It is funny..seems every niche group can be “defined” by gear if you let it. My brother is a musician. Among the many debates they have is what guitar is “the best”. Of course, at the end of the day, it is the musical skills that a good musician. Same debate could be for photographers, writers (Mac or PC????) and so on.

But, again, what do you do? What have you produced?

And OK, I did upgrade to a neo-air.

But I take the point: we aren’t defined by our stuff, but by what we do.

Thank you for the very thoughtful reply. I enjoy these type of posts most of all. Check out AK’s blog..he does some pretty cool stuff.

Gear can say something about us, insofar as we use the tools that are appropriate to the job at hand. If I saw a guy headed to the construction site with a shovel, bucket, and 50-pound bag of cement, I probably wouldn’t think that he’s working on building a kitchen table. When I see people with small packs, torso-length foam pads, beater trekking poles, and shoes held together by duct tape, it’s a pretty good bet that they’re serious about covering more ground and seeing more things, as opposed to fishing an alpine lake all day.

Another way gear says something about you is your sense of aesthetics. A prime example is the aforementioned foam pad. I like all parts of my system to work together, and so even though a Neoair would be much more comfortable, I like bringing the foam pad because it works well as my packframe and nothing is wasted by being a single-use item. Even though other gear would work equally well, there’s a certain beauty, in my mind, of this particular system. Another example – I wear a ridiculous tie-dyed bandana on trail, for no other reason than that I like wearing a ridiculous bandana.**

In the end, I agree – it doesn’t matter whether your hammer has a red handle, a blue handle, or a rusty handle. As long as it pounds the nail down, each and every hammer is doing its job. And because of that diversity, there is room for one’s personality/priorities to shine through. Just (as you put so well) as long as the tool doesn’t overshadow the activity itself.

**Also, it’s way easier to get a hitch when dressed in bright colors.

Good point. I confess to being like that not with gear, but with outdoor trips. I live in a beautiful area, but I find myself going further afield to find something new more and more.

I must confess, I don’t always go by what people have…I’ve seen people with Avalanche beacons in flat wooded terrain. 😮

As for dirt bagging, I am right there with ya!

It doesn’t define the activity, but it enables the activity. And so sometimes it says a little bit about you. On a recent trip, I looked at the people at the trailhead, and of the once without ice axes and crampons, I said, “these are the people who are going somewhere other than the summit today.” (Indeed, I didn’t see any of them up top.)

It’s just a tool, but sometimes you need a good set of tools to get the job done.