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I was having a bit of a sort out this afternoon, and came across a pair of climbing / walking breeches. I can't be accurate but I suspect I last wore them when I was about 18 i.e 1978. After that, drink and takeaway food became too regular and they got on the tight side.
Now 42 years later they fit perfectly. I'm doubly happy, one that I kept them (for sentimental reasons) and more; that after all these years and now 60, clothes fit me better than when I was a teenager!
Some Aldi cycling tops, must be 15 years old.
The piping has gone, but apart from that, perfect.
Everything else has been replaced years ago.
Buffalo Super 6 mountain shirt. 26 years old and just coming into its prime. Been used constantly through all the years for biking, canoeing, trekking, dog walking, camping and general adventuring. Cost me £65 then so awesome value. I love it.
Best I can do is a 22 year old montane smock bought just before I went to uni. Still used every winter. May even have been washed.
My outdoor gear generally gets used for outdoor work / workshop once its either worn-in or superseded by something- only tends to last a year or two once that happens.
Oldest thing and most continually used is probably a Concurve N2S wind-proof jacket thing bought around 2003 - supposed to be for running but I wear it on the bike - it seems to be the right garment somewhere in the layers for just about any scottish ride. It did momentarily make the move to workwear but I decided I'd miss it if it got ruined so came back to bikewear even though its got a big splodge of green paint up the sleeve.
A pair of Reebok tracksuit bottoms bought at the Uni shop when I was a student back in 1990.
Pace Racing smock from, I think, 1994. Elasticated waist draw cord has failed but otherwise its still spot on (I think they were actually made by Mountain Equipment).
I have my granddads lederhosen from his alpine adventures in the 50s. Not sure why, they certainly wouldn't fit.
Wearing some Polaris shorts from 1996 currently.
Love them
31 year old Scarpa walking boots. Almost smooth underfoot now, but my word how they have lasted! I bought some new ones 15 years ago anticipating their demise but haven't used those yet. Guess they'll be going to my son when I die.
Have a few things from my teens, still have my first pair of proper shoes from my first pay packet, they are now over 40. But the best of my outdoor stuff is a Patagonia light weight top, poss 35 years old, packs to about baked bean can size, iron it to make it more waterproof, crumple to make more breathable, worn on a Cheddar Challenge in the rain and mud, has been worn on the top of each of the UK’s tallest hills, been above 10,000’ a few times else where. The really cool bit is I still wear it to run now both in winter, as top layer and as waterproof in the rain in spring/summer/autumn. So probably worn a few times every month and just as good as when I bought it. Plus some similar aged Scarpa boots and some Brashers that are going on and on.
gore zip off sleeve jacket, it must be 20yrs plus its falling apart slowly ☹ Not seen anything suitable to replace it with
My Lowa walking boots. Got them for my 18th birthday and survived 17 year's of hiking some of the world's largest mountain ranges
Berghaus Gore-tex paclite smock, think I got it when I was 16, so that makes it 16 years old.
Still waterproof. Elastic waist drawcord has perished a bit. A little short in the sleeve for me now but fine with gloves.
A pair of those Answer MTB SPD casual shoes, from about 98-99, and a pair of Sportiva climbing shoes, similar vintage.
Not clothing, but a Macpac Celeste tent I bought in '92, which is still waterproof, hole-free and still gets used 3 or 4 times a year.
I still have my original Endura MT500 jersey, 94/95ish. Also have my roadie Gatorade jersey and PDM jersey too 90/91 maybe,they appear to have shrunk though. Have a purple North Face bumbag from the first time bumbags were in fashion poss 93. Lowe Alpine rucksack as well,94 I'd reckon.
I have a Lowe alpine safari hat which is getting on for 20, it's in a state now so I looked to see if they still made them, sadly not. That and their alpine hat were great pieces of kit. I had a cull last year of outdoor clothes that were not used....there were a pair of forty year old Rohan breeches that were still in quite good order, but I couldn't see myself wearing them.
