Originally Posted By TomD
One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is amortization (cost over time). I bought my Patagonia base layers over 20 years ago and still have them. Same for my sleeping bag. Granted the bag hasn't got that many nights on it, but still, it has lasted a long time. The Patagonia layers do have a lot of days on them and are still in great shape.

Cheap gear tends to fall apart far sooner than better gear. However, I have a no name (literally) day pack that has thousands of days on it and it's still in excellent shape, so even that isn't always true.


I agree Tom. You do generally speaking, get what you pay for.

Out of my three bags, the cheap synthetic shows the most wear but has seen the least use-- probably no more than 14-15 nights per year (during the hight of summer). The bag will be on its third season this year, so call it 30 days of use so far.

But like you say, that is not always the case. I also have a pair of cheap Hi-Tek trail runners that due to rather embarrassing circumstances I had to purchase. Low and behold I still use them, granted they are beat up, but are far more comfortable than my hiking boots, and the footwear that I was wearing at the time of purchase.