The old-school stuff just has way more character than that sterile modern look. Read an article recently that said micarta actually gets grippier when it gets wet, which is the opposite of what most guys expect.

Lost all their loft" is exactly right. I had a buddy who kept his bag vacuum packed for a whole season and it came out looking like a flat pancake. Took like 3 days of fluffing to get it back to normal.

...and that's exactly how I got suckered into paying five bucks for what I thought was fancy iced coffee. Turned out the stuff I'd been burning at home was basically bitter leaf water compared to the real deal. Now I've got a cold brew setup on my counter and my wallet is definitely feeling that 95 degree day all over again.

dude i gotta hard disagree with @samw47 on this one. camp 4 is great but i watched a guy's REI tent basically turn into a swimming pool during a monsoon at Yosemite back in 2018 seam sealed and all. a tarp with a bug bivy is way more versatile because you can set it up in like 2 minutes and adjust the pitch depending on the weather. bugs are annoying but a headnet costs $5 and works better than any tent mesh. honestly the wind argument is weak too because a well pitched tarp with a low A frame setup handles gusts way better than most freestanding tents that just flap around. tents are just heavy and fragile compared to a simple silnylon tarp that you can patch with tape if something rips.

34% of the roads in my county got a similar treatment last spring. I tracked it. The sealant they use has iron oxide in it. That's the stuff that makes red clay red. It binds to the concrete and doesn't wash out. The sidewalks stayed gray because they used a different mix, probably a water-based acrylic that just sits on top. I asked a guy at the public works yard. He said the dark color is intentional. Helps hide oil stains and tire marks from the new electric buses they're rolling out. Saves them from scrubbing the streets every month.