More mild detergents (grey water recycling detergents, specifically Oasis, are great for this) and hang drying, when an option, help a lot.

You might find this interesting

Hmmm the treat looks a little too aggressive for the running I do, but I love a minimalist shoe and some of the offerings look great and their trainers have a wide toe box, so I'm contemplating those too lol. Thanks!!

Oooo I might have to try these. I find Chacos and Tevas a little too bulky for hiking through the woods when I'm fishing and the tread on these seem aggressive enough to handle muddy river banks. Wish they did half sizes though. Have you noticed them running smaller or larger than what you typically wear?

I've thought about that or looking for aftermarket steel ones, but at like $10/pop and the fact that they last over a decade it's probably not worth it

For me, BIFL doesn't mean that it'll last forever, because nothing will, it means that the likelihood of things breaking are low and that finding parts to fix it and it's serviceability are easy. That usually means doing a bit of research, sometimes through here and sometimes through sources like YouTube, where people will torture test and break down items.

An example of this would be the sewing machine I just bought, a 1960's Singer ZigZag 457. Reviews on here are mostly good, except a few people who swear them off because of a plastic gear that can break. Looked it up and yeah, the gear can break but the replacement and general serviceability are easy. So at $30, including the table, I felt like it was a great price and fit within how I define BIFL

I just bought this same model for the same price, but with a cabinet. $30 alone is still a good price. Aside from the top gear that's plastic and can fail, these machines run forever and are heavy duty enough to handle denim

Edit: just want to say that old, pre 80's, Singers are the ones that run forever. Newer ones have a bad reputation for going to shit quickly. I believe the one you have is late 60's early 70's

If you're just wearing it for 30 min, I'd go Alice Pack, but try to swing by a military surplus store and try one out before pulling the trigger to see how it fits. The folks that run those are usually chill and probably won't care if you load it up before trying it on, but I'd ask first lol. If you can find one, the older army packs, with metal frames, are the way to go. They can be better adjusted to fit your body and are bomb proof, but I've seen the newer plastic frame ones be put through tons of abuse

Recommendations from lowest to most expensive in price:

Standard issue military Alice Pack

Tactical Tailor MALICE pack

Mystery Ranch Rats pack (this would work for barbell plates but idk about rocks)

If you're using this for some training and that's it, I'd go Alice, else MALICE or Rats. I own a Rats pack and have jumped out of the back of a helicopter, with 120lbs on it, so can attest to it being able to carry the load, but also know guys that had the other 2 and they also had no issues. The Rats has the nicest frame, but if you aren't wearing it for 6+ hours at a time, then it's probably overkill.

Well, you're gonna be hard pressed to find an alternative to chains, for their weight and even loading. Really you can hang anything from the barbell that'll progressively add weight as it comes off the floor, but chains are great due to the fact that they're relatively heavy for their size and provide a constant resistance change

Curious as to why you'd avoid bands. They are one of the few simple things you can use to accomplish what you want and they're dirt cheap lol

Knew a couple guys when I was in the military who used Eberlstock. Very nice bags, especially if you want to use it to holster your rifle as you walk, but they're pricey.

I have 2 mystery ranch bags and they're fucking bulletproof, but again pricey. Literally fell down an entire mountain, falling 5 feet getting back up and then falling again moving like 7k' elevation because I packed horribly and we were on shale, in Afghanistan and the thing is still intact. Straps are almost blown out from that, but I've heard they're very good at repairing stuff if it's needed (but could be wrong on that, have never had to do it myself). My other one I got for free on a mission from some officer that liked me and I used it on a shit ton of missions, through college after getting out, a ton of hikes, and still use it on the mountain and to hold weights when I work out. Thing is still in super good condition. If I was getting a smaller pack again, I'd go with the Mystery Ranch Rats Pack, just because I know how well they're made.

If I was getting something larger, and didn't need or want a holster, I'd go Tactical Tailor. My bigger Mystery Ranch bag is strong as hell, but I don't like how it can't be synched down closer to the body, which can throw off balance if the pack isn't fully filled (and was part of the reason I fell down a whole mountain with it). The Tac Tailor MALICE packs are just incredibly strong, shit can be synched, and super modular. If some shit does end up breaking, you can always buy a small replacement (not sure how their returns work, could be good or bad idk) and be back in the game instead of having to buy a whole pack.

My vote goes for Mystery Ranch, Kifaru like somebody else said, or Tactical Tailor. Knew a few guys who used Tac Tailor packs and they were stupid resilient

I know the old outbacks were absolute tanks. Buddy in college picked up one, with like 250k, that wouldn't start for dirt cheap. Popped in a new alternator and pushed her to almost 400k before she needed a new engine. Picked up my 2010 in 2016 with 70k miles for a pretty good deal. She's at 130k right now. Hoping for 300k, but with the CVT I'll be happy for 200k

The town I used to live in had a Columbia outlet. Got a jacket for like $30 and that mf lasted me for like 6 years. That said, it would have been miserable in the northeast. Get something with a Goretex shell to keep you dry. I have this jacket from Marmot and absolutely love it. Use it all day snowboarding, shoveling, or just walking around town.

How's the wicking on that and how easy is it to pull down? The one I currently have doesn't wick for shit and the stasche always gets chilly on the lift towards the end of the day l

Ehhhhh, depends. A good chunk of my CS/SE homies and I used nothing but cheapo laptops (usually ThinkPads) running some flavor of Linux with no problems. Now, if you gotta run some bullshit like Matlab (sorry for your loss) or Excel then yeah, just run Windows.

I've had a pair of the Teva Embers that I liked a lot, but weren't as secure to my foot as I had hoped. Got a pair of the Teva Remember Mids last year and I really like them. Use them around the house, in the chicken run, and have mowed the lawn in them without any issues. Looks like they're hard to get ahold of right now, but definitely suggest them if you can

MF weren't even hiding it back in the day lol

Alright, I can't give you a recommendation on style, but can hype up the brand for you.

When I was deployed to Afghanistan, our Lt's mom's church group sent up a giant care package, including like 2 pairs of Darn Tough socks for each guy. I immediately made fun of them, because the name is the most generic thing you can think of, and then almost immediately ate my words the following week when I wore them. Those socks were fucking COMFY and they lasted for-fucking-ever. I wore them on tons of foot patrols, climbing up mountains, and for a few years after I got out. They lasted me like 6 years and I'd still probably have them if I didn't somehow lose both pairs (and I'm still bummed about it)

I've tried a few other brands since then and I'm going back once I wear my others out. You won't be disappointed in them.

Long story short, had a surgeon come out on a mission with my platoon one time, in Afghanistan. Dude saw the garbage pack I had, asked if I liked the pack that this pencil pushing lieutenant was wearing, told him ya, he told the lt to have that pack ready for me after we got back and picked it up about a week later.

NFS!

I think they retail for around $600, but I believe you can get them for like half that through some places