Gear

I was talking with my friend Angela last week, and we were discussing gear. It is one of my favorite topics. I think that everyone on some level uses gear. Gear can be anything, a camera lens, mountain bike, or even knitting needles (old lady gear). We ended up discussing our favorite pieces of gear. I thought that it would be interesting to hear from all of you. So, the question of the day is; What is your favorite piece of gear? Please post in the comments section.

Gear

Last time Ryan and I climbed together he called me a gear dork. Yes I admit it, I truly enjoy gear. I think that the gear is half the fun of any sport or hobby. Someone once said (although I don't know who) something like Americans can make any hobby an opportunity to purchase.

I think outdoor gear is more than something to just be purchased. It is necessary to participate in certain activities, part of the experience and sometimes life saving. I almost always say to Amy "this piece of gear would be perfect if only they had added a strap here or buckle there" after using a new piece of gear for the first time. Many times extra effort is wasted to make the gear look more appealing, when they could have made it more functional. It's the old joke that fishing lures are designed to catch fishermen, not fish.

As a gear dork I think that it is our responsibility to search out the gear that will work best for our application. Just buying the most popular, flashy, cheapest, or expensive without doing any research usually ends badly. Gear doesn't necessarily have to be new to be good. If one of your partners shows up with older well patched gear (as long as it was high quality to begin with) he will probably be able to teach you a few things. Although something like climbing gear should not be patched. If your climbing partner shows up with patched gear climb on your rack. Home made gear can also be good. It is usually designed and built for a specific purpose, and tweaked until perfect (only a gear dork would take the time to build gear).

It is my opinion that cheap, poorly designed, overpriced, or doing without quality gear shows a lack of commitment to your chosen sport (s). It's one thing to be working on filling your gear closet, and something entirely different to try to make do permanently with crappy gear. End of rant!