The Best Gear?

PSP Progression

In Western world that thrives on consumerism we are bombarded (almost every minute) with ads for the next best thing.  A new iPad just came out and if you had one of the old ones you had to have the new one right?  What about the new PSP Vita, "it is so much better than the last model".  Well This kind of thinking doesn't escape the world of camping or backpacking either.

"Why do people like this sport?"

There are a few people making new products for consumers.  They are trying their best to improve products through new technologies and practices.  Nothing wrong with that.  Our civilization would be nowhere without people trying to improve what we have out there.  I mean NASCAR would be even more boring if they were still racing cars from the 20's.
Then there are even fewer people telling which of these new products to buy.  They feed us something like, "it is .02 ounces lighter, therefore worth the extra $75 vs. the other one you are looking at".  There is a little wrong with this, and I can illustrate how.

I recently rediscovered a Stansport brand tent I had purchased when I was in Boy Scouts.  I bought it with my paper route money and used it for many years, never having any problems.  I think I spent about $90 at a store that sells everything (but not W-Mart).  At some point it disappeared.  I went looking for it in my parents garage one time and no one knew where it had gone.  Then the other day I was visiting and was taking quick stock of the gear my dad had held onto.  There it was, the tent, in it's torn blue stuff sack.  It was on the shelf right were I had left it about 10 years earlier.  I grabbed it, and threw it in the truck.  When I got it home I did a rapid set up (I could still set that thing up in the dark if I had to), just to take inventory to make sure all the pieces were present.  It was a little faded and smelled a little musky (dew to my little brother not airing it out properly after using a couple weeks back), but was in great shape.  I'm going to give it a good washing in Nikwax brand detergent to add some water proofing and it will probably be better than new.

So the point to the story is the so called "best" gear isn't always the best gear.  I want to make it clear that I don't blame companies producing gear for their prices.  They have the right to price items any way they feel they need to (and in most cases I feel they are completely justified in their pricing models).  I will just be a little more weary of what I read in magazines and on certain websites about some of the stuff that is out there.  When I buy a high priced item I truly expect it to last 20+ years, however, this teal blue tent is making me think twice about how I make purchases.


Mediocre minds think alike: visit mountainmanami.blogspot.com for a similar article on elitism in the outdoor sporting community.