Relearning the old ways

My coming full circle with outdoor gear

For most of my outdoor career I owned and used nothing but the best gear available. About 7 years ago I started to sell everything I had multiples of (I had my own guide service for awhile so I had enough gear to outfit several people with tents, packs, sleeping bags, stoves, etc…). I was starting to get into Bushcraft pretty hardcore so I went out and bought all old school and surplus kit. It was a major transition period for me in rediscovering where I came from in the outdoors and focusing on relearning the old ways. Doing this has made me reevaluate a lot of the expensive gear choices I had made in the past. Especially on stuff that is simple.

Little backstory…

I had a nickname amongst my friends, Captain Name Brand… Seriously. If I was buying a waterproof jacket it was either Patagonia or Arcteryx. Backpacks had to be Arcteryx or Dana Designs (the predecessor to Mystery Ranch). Tents had to be Moss or Mountain Hardwear. And I don’t mean entry level stuff from these companies, I’m talking about the best that money could afford. I was also heavily invested in climbing gear and ski equipment. Every year I had to have the best Ice tools, crampons, bindings, etc. I spent A LOT of money on gear. But it was also my job using this gear so I beat it up and replaced it when needed, at a steep discount.

So when I mentioned earlier about coming full circle with gear, I started off with all military surplus gear as a Scout. My dad was in the Army so we always had whatever he had in his gear closet. Army packs, sleeping bags, oversized BDU’s, field jackets, shelter halves, and more. He was also active in the local gun show scene (this was 1980’s time period) so we also had German Mountain rucks and those old heavy black german mountain boots. We camped all year long with that gear. Ate old C-rations and MRE’s and never knew any better. I remember a campout that he brought along a set of Gen 1 night vision. Capture the flag took on whole new meanings with that piece of gear.

Fast forward to several years ago and I start getting back into primitive camping. I wanted to start relearning those old skills that I had taken for granted all those years ago, but I wanted to do it with the gear that I had originally started off with, all that surplus gear. So I looked for an Alice pack, Army sleeping bags, BDU’s, cook gear, and more. I found that I was actually enjoying camping again and rediscovering those old skills as though it were the first time. And it was GREAT!

So today, I see that battle again of high end gear versus budget or surplus gear. I have participated in the gear world for a very long time. I have used gear at both ends of the spectrum. I have been disappointed at times with both and surprised with both. But there is something that stands out to me with how we use gear that I have discovered during this transition back to where I started. I think when we spend a lot of money on gear that we expect it to do too much for us. Maybe we need to invest less in gear and more on learning and using it. Relearn the old ways and you’ll discover that skill use and knowledge become priceless. The time invested in learning is well spent.