You know I took some time to try and figure this one out for myself, YMMV. Here are the answers I came up with:


--What makes us seek out the best of the best in gear?

When I make a purchase, whether it is a knife, a television, a car or whatever, I will:
* Research the purchase to discover the range of products out there
* Figure out what I need versus what I want
* Weigh what I can afford versus what I can?t afford to be without
* Make the purchase based on that criteria

I do this because I don?t like to ?shop? and I especially don?t like to ?buy? something more than once. I try to buy things that are of good quality that will last and remain useful for a long time. I find myself saying things like, ?if I take care of it, it?ll last me the rest of my life? a lot.


-- Why do we ?carry??

This one is a little tougher. We all have our reasons. The qualifiers, ?to what degree? and ?with how much zeal? can easily separate the extremes of, ?why we carry.? Some people like the gadgets. Some prepare for the sake of being prepared. Some prepare because they know that things can go wrong. Some prepare for emergencies or disasters and some prepare for TEOTWAWKI. My general rule of thumb is - I?d rather have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. But I keep my gear secreted away and don?t talk about it much since some people have raised an eyebrow for me producing a Band Aid or using my SwissTool in public. Though I can usually quiet the inquisitive by telling them, ?I use the stuff for camping.?


--Why do we want to be prepared for the probably unlikely?

This is another one of those ?to what degree? and ?with how much zeal? questions. Am I prepared for car trouble ? sure. Am I prepared for home defense ? you bet. Am I prepared for power outages or natural disasters ? absolutely. Am I prepared for nuclear war ? hmmm, probably not.

I think that being aware, we prepare for what we think could genuinely happen to us and for that which we can actually prepare. I know lots of people who ?prepare? by carrying a cell phone. ?And that?s great because for the most part, if you have someone to call for help, you?ll be okay. But wonder if the battery dies or what if you can?t get a signal or suppose you drop it and it breaks. Or imagine you can?t wait for someone to get there. To some, these are ?unlikely? scenarios - to others, they are very real. Now compare those statements to this one: ?Wouldn?t it be great to take an elevator to a secret underground NORAD-like facility if the SHTF.? --Well, sure I guess so.

The important thing to note here is that we as individuals decide for ourselves where the varying line is between prepared and paranoid.


--What makes us different?

I don?t think that ?we? are that much different than ?them.? I think the biggest difference is that ?we? realize (to whatever degree) that ?it? could happen to us and we want to be as ready as we can be. Whereas ?they? assume that ?it? could never happen to them. -- And we all know what happens when you assume.

For some it is a pastime, for others it may be ?inborn.? For most it?s something we like or enjoy and do because we feel better off doing it as opposed to not.

Normally I would end with ?just my 2 cents? or something like that, but this one is probably closer to a dollar. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />


My thoughts, FWIW.
Hutch4545