A buddy of mine loaned me "Ultralight Backpackin Tips" by Mike Clelland. This is not a review of that book, however while reading through it I was struck by the thought that the gear choices people make have to do with their life style and their imagined relationship with where ever it is that they camp.

For example, if you imagine yourself fighting off wild animals with your Bowie knife, you will most likely think a Bowie knife is required. Don't laugh, a huge percentage of campers, especially men, carry knives with no real purpose because it has to do with their image of themselves.

You may imagine yourself the ultralight woodnymph running past all of those over burdened campers with your TINY UL pack, but the reason you have that tiny pack is that it makes you feel superior, smarter, sexier, than someone with a larger pack. it looks carefree, and unencumbered, like the atitudes of the users. In all fairness I look at them and their tiny packs and I know what they are carrying and I laugh inwardly at how much they will be suffering when I'm in my tent on my down filled air mattress in my big down sleeping bag. You see, I imagine myself the master of camping comfort through being properly prepared and having good gear.

The extremes in gear are very user/usage determined. I may need clothes that can stand up to extreme because my life may depend on it, or I may only need a tee shirt and shorts for my trip.

I have a buddy who always carries surplus German army gear because he says its the only gear rugged enough to last a lifetime. Even the cook-kit. I also know people who carry a paper cup to drip from and use a ziplock for a pillow. I personally dislike alcohol and carry compressed gas stove and I don't own no stinking "tea cozy" - I actually cook my food with the abundance of energy avail to me from my compressed gas stove.

Some people love to fuss with alcohol stoves, but like kites, fire striker sticks and yes Bowie knives, they're just another camping fetish that people enjoy doing with their time. I drink a lot of coffee and I want to just turn a knob and have 10,000 BTu and then have it turn off completely when I turn the same knob. But heck I'm a retired engineer, I'd rather carry a nicely turned piece of hardwar than trying to stand my pot on top of three tent stakes with an esbit.

What you will want to carry has to do with how you imagine yourself camping. Because of this, everyone will attach a different value to their gear. I imagine myself as a lone intrepid soul hiking around cross country just checkin things out, so I place a high value on boots, tough clothes, GPS and gear that works in rain and cold. Others imagine themselves carrying little but their swimsuit and towel, and that may be about all they require.

Another serious consideration is the length of time that you pack for. Do you only carry the things required for an individual trip, or do you carry a seasons worth of first aid, creamer, etc etc. Will each piece if gear have to survive the entire season? Will it be able to survive multiple seasons, or will you replace it each trip?

But your opinion about other peoples gear is probably as dependent on your atitude about why you camp, as it is about the gear.
Jim