A 1992 RAB down jacket, lost a bit of down and a few thread pulls but it still does the job, no rips in the pertex.
been back to Sheffield for a few cleans over the years but it’s just had a wipe down and airing since then.
Not worn it for couple of years but waiting to donate it to the homeless coat collection thing they do in London rather than bin it.
Now have a Canada Goose for standing around on set and a thinner lightweight RAB for general insulation/layering.
Think the old jacket was £100 with staff discount when new so expensive compared to today’s prices but worth it for over 20 years of use!
I have a pair of Rohan salopettes from about 1974. I think it was one of the first items they produced. I still use them for gardening!
1983 Rohan Hyde polycotton jacket. I have an earlier blue label windshirt but I can't find the name of it.
Not sure which is oldest, but the first fleece I bought - a Mountain Equipment Ultrafleece pullover, and my first pair of "my feet have stopped growing" walking boots by Berghaus.
Both must be 29 or 30 years old. Both are "fixing the car/gardening/trail building" only level now (the fleece is covered in burn marks from ill-advised angle grinding), but they're still perfectly functional.
1990 Lowe Alpine Bum bag and 1992 Mountain Equipment Ultrafleece salopettes.
Buffalo Mountain Shirt in blue from the early / mid 90's.
I have a pair of socks that I still wear regularly from 2001.
I've still got a rather fetching purple Pace 'waterproof' jacket, which I always remember being wetter on the inside that out, however heavy the rain, also the overhead fleece, again in purple. neither get any use these days but can't seem to throw them out.
Also have some of the original Nike ACG gear, a long sleeved top & a thermal gilet, which I still wear & look more or less like they did 30 odd years ago.
Fav piece has to be the original Primal Wear 'Don't hurt the dirt' jersey, with the frog wrapped around the Ringlé seat post.
31 year old Buffalo jacket. North Face fleece salopettes of a similar vintage. They both get an occasional outing. The latter are particularly hande for wearing beneath a drysuit when packrafting in colder times.
Breeches you say? I still have a pair of heavy corduroy ones from early 70s. There is a waxed cotton jacket hanging around in the garage somewhere.
Somewhere I have a purple Berghaus Trango Extrem, as worn by Joe Simpson, Simon Yates and pretty much every other British mountaineer some time in the late 1980s. I think I probably also still have ME Ultrafleece salopettes from the same era.
Anybody want to join me in a Bring Back Ultrafleece campaign?
https://hilltrek.co.uk/clothing/smocks/lochnagar-fleece-smock/
Pace Racewear smock/jacket, must be at least 25 yrs old. Acquired in a clearance sale by Pace IIRC reduced from £150 to £50. My favourite waterproof top although not as waterproof as it was despite several reproofings.
Endura jacket, can't remember which one, which is older, still wear occasionally. Also been reproofed several times but has a couple of small 'war wounds'.
Older still would be a waxed cotton drovers mac for horse riding. Stopped riding some years ago and not worn since, before that was in regular use on long distance trail rides.
For those of you with antique walking boots - do you never use them?
The most I get out of a pair of 5-6years of solid use
@scotroutes - ultrafleece was way ahead of its time. Fantastic kit, some bugger nicked mine in a pub.
Ooh, forgot.
A Karrimor barbag and panniers from the 80's.
Still used by various family members, mostly to carry chickens if social media is to believed.
Year 2000 I bought a North Face Guide jacket when "working" in the Dolomites. Can't find a better ski jacket (without paying very silly money).
@scotroutes – ultrafleece was way ahead of its time. Fantastic kit, some bugger nicked mine in a pub.
It was kind of the progenitor of soft shell, sort of. Somewhere I think I have an early Montane hoody made from the stuff, though they branded it Karisma I think. Edit: as per the Hilltreks link above 🙂
I have a Pace fleece from about 1990, maybe 91. Elastic have gone, most of the reflective piping has gone and the chest pocket zip is broken but it still fits and is worn a few times a year.
