From: sashan [mailto:sashang@ihug.co.nz] [snip] Is there a better way that doesn't involve 1) having to write a wrapper class around a basic type (or any type) and 2) doesn't involve changing the shared_ptr::operator==.

As others have pointed out, the solution is to use a function object and std::find_if. In this case, the comparison doesn't even need a separate predicate - the (exceptionally cool) Boost.Bind library can be used instead: vector::iterator it=std::find_if(vec.begin(),vec.end(),bind(std::equal_to<int>(),bind(&shared _ptr<int>::operator*, _1),42)); Bjorn Karlsson [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]