Welcome to the fire, newguy! I'm glad this site has been of value to you.

As for gear-nuts, yes there are a few of us here. The whole "to-nice-to-use" thing pops up for me every so often, though in my case it's more of a "to-nicely-packed-to-unpack" sort of thing. Perhaps you should get a a few cheap items and heavily abuse them. See how rough you can be with them before they break. You might be suprised.

Plus, it's a good excuse to buy more stuff. Especially if it's on clearance after Christmas!

-Blast