Kept my whole kit from school in a plastic bin and I still dig through it. My old marcel iron and a couple of the rods from the 90s just grip the hair different, the new stuff feels flimsy by comparison. The curl holds way longer too, I get clients asking why it lasted so much better this time and I just shrug. Feels good when the old tools outwork the new ones.

30 years of backpacking and Ive seen more rain flies fail from setup than from bad gear. You basically described the classic mistake, too loose on the corners so the fabric droops instead of shedding water. My first tarp did the same thing in the Pisgah until an old timer showed me to pitch it drum tight with a steeper angle on the windward side. A $50 fly with good pitch beats a $200 one thats sagging every time.

wait, the 1934 Graf Zeppelin cover with the red cross cachet? that's like a holy grail piece, dude. your cousin called that lame and you didn't just walk away? i'd have been defending it for two days just based on the fact that thing survived world war two and the mail system.