not so much the gear, but some things . . . when I was packing I made the heart-breaking decision to chuck out all my old tapes - must have been at least 300, music I'd collected over 30 years or so.
Hadn't been able to listen to any of it for almost a decade, but it was still one of the hardest things I've ever done.
Books are hard to dispose of unless they're utter rubbish. Maps I keep until they fall apart, even if I'm never going to go there again. My Australian Alps maps (& the Tassie collection) will go into the oven with me.

Don't think there's anything else I'm all that much attached to except the old film camera gear, which isn't exactly walking stuff, but close enough.
Have six gaiters in various stages of decay (yes, six individual gaiters - each one from a separate pair). Fortunately three left, three right. Not that it matters that much). Mendable, so they'll be used until they're shreds - which won't take long down here. That's not so much sentimental as cheap.

[phsculpture]

I'm still using my Paddy Pallin Hotham bag from 1985. Still keeps me warm, and until it disintegrates, it'll be useful for something. I enjoy buying the best quality I can afford, and then using it forever. When it came to selling a bunch of camera gear, I couldn't let go of my F3HP. I don't use it, and couldn't get anywhere near what I paid for it, but it's such a beautiful object. Now it's a beautiful paperweight. I guess that's 'emotional attachment'.

[perfectlydark]

Not so much the gear, but some things . . . when I was packing I made the heart-breaking decision to chuck out all my old tapes - must have been at least 300, music I'd collected over 30 years or so.
Hadn't been able to listen to any of it for almost a decade, but it was still one of the hardest things I've ever done.
Books are hard to dispose of unless they're utter rubbish. Maps I keep until they fall apart, even if I'm never going to go there again. My Australian Alps maps (& the Tassie collection) will go into the oven with me.

Don't think there's anything else I'm all that much attached to except the old film camera gear, which isn't exactly walking stuff, but close enough.
Have six gaiters in various stages of decay (yes, six individual gaiters - each one from a separate pair). Fortunately three left, three right. Not that it matters that much). Mendable, so they'll be used until they're shreds - which won't take long down here. That's not so much sentimental as cheap.

tapes! I can understand the feeling. Ive got almost any song I've ever even partially enjoyed at my fingertips now, yet back in the day when loving a song meant spending the evening at the radio, finger poised ready to press record..ahh those were the days

[skibug]

In 1981-82 (?) I went to the original REI store in Seattle, and picked up a Sierra Designs 3 man dome (actually marketed as a geodesic) tent from a bargain bin, I think it was a return because the ticketed price had been halved twice, to around $80! My first tent became my faithful travelling companion, seeing me through adventures in Canada, Fiji, canoe trips on the Manning, 10 days on Mt Alice Rawson plus countless weekends AT'ing around Thredbo, driving through California and all around Eastern Australia.

It was probably 4 kg or more in weight, had a huge bag of fibreglass poles designed without bungee cord, one door/no windows/no ventilation - but I loved that tent because it represented freedom and independence and a unique life which was mine and no one else's, and great times spent with wonderful friends (and loves) in superb places. Just holding it evoked great memories, like an old photo album.

Eventually the fabric coatings delaminated, (though the rest of the tent remained structurally sound), and like an old pet I realised it would no longer enjoy the journeys I was taking, so it was retired to a cupboard, then "put down". But I'm always thankful for that tent, the opportunities it gave me and the protection, warmth and comfort it provided in strange lands.

I hope everyone can have a similar trusted relationship with a piece of good gear, as it is truly enriching.

Skibug

[DarrenM]

Yes...my grandfathers lightweight stove.....and my 1:50000 Kosci maps. Just back away...don't even look at them.

[bearded bushwalker]

Darn you Darren,
Now I'm thinking about how to make one of those stoves, using my V can stoves as a base.
At least it will give me something to do over the long HOT summer break days.
What a great snuffer design (but it should have bigger slots so it can be used as a simmer attachment)

See what you have done! Now it will plague me until I get it to work

[beachcruiser]

I can't bear to part with my original Thermarest, bought for me by my parents in 1985 it took my sleeping comfort to a new level and I would have slept on it for 100's of nights even once it was retired to my 'car camping' mat once I upgraded to a lighter Thermarest in the 90's. It's the orange colour Standard 3/4, originally had the small metal valve which was replaced by the newer black plastic one in the late 80's, it was always stored inflated and the foam inside is still good unfortunately the PU coating that makes it airtight has failed in a few spots so it's no longer functional but it still stands behind the door in the spare room, I can't bear to throw it out…

Thermarest circa 1985

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[sherpa]

My beloved Nikon F4s.
I probably couldn't even give it away now, let alone sell it. Tis just as well.

" He was my North , my South, my East, my West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,"
W.H.Auden