There is something to our human psychology of always wanting the new and exotic, of coveting the latest and greatest.

Manufacturers have taken notice, changing features and colors, “rebranding” with new designs and looks, creating something new with regularity because “new and improved” sells. It’s hard to fault these companies who have to keep upping their bottom line and stay profitable.

Getting a little older, it gives me an appreciation for products that are timeless and unchanged, products that are old and familiar but still at peak functionality.

While most outdoor goods have benefitted from modernization, and you are truly better off in most cases buying newer technology than old, there are some outdoor goods that are timeless classics.

Stanley Thermos.

These thermoses were ahead of their time. Today, companies are making roto-molded coolers with retail prices of $500 or more.

The coolers work so well because they are bulky, with a wall of air acting as insulation to the outside world.

The Stanley Thermos does the same thing with a pocket of air separating the glass or metal innards from the outside. The result is cold drinks that stay cold, and hot liquids that stay warm.

I trust my Stanley Thermos for coffee in the tree stand and for hot soup on ice fishing trips. Dinged, dented, and scratched from years of use, it keeps on working.

Leatherman Multi-Tool.

Growing up on a farm, you learned that you always needed a pocket knife for odds jobs that came up – cutting twine rope, slicing an apple into quarters, turning a flathead screw that had rattled loose.

I changed to a Multi-Tool eventually and carried it every day. My career path had me working outdoors for nearly a decade before landing behind a desk. Sadly, my Leatherman is no longer an every day carry, but I do attach it to my belt on days I plan to get outdoors.

My Leatherman Multi-Tool is two decades old, wet-behind-the-ears in comparison to some pocket knife users.

Red Wing Leather Boots.

This Minnesota classic has been on my feet since my early days on the farm. A good pair of steel-toe boots will take care of you.

I’ve changed the cushioned liners a few times, there’s lot of cuts and scraps on the leather, and it’s probably a lot lighter than when they were new out of the box, but they are still working.

I’ve worn the soles smooth, but it’s hard to beat the broken-in feeling.

Maybe someday I’ll go to a shoe shop and ask to get them re-soled, but for now I enjoy putting them on for walking prairie grass and chasing roosters.

Bemidji Woolen Mills Pants.

Wool really is timeless; you can’t improve on Mother Nature’s design.

Wool is warm and insulative in winter and sheds water. Wool pants are great as an outerlayer when you don’t want to wear bibs or snowpants and are comfortable at both high and low activity levels.

I’ll be done using my wool pants when I’m dead.

Home Built Fishing Rod.

I never imagined when I built a rod in high school that it would be my favorite fishing rod for so many years. I built a seven-foot medium, fast-action rod with a walleye sticker and green and gold thread wraps on a Batson blank.

I’ve brought it into the Boundary Waters several times, taken it out on large lakes and rivers, and it flat catches fish.

It’s the kind of rod that has a reputation; when friends see it they remember it and know we are in for some catching. It’s nice to have a rod that can do the bragging for you.

Assuming I keep it in one piece, I’ll likely hand it down within my family some day.

Nalgene Water Bottle.

The water bottle I lugged around with me in college is the bottle I use to this day for daily drinking water and on hikes, hunts and fishing trips.

Healthy living incorporates drinking a fair amount of water each day, and the movement to use less disposable, plastic drinking water bottles has led to a consumer push for reusable water bottles.

Nalgene was well-positioned for this movement and has sold plastic wares for over 70 years.

The bottles are darn near indestructible. While the scratches and nicks on mine have changed it from transparent to translucent, I look back fondly on trips on which I’ve used it and all the stickers my bottle has been adorned with over the years.

Remington 870 Shotgun and Woodsmaster 742 Rifle.

My first shotgun was a Remington 870, and to this day, it’s my workhorse, do-all gun.

The 870 Pump shotgun is one of the most popular shotguns ever created and is spread across the globe. There are stories of people that have dropped them in duck sloughs, retrieved them, and they’ve kept on shooting without a cleaning.

The Woodsmaster rifle is also a workhorse. My grandfather stopped big game hunting and moved into an apartment for the last decade of his life. It was a transformational moment for him when he handed down that rifle to me.

Perhaps Remington made too fine of guns that worked too well and never needed replacement; the company has gone through bankruptcy proceedings but their guns are as popular as ever.

I’ve been rough on both guns, but they keep delivering and will be heirloom firearms within the family.

Scott Mackenthun is an outdoors enthusiast who has been writing about hunting and fishing since 2005. He resides in New Prague and may be contacted atscott.mackenthun@gmail.com.

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