These are my favourite threads, i moved back to England in 98 from 5 years in Arizona and was permanently freezing so bought a rab down jacket for walking around in, lusso thermo bib tights and a Pearl Izumi jersey for riding - all still going strong. Also got a ground effect Baked Alaska from around the same time. Still look to those brands before any others when on the look out for new kit
Silva compass & Swiss Army Knife 30 years.
Lowe Alpine daysack (walkabout) 25 years
Jack Wolfskin Polartec100 fleece smock (now demoted to kayaking thermal) 25years
Lowe Alpine large rucksack 20 years
Zamberlan MountainLites - awesome boots - 3 resoles - still used regularly. 23 years
ME Lightline duvet jacket 22years
Macpac down sleeping bag 22 years
Think that's all the really old stuff.
Just remembered the Ron Hills - 22 years old - still have them in a drawer but probably not worn for 15 years - why were they so popular?
I dont think ive any actual clothes from years back except gear in the form of my Karrimor discovery 75, I think I got that early 80's. Its been all over Europe with me and is as robust as ive found of any.
Oldest item is a Buffalo mountain shirt which is 24 years old but it only gets worn a handful of times a year as it's too warm for biking and I don't really do much walking/hiking these days. I have a Ground Effect sub Merino that must be about 15 years old and has been used a lot, getting a bit threadbare but I reckon it's still good for another 4 or 5 years.
I still have a Submerino too Stwvn. I bought it on your recommendation😉
The Baked Alaska I got on eBay gets more use these days as it's such a versatile bit of kit but it's probably only half the age of the sub Merino.
I've got some walking tops that were my fathers, he had them before I was born... so at least 35.
Last year I bought a 1977 Mountain Equipment snowline sleeping bag. Still very warm and packs reasonably small, and very cheap!
I still have my Koflach plastic winter climbing boots from the late 1980s and a kerosene stove from the same era.
All of it!
phoenix goretex jacket 1993 gardening /winter work duties only now
loads of mid 80 javelin thermals polyprop i think still got that whiff about them
other kit
vango beta tent 1987 fjallraven tent 1978 both useable in fine weather stubai wooden ice axe 1977 ideal for getting weeds out of drive joints, whillans sit harness 1976, 10 pt crampons '76 had some tweed breeches around that time aswell and one of those itchy woolen balaclava/hat combos( in brown!) best bit of kit was blacks icelandic sleeping bag lasted from 76-88ish regular use and abuse. I like to get me moneys worth :0
The oldest item still in use is a Berghaus Cyclops Roc rucsac from around 1990 I think.
I have a cotton smock with fur collar used for several months in Antarctica in the 1950s by a friend of my dad's who wad there as safety backup to the scientists. A couple of short wooden shafted ice axes about as well from the days of step cutting and bailed boots.
Not clothing but do I have a Karrimor Hot... 30?... rucksack from the mid-90's. It was a more affordable version of the Hot Ice pack.
In fact I think that is, aside from a few personal trinkets and one pair of shoes, one of the oldest possessions I still have - bearing in mind I moved 400miles in 2002 with nothing more than what I could fit in the back of a 2dr Yaris!
Some Lusso bib tights which must be 30 years old. And some Ron Hill tracksters but you can't count them as they live longer than atoms
I think the oldest thing is a North Face fleece with knitted cuffs that has to be forty-odd years old, but I’ve got lots of stuff that’s twenty-thirty years old, like a Buffalo MTB Windshirt, one with the yellow and reflective bands round the cuffs, and across the pocket and rear, and had a long tail and front that would clip between the legs.
Which was damned uncomfortable, so I stopped wearing it on the bike, and a few years ago found someone who could redo the bottom edges. Had it with me today, just in case it drizzled. It’s got to be thirty years old.
I’ve got Cannondale bike gear from the early 90’s, and RaceFace gear that’s twenty+ years old that I wear regularly.
