We Asked Our Dads About the Oldest Gear They Still Use

Like many of our readers, we were fortunate enough to grow up with outdoorsy dads who helped guide us toward a lifelong love of playing outside. We took the time to call up our dads (hint, hint) to give them some love and chat with them about their favorite moments outside. Many of them are still rocking gear from their first excursions outdoors, and we thought we’d share some of our dads’ favorite pieces of outdoor gear that they still use to this day. We suggest you ring them up and do the same, you never know what gems live in your dad’s head—or his garage. To all the dads out there, happy Father’s Day!

—The Editors

I got this Osprey fanny pack in the ‘70s. I have—quick count—six other fanny packs around the house right now. I have used all of them. And then I come back to the Osprey one. Others are better for more urban things, and work well as slings as well as on my hips. But if I want to use a fanny pack vs a backpack, and I often do since I sweat less that way and prefer to carry things on my hips rather than shoulders, this remains the one I usually turn to for a hike, like I did in Santa Fe this past week; like I did when we went fishing in northern New Mexico two summers back.

Most fanny packs these days are too small to carry what I want, or too flimsy in the way they can be tightened to the back and hips. This one has water bottle bags where the elastic has worn and the holders sag by this point. But it can carry 10L (just a guess) and has a design that lets you slip clothes or extra soft stuff between the main compartment and the front small compartment (for sunblock, toothpicks, etc). It’s wonderfully ugly by now, but it still works. I have lighter ones, I have a heavier one, I have a slightly larger, less used version of this one but this is the one I come back to. I bought it when it first came out, from Down Works here in Santa Cruz (where Osprey packs began, and run by people involved with the packs when all of them were UC Santa Cruz students). They used a cinching system when they first started that still is about the best I’ve seen. I’ve used the pack for walks here in Pogonip often, on trips, hiking, and it’s still great. It does the job. —Paul Skenazy, father of features editor Matt Skenazy

A fly box. Silver, brushed aluminum, a sticker on the front showing how to tie fishing knots, green plastic interior with space for 100’s of flies—wet and dry. Still in great shape despite its age and use, even the plastic and the clasp. It was brand new when I got it over 55 years ago as a gift from my father. I suspect it was a birthday gift, but he may have given it to me prior to a fishing trip.

The box is used to hold flies and be carried around with you while fishing whether it be in a boat, vest, chest pack, or fanny pack. I am sure I used it soon after I got it although I am not positive where I was. It was either on a local lake such as Lake Cushman or American Lake in Washington State, or in Canada at Decka lake. I was in love with the box as it made me feel like I was a legitimate fly fisherman and I loved the organizational aspect of keeping all my precious flies in one place.

I think in most ways my relationship with the box hasn’t changed, despite having many more fly boxes now. I still love the feel of the brushed aluminum as I open the box; still love the simple utility; love the memories it evokes of two of my favorite people, my dad and my brother, who have both passed away and were my favorite fishing buddies; and marvel how it has stood the test of time. I use the box every year, pretty much every time I go fishing in fresh water. I wouldn’t sell it, which makes it priceless to me. —Alan Barronian, father of senior editor Abbie Barronian

I bought this Gerry puffy jacket during a ski trip to Salt Lake City back in 1971 or 1972. My previous ski coat, which I’d had since the mid-sixties, had broken its zipper, and I needed to find a replacement. I forget where I bought it—I probably got it at the base area shop at Alta. This jacket was a huge upgrade from my previous ski jacket. It’s down with a nylon skin and the seams are all on the inside—this was cutting-edge stuff back then. Why do I still have it 53 years later? It still works and it’s still warm! —John Dreier, father of articles editor Fred Dreier

It’s probably a bit trite, but my oldest piece of gear that’s still a fully functional part of just about everything I do outside has to be the Swiss Army knife my grandma gave me for high school graduation 46 years ago. Its facilitated hundreds of backcountry lunches and minor emergencies over the years, from the Canadian arctic to Morocco. But mostly it keeps the memory of my grandma fresh whenever I pull it out of my pack. —Steve Brown, father of Outside contributor Meaghen Brown

When digital editor Jake Stern asked his father Richard Stern about gear that he’s held onto over the years, he seemed irritated, but recounted a pair of long underwear he’s had since the ‘80s. We decided to omit a photo.