Great topic. I thought about it while taking a 7 mile hike in near blizzard conditons. Traditionalists don't let a little snow stop us.

I finally decided tradition needs to be handed down or received before it becomes a tradition. It also needs to be something not in general use today. For instance, the cast iron skillets I got from my mother who got them from her mother who got them from her mother I use to cook pierogi in are a tradition spanning 5 generations (including my son.)

My external frame packs didn't become a tradition until I passed them on to my son. The modern clothes we started using at the same time aren't a part of tradition as they haven't been passed on.

Ringtail, yes, a SVEA 123R stove is a part of our tradition. I got mine in 1977 and have never used anything else. My son also wouldn't dream of using anything else.