Things I Broke in 2007
by Bryan Hansel
Gear breaks and wears out and most of the time it happens in the worst moments. In 2007, I only managed to break a few items. Here they are:
- Current Designs Phantom FX Composite, Fiberglass straight-shaft, compression molded fiberglass blade with a Lever-lock adjustable ferrel: It's a mouth full to say and it broke right at the put-in. The Lever-lock adjustable ferrel broke putting the paddle together. Thank goodness for spare paddles, because we had to use a spare for the rest of the four day trip.
- The North Face Paramount Convertible Pant
: I finally ripped out the butt seam in these 7 or 8 year old pants. I've worn these things nonstop at least once a week since I bought them. I have three pairs and the other two are finally showing some wear. These pants are one tough hombre. Buy some and you won't be sorry. - Tarptent Double Rainbow: I didn't really break this tent. It came broken. The no-see-em mesh was not sewn into a seam for a full inch. I'll need to fix this on my own, because the company never responded to my emails.
- Cedar Strip Freedom 17 Canoe: I put a hole in the outer fiberglass of this canoe again this year. It's to the point where I need to count on two hands to track how many times I've done this on this boat.
- Stohlquist Brik: After many years, I favorite pfd of all times finally broke. I snapped the plastic zipper off the main zip while trying to get it off. I was ice coated at the time after an early spring wavy day paddle. I used cord to open the zip for most of the season and then bought an Astral Aquavest 300
to replace the Brik. I really need to quick release tow belt built in and the extra large front pocket for guiding. If I hadn't needed those features, I would have bought a new Brik.
- Lowe Alpine Summit Attack Pack:
I slammed the waist belt buckle in the car door. It broke. I replaced it. Pack is back in service. It's nice that this buckle system is designed for quick and easy replacement. - La Sportiva Backpacking TRK: In the middle of the day during work, the sole finally gave out. I must have put a 1000 plus miles on this pair. These boots were always about a 1/2 too small, so I'm buying a new pair instead of a resole. I'm buying La Sportiva Glaciers.
Things I Lost
- Gerber River Shorty Knife: This was an interesting loss. I was demostrating the scramble reentry at a roll pratice season, and the knife must have come out. I believe I actually saw it shortyly after, but hadn't realized that I'd lost mine at that point. Later, we searched for about an hour and then I spent another day searching. The sad part of the story is it was lost on a swimming beach, so some kid will probably step on it. It's a nice rescue knife, so I bought a new one. If you're looking for a pfd knife, think about the Shorty.
That's it for 2007. It was a pretty easy year on my gear. I often break more gear in a year.
