We overthink outdoor gear, don't we? | Pinnacle Newsletter #66
#66 We overthink outdoor gear, don’t we?
I sometimes wonder if the abundance of choice hillwalkers, backpackers and mountaineers face today in terms of gear is a hindrance rather than a help.
I promise that this won’t be a ‘we had nowt in my day but we were 'appy’ sort of piece, because I remember what hillwalking was like in the 1990s, and things are safer and more comfortable today. But surely there must reach a point of diminishing returns, beyond which further specialisation creates more problems than it can solve? Have we already reached that point? Did we reach it a long time ago? And how much of the blame can be apportioned to the outdoors media, including myself?
I’ve been thinking about this as I review my notes on the gear I took on the Haute Route Pyrenees. Before the trail, I spent months considering my gear list, tweaking it to the perfect compromise between weight and function (or at least as close to perfection as I could get with my limited budget and PR contacts). Lightweight backpackers can spend a good chunk of their waking lives obsessing about this stuff. I’ve known people spend hundreds of pounds for a 100g weight saving. I have personally spent hundreds of pounds to save 260g. Such an insane degree of optimisation is possible because gear has become insanely specialised; there are waterproof jackets, for example, so niche as to be near-perfect for one application yet near-useless for another. An example that springs to mind is the Berghaus Hyper 100. It’s fantastic for ultralight freaks heading to Death Valley, but if you try hiking the Cape Wrath Trail with it in a typical month you might end up as a Mountain Rescue statistic.
Specialisation in outdoor gear is nothing new, of course, and it’s a predictable enough trend. To an extent such specialisation is useful. It has enabled ultralight backpacking – or, at least, accessible ultralight backpacking for those who don’t want to make their own kit. I welcome the fact that I can walk into an outdoor shop and select an item that’s just right for what I need.
But there are downsides too:
I own six rucksacks. I’m sure this is by no means unusual for a committed outdoor enthusiast, and certainly not for a gear reviewer, but it strikes me as being a bit daft all the same.
When considering a new purchase, I can become paralysed by indecision because there are so many choices and they all look close to ideal. When every product is great, and the advantages and disadvantages between them all are so slight, making a choice is hard – even with the help of comparative reviews. It can be easy to second-guess your choice after you’ve parted with your cash too.
The urge to upgrade perfectly good kit for the next thing that’s slightly better for some particular niche never goes away, even if I don’t usually act on these urges.
After a week or so on the HRP, I barely even noticed my gear. With a few minor caveats, it just did its job. I don’t think I’d have noticed an extra kilo or two in my pack, and I certainly don’t think more expensive or more optimal kit would have given me an ‘edge’ (an edge for what, anyway? To hike faster? I was out there to enjoy myself, not hike faster). The fact is that most outdoor kit is fantastic these days, and – so long as you steer clear of hyper-specialised items – pretty much anything at any price point will get the job done, because most gear is overkill for most needs anyway. Cheaper kit may be a little heavier, a little less comfortable or a little less easy to use, but it’ll work. I saw a lot of hikers on the HRP carrying cheap Quechua packs and basic tents, even pop-up tents in a few cases, and they all seemed perfectly happy. Nobody moaned about their gear or wished they had better kit. (A few moaned about blisters, but that’s a different issue.)
This isn’t to say that I’m giving up lightweight backpacking, because I really like hiking with a light pack. But it isn’t as important as ultralighters like to think it is.
I’m not too sure what I’m driving at here. I look forward to finding out about new innovations in kit, and I often benefit from these developments myself, so I’m certainly not advocating for an end to innovation. But maybe the outdoors media goes on about gear just a bit too much, egging on the brands in their eager marketing (which is understandable, because that’s where the money is). Maybe people pay a bit too much attention to all this chatter about gear, and start to think their existing kit isn’t up to the job. Maybe we listen too much to outdoor influencers who are all about the edge their top-notch kit has given them. Maybe it’s all of the above and more, and maybe it’s not such a big problem after all – this is the way capitalism works when you get down to it – but I have started to think about all this a bit more and question my own role in it.
The amount I write about gear may increase in future. When I put pen to paper, I’ll think about how the relevance of gear receded into the background when actually using it out on the trail, and hopefully this perspective will inform how I approach the writing. This stuff is less important than it seems if you pay attention to the online buzz, and I do believe outdoor enthusiasts overthink gear choice. Decent footwear, waterproof and warm clothing, some way of navigating, a few safety items, and a bag to put it all in – that’s all you really need. The details don’t matter that much when it counts.
In other news
Sky Dance by John Burns is now available as an audiobook on Audible, narrated by Stewart Crank. I’m impressed by how eagerly and efficiently Vertebrate Publishing have handled this title.
Next week I’m heading to Vertebrate HQ in Sheffield to talk about books and editing (and I’m bringing along some of my wife’s home-made cake, as I’ve heard baked bribery goes down well with the Vertebrate crew).
Recently published
I’ve been catching up with reviews this week, so have published a bit more than usual.
What I’ve been reading this week – this week’s quality online reads on the outdoors, photography, environment, books, and more.
Review: Skye, Cloud Island by Morten Hansen – my review of a great coffee-table book of photos.
Review: BAM Short Sleeve Zip Neck Bamboo Sports Top – guilty as charged for writing 600+ words on a T-shirt.
Review: OMM Halo Pants – in fairness, these waterproof trousers were legitimately fantastic. Any other pair of waterproofs would have done the job, of course…
I’ve entered the 2020 TGO Challenge – a few words on this annual backpacking event, and why this is the first year I’ve actually got round to entering.
Until next time,
Alex
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