Well thank you Bill,
I feel like I walk amongst giants... thank you WD.
But to address your post - many of us old farts took to the wilderness like those early himalyan mountaineers - no fear - do it or die along the way, and that was alright with us. You'll notice that WD, Pika, myself, and others who are really experienced are also old and fearless. There are old climbers, and bold climbers, but few old bold climbers. Notice that amongst this bunch, most are not only climbers, but extreme climbers, and people who have lived for extended time in extreme environments, like Pika in Antarctica. We do not approach the wilderness with the attitude of lets go have some safe fun on trail. We go with the idea of lets wait for a mtn storm, then we'll ski into the teeth of it and do a mixed rock/ice climb when we get there. A lot of us backpacked to get our ropes to the particular rock we wanted, and we carried 25 pounds of climbing gear and our camping gear, BUT it takes second place to the climbers of the golden era who carried 50 pounds of soft iron pitons and hemp ropes.
Point is - modern camping is based on safety, old time camping was intended to be more on the edge. Modern campers rarely risk their lives on a daily basis for fun, like sport climbers. The majority of people who read this group fall into that group. The differences in opinion about the reliability of gear comes from the fact that some have to rely on our gear to survive, and some rely on their gear to get them down a relatively safe well travelled path.
I err on being prepared, its kept me alive. But to say that I'm not an idiot who has done all kinds of dangerous things simply because they were dangerous would be inaccurate. I am way crazier than most, but it has given me the opportunity to perfect skills that others do not have and that keep me alive.
I am a solo rock climber and solo winter ski camper. I just say that to define my level of crazy. Because of this, my gear has to be up to my crazyness. Your camping style probably does NOT require the same gear.
Jim
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.