Looking at the stuff I am willing to admit was not used in 2010: free-diving gear, suits, dress shoes. Should I keep it or sell / give it away?

How about your stuff?

Good thread.

I have a 19" Wetterlings Hunters Axe that I cannot bring myself to use, it just feels too long for a one-hand hatchet and too short for a two-hand axe. I should trade/sell it off.

I also bought a Primus 8R Hunter stove (the one in the blue folding metal box) off eBay, good stove but I prefer the similar Primus Svea 123R.

Hennessy Hammock, did not use it but really hope to in 2011.

Dave Cantebury/Blind Horse 1st-Run Engraved Pathfinder Knife, very nice, can't bring myself to beat on it in the bush. I have lots of other knives I can do that to.

I have way to much gear,

Mike

Some things I keep, but other usefull outdoor items like hunting clothes, knives, camping gear that is XS, I donate to the church rummage sale. I imagine the thrill of a scout finding a camo pouch, mess kit, or a pretty good knife etc for a buck at a rummage sale.

My wife gets on me to get rid of stuff - she has a "one year" rule for the most part. However, typically clothing related. We just did it last month. That being said, it's pretty relaxed. We're both in uniform, so our civilian clothing gets worn for like 4 hours a day and on weekends. As you can guess, we don't get to a lot of our wardrobe.

As for camping gear, I tend to hold that like it's an investment. Yeah, i don't camp as much as I want, but that'll change someday. I'd hate to have to drop $1000 again for decent gear. I've sold off some flashlights (anyone want one? PM me for what I have) and knives (ditto!) when I have lots of htem, but I keep some core items.

I no longer use a lot of my gear as much as I used to, even car camping. But most of the items live on as part of my preparedness gear. I can easily see myself camping out in the backyard when a Good One hits (doesn't even have to be Big)or we have an extended power outage.

But I do get rid of gear, like the kayak I haven't put in the water in the last ten years. Anyone want a Feathercraft K2 Expedition, fully loaded, in good condition?

I tend to hold onto unneeded things until they either become needed by me/mine, or I can find a suitable home. Unused tie and dress shoes went to a friend for an interview because he didn't have suitable items. No tie and trainers don't get it for interviews. He got the job and I told him to keep the stuff.

Lost a suit that way. It was intended as a loan but never made it back. He wore it to a funeral and then moved. Never heard from him again. I wish I had it back. Wasn't very expensive, about $400 in 90s dollars but still ...

I used to give camping gear to the Boy Scouts but the local pack changed. Really pushed the anti-gay/religious thing, kicked a couple of boys out, and started being run by a team of evangelicals that changed the tone. All the heathens, the kids with personality, and most of the fun, left with the old scoutmaster.

A decade ago there was a local group of campers that would sponsor inner-city kids and take them out camping. Often to the springs in the summer and sometimes as part of an effort to maintain trails. I gave a lot of stuff to that organization. I'm not sure what happened to them. I suspect the three main guys who started it got old and busy with family and the organization went dormant.

I don't tend to sell old gear. Selling puts the emphasis on money and I wouldn't likely get enough to make it seem worth it. Finding someone who can use it, a good home, feels more gratifying, but it has to be the right people.

Over time this is becoming less of an issue. Back in the day I used to buy a lot of gear, follow trends, keep buying things that are a little better. Now, I just don't see the differences and as I've gone to shorter trips and survival use where a lot of the finer points get lost. Hiking the length of the AT with a cheap backpack is going to be painful. But on an easy overnight trip a pillow case and a length of clothesline will do quite well enough. Once I get a rig that works I tend to stick with it so the volumes of stuff I have to give away has dwindled.

Interesting. Same conclusion that I've arrived at. They're very similar stoves. Many of the parts are even interchangeable. But dang I like my little Sveas. So little to go wrong. So compact. And such good stoves. Maybe I'll have to sell my 8R's (one working, one needs a little love).

Um, I don't have that problem. No I don't. Not even close. Please don't talk that way; my wife might hear you. lol.

HJ

The camp stuff doesn't re-sell for much, getting the storage space back is a bigger incentive when bulky things are involved.

After getting the teardrop trailer I sold off one tent to a young couple who were just getting started camping. They got a great deal, I got some space back. Still have four tents. Hadn't used them in a few years but it was an unusually hot summer (even at 3700 feet), the teardrop's not air conditioned, so out came the old REI backpack tent for a couple trips. Was darned glad to have it.

My preference is to give things I don't need to family or friends who I know will enjoy them. A niece who lives in Costa Rica has become an avid hiker in the mountains there so when she visits she goes home with hand-me-downs -- last time, a backpack and survival gear.

Here I am now discovering new utility (boiling water) for old gear (1990s Candleliers). So no rush to unload stuff that hasn't been used for a mere year. I have canned food older than that.

Definition of junk: That stuff that you keep for years and then throw out six weeks before you need it.

HJ

Jim,

I love it. Just sent it to my family, who only see my valuble junk stuff as just that - junk . But then turn around and ask me if I have _____.

Pete