Before me, on the coroners cold bench top, is my partners Mountain Designs Lake Tahune 60L from 1998... the rats ate the hip belt in 2003 when we bought a house and the pack was stored in the shed. The pack did two hikes... it was bought for the Overland Track etc.
So until today it, without the stinky rat-pissed hip belt, it has been stored alongside the 'new' gear... but always at the bottom of the shelf. And in a separate box.
I placed it on the table tonight and started to remove the buckles and webbing etc. with a scalpel and I wondered "Is this right?"
Should I strip all the hardware off the old (and irreparable) pack, or maybe keep it all together and put it in the Vinnies bin?
Do I just put it in the rubbish bin and 'be gone with it'?
I ask - how many 'bits' that you have removed from old and broken gear have repurposed?
Or how big is your 'repair box' of buckles and bits from old gear that you have stripped and will you ever use all of them?