# The best source for gear...



## Stephen (Feb 16, 2004)

My brother!

He's one of those guys who gets an idea he might like something, goes out and buys all the equipment, does it once or twice, then throws the stuff into storage, never to be seen again.

He's got a set a golf clubs, that, if they're lucky, see sunlight once a year. Diving gear. Raquetball rackets, other sporting equipment, scale modeling tools and paints.

So I remember one time he had a "camping" kick and I give him a call. Went something like this:

"Hey bro."
"Hey, my brother"
"Remember that camping stove you had?"
"I had a camping stove?"
"Yeah, you bought it along with a backpack, sleeping bag, hiking boots, tent, hiking jacket, altimiter, gps, compass, about a dozen hiking books. Remember?"
"Oh yeah, the GPS. I don't know where any of that crap is now."
"Alright, I'll check mom's."

Mom's is an acronym for Must Own More. We buy stuff, we don't need it, it ends up in Mom's basement. (Forget Dad, he gave up ownership of the basement a long time ago when he threw away a bag of garbage only to find out it was actually a bag of my sister's nicest sweaters she was storing there "for the summer".) Mom's basement is also the perfect place to store the noisy and/or dangerous toys we don't want the kids to see... ever.

So I looked in the basement for the camping gear, and, in some deep recess of the mind, I vaguely remember opening a little green sack on a shelf some years ago and seeing some strange metal contraption. As I pondered the potential uses in my mind, my brother walked by and shattered my thoughts with "It's a camping stove." Knowing the unlikelyhood of anything moving from it's location in the basement (unless it's the item you're looking for), I returned to the shelf to find... the sack! Although, it should be noted that the sack has a magical property of changing colors. It is now black, though I could have sworn it was green in my memory...

Opening the sack, I found the camping stove. Complete with instructions, a waterproof container containing waterproof matches, (Is that a double negative, are the matches now susecptible to water???), a heat reflector and a windscreen. Heck, it even looks like it's been lit once. I'm sure it was only a backyard test; I can't believe this thing ever saw an aluminum pan in the backwoods of NH. Oh, did I mention it's an MSR Whisperlite, now retailing for around $70-80? 

And next to it... still in it's original box, a set of aluminum pans, never used, breathed on once. A nice lightweight set that compacts into the size of a soup bowl, and contains everything required to cook up that 5-course turkey dinner after hiking 20 miles over mountains and rocks. Hey, only the best for my bro.

I hope... I get more use out of them than my brother did. At least that was my thought as I climbed back over my alpine skis, my cross country skis, my mountain bike...


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## Greg (Feb 16, 2004)

the8re said:
			
		

> Opening the sack, I found the camping stove. Complete with instructions, a waterproof container containing waterproof matches, (Is that a double negative, are the matches now susecptible to water???), a heat reflector and a windscreen. Heck, it even looks like it's been lit once. I'm sure it was only a backyard test; I can't believe this thing ever saw an aluminum pan in the backwoods of NH. Oh, did I mention it's an MSR Whisperlite, now retailing for around $70-80?


Great stove, BTW. Be sure to read this thread:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/viewtopic.php?t=17


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## teachski (Feb 16, 2004)

I've found some of those "MUST HAVE" buys that I have purchased and then put away years after purchasing them and with the price tag or factory seal still on them.  I think we all do that to some extent.


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