I remember taking just about the entire issue of TA-50 and throwing it in a wall locker to be used only at inspections. Most of the equipment I actually took to the field was privately purchased.
Just about all my privately owned stuff was cold weather gear to wear under issue stuff.
Same here. Being in a SP artillery battery, we didn't have to walk, and had plenty of vehicles for "stuff". The first things that went into my wall locker were the GI sleeping bag and that awful air mattress. And the shelter half stuff. Living in the back of a M577 was like having a luxury RV.
I still cherish my Eddie Bauer (back when it was a real outdoors store) ultralight down bag, and Thermarest self-inflating foam pad. A good night's sleep was a high priority for me. That damn GI air mattress let me down every time (pun intended), while the Thermarest deployed in about 10 seconds, rather than 10 minutes of huffing and puffing.
We called our private purchase gear our "Field Kit"... Looked like hell, but worked great.
Then there was the pretty stuff. Made the Battalion Cmdr's eyes shine with pride during a walk through.
Best looking window dressing you ever saw, unless you were in front of a Victoria's Secret store.
He never asked about the still full duffle bag on top of the wall-locker.