Gear, or if you will tools,equipment or whatever you call constructed artifacts reflect two things; function and culture. A traditional kukri and a cold steel tactical knife both cut. The kukri is not a kukri without the trident notch and Cold Steel would be out of business if the powder epoxy coating was dayglo pink.The kukri would still be a superb chopper and the Cold Steel easier to find if dropped. In the real world a piece of wood, stretched deerhide or rabid squirrel could care less. We can agonise endlessly over "stuff" Just remember that in Nature the generalists usually survive over specialists. We can often be to clever for our own good. My gear is a sickening assembly of contradictions; surplus,cutting edge high tec, mickeymoused and redundant. I go out. It works. I return.