What Discontinued Gear Do You Wish Were Still Being Made?
The following items have gone the way of dodo bird, but if we had our way, we'd bring them all back
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We test a lot of new gear here at Outside, but sometimes we find ourselves feeling nostalgic for an old piece of discontinued gear. Here’s a starter list of gear we’d like to see come back into production. Let us know what you’d add.
ISki Sunglasses
These steezy aviators were fully mirrored and a skier favorite because they looked damn good with your old-school kit and out drinking beer on the lodge deck. “I dream of the day I find another pair of those at a thrift store,” said a friend who ski-bummed in the ’70s.
Teva Alps Pro
Alps Pro sandals were legendary for their durability. River guides loved them because the spider-rubber soles gripped as well as climbing shoes, and the eight supple straps created tons of support but almost never created hot spots.
Rossignol Sickle
“I would do some awful things to have that ski back,” is how one friend described his obsession with this ski. He loved them because they were a versatile all-mountain, fully rockered board that floated in pow and busted through crud yet held a confident edge on groomers. Plus, they held up to lots of abuse.
Grumman Sport Boat
The Sport Boat had a bombproof aluminum hull and was light enough to row, but it was also great with an outboard motor. One friend has used the boat on long and short crossings across Alaska and is terrified of the day when his finally breaks.
Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser
Introduced in 1960 as Toyota’s answer to World War II Jeeps, the FJ40 Land Cruisers were overbuilt, simple machines with a propensity for rough roads and lasting forever. They went out of production in 1984, but Toyota modeled the FJ Cruiser (discontinued in 2014) after the legendary FJ40 because the company saw how popular the 40 was, and still is, with off-road enthusiasts.
Channel Islands Flyer 1 Surfboard
You can still get a custom Flyer 1, but they haven’t been in shops since 2012. I and many surfers loved these boards because the wide tail helped generate speed and because they were snappy yet plenty stable.