So, I was mulling around in REI the other day for the heck of it and saw this very interesting little portable solar panel for charging up stuff like phones, iPods, GPS's, etc.. I thought about buying it. I mean, it'd be pretty nice to actually bring my iPod along on a backpacking trip for once because it'd last longer than a few hours as well as just be useful in other everyday events. It wouldn't be that much more to my pack weight...right?

Well, after giving it a little more thought, I forced myself to walk away, leave REI and prevent myself from potentially buying something I really didn't need.

But of course, I've made a few gear purchases I slightly regret because I end up not using them or they end up being kind of disappointing. For example, I bought a nice little mini e-tool that was not just a shovel, but had a nice little pick on it as well for hard ground. I figured this'd come in handy at some point. Of course, it did not and it ended up being an extra few pounds that I didn't need because whatever digging I needed to do, I could do with a rock. While it was nice a compact, I regretted buying it for the use of backpacking. I'm sure I'll have use for it at some future point...I hope.

I've also have not made purchases that I regretted as well. Things I wish I'd have bought when I saw them because they would have indeed been useful on the trail more than just once. For example, I did regret not buying a water filter because I was in the habit of just boiling up some new water at the end of the day. However, I really got tired of using up so much fuel boiling water to drink and for food. So, of course I did end up buying one and I don't regret that at all.

So, anyone wanna share or is it too embarassing?? lol