I finally gave up on my old camp stove after a ranger in Yosemite showed me his.

It was at the Tuolumne Meadows campground last fall. My ancient two-burner was being fussy again, and a park ranger named Mark saw me struggling. He walked over with his little single burner and said, 'This thing has boiled water for me at 10,000 feet in a 30 mph wind. Reliability beats features out here.' He let me use it to finish my coffee. It wasn't about having the biggest or most powerful stove. It was about one piece of gear you can absolutely count on. What's your one piece of gear that has never let you down?

2 comments

2 Comments

norab215d ago

That idea about "reliability beats features" really hits home for me.

fiona_murphy5d ago

What gear do you trust so much you'd bet your coffee on it? My old headlamp has outlasted three tents and still works every single time.