I still have a Stubai Mont Blanc wooden ice axe,
A green fluffy helly Hansen jacket from my army days must be 28 years old , great bit of kit
Oldest item I use is the karrinor backpack (approx 60l job, dont know model) that I got for d of e circa 1996. Don't use it that often but its fine for carrying a load of gear, very comfy, rock solid. Last used on a family overnight expedition to skiddaw house (which was awesome).
Also similar vintage I have a craghoppers ultrafleece, slightly younger probably 1997/8. Used for outside chilly DIY/ gardening nowadays, just perfect for that and as above way ahead of its time.
Whats your oldest item of outdoor clothing?
20 year old Karrimor factory fleece jacket where they used to produce them in the North East I think.
A well old Mint sauce cycling top,
Showing my age...
A couple of Rab jackets from the mid 90's. One down overhead which is still awesome.
The other Pertex rain jacket is really past its best. The brass popper buttons have gone green with age and is not at all waterproof, so doesn't really get much wear now.
Some similar vintage RAF aircrew kit still gets used a lot. The thermal tops, socks and boots still go strong. The snood / neck warmer / hat thing was ok but has shrunk recently, so no good.
Most impressive though is a 25 year old Bermuda Ski Patrol t-shirt that gets worn weekly and is my favourite tee. Can't believe it is still going strong. Like the Terminator, it just keeps going.
My walking boots are a Loveson pair that my dad bought me when I must have been early teens to "grow into" i.e. he didn't want to buy another pair soon so went many sizes too big.
20 odd years later and they're still going, the tread isn't as grippy as it could be but as they've never caused any blisters or foot aches I'm not keen to replace them.
My bad-weather race marshalling trousers- they're a pair of old motorbike goretex trousers that I got in, I think, 2005. The bike's not been ridden for the best part of a decade but the trousers still get worn.
Cumbrian Fibre Pile jacket from the mid / late eighties - only gets used as a gardening jacket now. Lowe Alpine rucksack from around 1990 - does still get used. Oldest cycling kit is some of endure bib tights - the mtb ones - must be about 15-20years old.
looking for some winter cycling gloves (southern hemisphere) I found some woollen Dachstein Mitts complete with hand sewn elastic loops for winter climbing 1979 would be my guess...google tells me that in these high tech times can still buy them
I've got some Ron Hill tracksters that my Mother bought for me from Pete Bland's stall at a fell race when I was 17, so 24 years ago.
Also have a Helly Hansen base layer that I think is about 20 years old. It's fair to say it whiffs a bit these days!
Probably my Ronhill pertex shell jacket. Purple with orange collar lining. Back in the mid 90's it was THE windproof jacket to have (not that there was much choice in decent cycling jackets back then...)
I mean, I've still got it, can't remember when I last wore it though.
I still have my Koflach plastic winter climbing boots from the late 1980s
In the early noughties found a pair of late 80s or early 90s Koflach Viva Soft in the basement of my work (climbing wall). I used them for about 10 years and only stopped because I'd heard the stories of catastrophic failure due to the plastic going brittle. They sold them as lower grade mountaineering boots but they were a solid platform and I did up to Scottish VII in them!
I've got a demo Berghaus fleece from 1999 that I picked up in Nottingham when visiting the Uni there. Gridded design now more popular but for £20 (I think they suggested they were going to sell it for £80 if it went into production), I've done well out of it. Also got a Kayaking Safety Knife I bought back in 1998 and an MSR PocketRocket from 1997 I think...
I bought a Buffalo jacket in about 1996 or so but gave it to a friend when I got to big for it. Think it is still being used by him in Denmark.
jobro
Member
I have a pair of Rohan salopettes from about 1974. I think it was one of the first items they produced. I still use them for gardening!
