accessing an object in list in list

Try:

Equipment myEquipment = myProfiles["my name"].Activities["my activity"].Equipment;

However, it would be a good idea to check for null values at each stage.



"but equipment is a string. and how do i check for nulls?"

Well, you could change Equipment to string...

string myEquipment = myProfiles["my name"].Activities["my activity"].Equipment;

Checking for nulls just means that when ever you access a List, you make sure that what was looked for exists: if it isn't, then it will return a null value. If you try to use that to access another list, your will get an "object not set to an instance..." error.

string equipment = "none";
Profile p = myProfiles[0];
if (p != null)
    {
    Activity a = p.Activities[0];
    if (a != null)
        {
        equipment = a.Equipment;
        }
    }

If you want to use the string index version I suggested at the top, you will need to use a Dictionary, rather than a List.