How Much Gear Do You Need?

How much gear do you need? Well, that is sort of a trick question.  Actually, it is different for all of us. It depends on your goals and objectives, your needs verse your wants, the type of set up you have, among a host of other factors. I could never tell you how much gear you need as you are the only one capable of determining what your needs are in the first place. But, I can provide you with some of my observations.

As far as gear goes I have much more than I need yet never as much as I want.  Many of you are probably in the same situation.  I finally have gotten to the point that I sold a bunch of backpacks that did not fit my needs. Some were great quality Maxpedition backpacks that just did not work for me. There was nothing wrong with the quality of the packs but I ended up not using them and they just took up space.  Instead of sitting in my closet taking up space they are now being used by someone else who will hopefully find utility in the pack. If you own gear that does not fit your needs or live up to your expectations then get rid of it. There is probably someone out there that is willing to buy what you have. Sometimes we just have to experiment to see what works for us and what does not.  But, if you don’t use it, you probably don’t need it, so get rid of it!

Following are some reasons we “collect” gear:

• We are on the hunt for the perfect setup and buy new items of gear to see if it will fit our needs.
• Our needs change over time requiring the addition of certain items.
• We discover that modifications are needed to our setup.
• New gear becomes available that is smaller, lighter, stronger, and more durable.
• Acquiring gear is fun. Lets face it, we love to test, use, and abuse gear to see how it will potentially benefit us. We buy gear because we can.

I could probably come up with a thousand more reasons to buy gear but it would just sound like a lot of justification and rationalization.  How much gear do you need? Maybe it is time for you to really give this some thought.

//TC

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