I bet you look a right twit in your superstriders hoeing the borders 😁
I've got all sorts of old tat stashed away, the oldest probly being an orange wool balaclava/dachstein mit combo that was all the rage in 1982... There are also ancient Buffalo's, Scarpa Vega boots, an old Mountain Equipment Redline sleeping bag/Annapurna duvet ensemble from a trip somewhere highish in 1986 and lots of other bits n bobs.
google tells me that in these high tech times can still buy them
A few years ago I went back to using dachies under a shell mitt for belaying in winter. Definitely warmer than my other belay mitts but I can do absolutely nothing other than hold the ropes with that combo. On their own they're a bit more dextrous. Thinking back, like plenty of others I climbed a lot of hard(ish) mixed routes in Dachies which seems remarkable these days. How did we place gear?!
Not my actual one but exactly the same - Rohan Smock, birthday present as a 15yr old in circa 1987...
Shortly after I became too cool for Rohan so it lives on now I'm in middle age and DGAF.
I still have my Koflach plastic winter climbing boots from the late 1980s
Recently realised I must have binned mine in a move - gutted.
Scarpa Vega boots
They were clumpy bastards but warm. I got a pair in a sale in the Scout Shop in Glasgow in about 1999. Seems the Scout Shop is still there.
PACE fleece 1997.
Anybody want to join me in a Bring Back Ultrafleece campaign?
I've got a Berghaus fleece from c2000 in a similar densely woven fabric. It's still probably my first choice for climbing on a really cold and minging day. In combo with a nice modern baselayer and a burly hardshell it makes you feel like nothing can get at you!
Anybody want to join me in a Bring Back Ultrafleece campaign?
I'm going to say it...
....Patagonia fleece was better.
I'm hopeful of a Patagonia snap-t for my birthday next month.
@el_boufador I too have a similar vintage Karrimor Rucsac. It's a Jaguar 63 in blue and silver/gray with clip-on accessory pockets. I think it was top of the range until they introduced the 3D moulded harness.
Oldest is probably 6-7 year old Rab Vapour rise jacket, which I still can't better.
I buy a lot of outdoor kit, endlessly trying new items and recycling old ones on Ebay / Gardening duty / charity shops.
Shoes / boots normally get binned when there more holes than material and I've been glueing them together for a while.
Scarpa winter boots from ~2000. Resoled but uppers still good
Rohan mountaineering salopettes from circa 1985. Still use them in proper winter conditions.
Smelly Helly Lifa set and Musto balaclava circa early 80's from my sailing days.
Peter Storm over trousers, Low Alpine fleece, Berghaus Gtex anorak circa 90's from my Munro bagging days.
All still in use when required. The fleece is for gardening as its paper thin and full of holes.
I confidently thought it was a Karrimor fleece from 1987 but it has a tag inside that says it was made on 08.12.1992, so much for my memory. The sleeping bag was from 1987/88 and is still my car camping bag.
I then remembered I have some winter socks that I can place to 1983, I broke my leg skiing in those. My wife still wears them in winter, god knows what they are made out of.
Iv'e got a fleece from 1984-5 -ish I need to throw away before it destroys the planet though its still used regularly and at my Mum's I keep a 1980? hollowtech duvet (again needs to be landfilled before it destroys the planet) and a karrimor tatra rucksac from around 1978 with the back replaced.
Still using a yellow & black Mountain Equipment Goretex jacket, a burgundy Karrimor fleece and a classic smelly Helly from the mid-90s.
I don't wear the Helly so much now though, it's not as flattering as it used to be for some reason.
20 year old Karrimor factory fleece jacket where they used to produce them in the North East I think.
Accrington
Was going to say Accrington quality seemed to go downhill after that era same with all other makers though Berghaus Vango etc
Koflach boots. Did disintegrate after using 2 X at indoor ice wall mice had em before that still got dachsteins love them tried pertex ones too sweaty ,just been in garage ... EB boots 1978 better stop looking now ..the older I get the better I was😉
35 yr old SOS ski jacket (awesome 80s grey and pink) ,it gets kept as a spare and has been borrowed loads of times.Really tough and well made ,it has taken loads of abuse.