On the other hand, just as much as the dogmatic always raise a smile, kit freaks often amuse me. That's never more evident than when they post pics of gear that has clearly never been used.[/QOUTE]
I'm a kit freak, constantly experimenting. Nothing wrong with that. what works for one does'nt work for another, or our preferences change. I probably have about 50 woods kits i've set up. It was'nt until recently that i REALLY found a setup that works for me. Took 30 years of hiking with various bits of gear to really figure out what works for me.
as for gear that "looks new" or is posted in pics as being nothong more than props......, i' gonna disagree with your statement. Some of us take exceptional care of our gear, AND use it. All my gear gets used, heavily. And yes i post it in pics because i enjoy sharing and maybe someone else might like the setup and go try it. This is'n CommieVille where your restricted to State Issued items only. we have a choice.
I find that to be a direct parallel with difference between those of us that go play for days in the wet and cold, and those that day hiked a huge [hilarious, I do three daily before breakfast 'cos the dog needs a stretch and a dump] five miles sporting an immaculate Endlessrepetition-fatboy-milspec sack crammed with the latest items they'll never use. [/QOUTE]
Some of us DONT HAVE time to go on multi day or week hikes. Some of us are restricted to several hours here and there or maybe a weekend day when we can. Some of us choose to go into the woods for a few hours in comfort, with lots of gear, maybe we are trying it out...maybe we are testing it for a review later. Again, its personal preference what we carry into the woods. If someone wants to carry a pack full of stuff for a 3 mile hike with Pooch, WHO CARES? does it affect your life liberty or safety? NO so who cares what they carry. They have to carry it, not you. And how do you know they will never use it? maybe they dont need it at this instant momement, but its THERE and good to go when they do........
nothing wrong with Fatboy or Milspoec packs either, and nothing wrong with clean gear. I guess we should all be sporting muddy ripped patched faded packs with nothing but the UBER light air kit inside? NOT! somedays i feel like going ultralight, other days i feel like going with everything and the kitchen sink, even on a short 1mile woods walk.
just saying
I guess I need to elaborate a bit.
I would never consider restricting the gear choices others make unless it has an impact on me because they are on my team. As I see it people aught to use what they like or whatever they are comfortable or competent at using. If at some point during that process a person also gives me a chuckle then great, bonus.
As for the difference between clean gear as opposed to as new gear I think there is a great deal of difference. I keep my kit in good order, and it's not a habit I'm keen on breaking, but there's a world of difference between that and immaculate like a shop window dummy with its props that has sprung to life. And as for taking excessive load on short trips, well I do that too sometimes. The only way to train effectively for hauling load is to haul load. On that, if I'm brewing up for a trip I can often be spotted lugging the bergan just doing the morning dog walk.
I think this could be a sensitive subject because once it is broken down to specific instances it can almost evaporate before your eyes. My instance of dragging a loaded bergan round to get in shape would qualify as one, as would knives of those of us that keep them in shape. I tend to finish my blades to a fairly high standard, and compared so some of those old rusters with dinks taken out the blade they may well appear as new. Similarly, who is going to rat a new bit of kit to take the shine of it by dragging it up a rock for some threadbare looking effect just so it doesn't look too new, like a pair of white sneakers.
However, there is an other side to this coin. And as much as using a shotgun rather than sniping runs the risks of irritating civilians, as a rule the generalization holds good. The first thing that springs to mind is the role of the credible witness. For example; on farming related matters I might take the testimony of the guy in the dirty wellies and the beat up donkey jacket with a bit of hairy string tied round the middle sooner than the man wearing Cerruti. There may be reasons why that is flawed, appearances can be deceptive, but its a sensible place to start. Similarly, and I'm loathed to name him but, hollowdweller scores well for me as a credible witness because you can see he works his kit. That is worth more to me than a raft of testimonies on pack X, all photos of which appear immaculate, that you only ever see in very light use. Similarly, although I intend no offense to anyone in particular, the recent thread with with flint / steel, bit of hardwood to boil a liter of water, and no accelerants, was interesting. We see loads of pics of shaving store bought bits of softwood 2*4, and there's hardly a paucity of images and recommendations of L00K, my new fire steel, but exactly how many contestants showed up for that. All it would have taken for me to bestow a single witness with high credibility would have been one contestant with a lump of Beech, a well hand sharpen knife, and a battered old looking fire steel to do the job. That would dwarf any of the dozens of brand new latest greatest firesteel for lighting Vaseline soaked cotton balls I've ever seen here. I can get away from that, and I don't want to.
