They say "A fool with a tool is still a fool.".
Gear without the skills to use it may be just dead weight. In some cases the gear may even injure you severely (one false move with an axe may cost you a limb).
I would rate skills, knowledge, information and good physical shape as more important than gear. After all information and planning could well avoid the emergency. Skills and knowledge weigh nothing and can be taken everywhere.
If you can acquire a new skill, do it. If you can acquire a new piece of gear, think twice whether you really need it (unless it´s a new toy ;)).