As with most things, camping/survival gear has a maximum value point. That is to say, cheap stuff is really crappy, then as the price goes up the value goes up until you hit some point where the price keeps going up but the value doesn't go up as much. This corner is where you should choose your gear.
For a concrete example, cheap LED flashlights can be had for a few dollars, but they are plastic and not waterproof, better ones are metal and like $10-$30 and are very durable and are probably the best value, then you have the crazy surefire, fenix ones that are $75 and up and they may be somewhat brighter, but really, how bright do you need to light up your stairs in a blackout?
Must...fight...the...gadget...lust...

Backpacker ads, "The Best New Gear for 2007", CountyComm, Cheaper than Dirt, Sportsmans Guide, Cabelas, REI...

It's called "Gear Porn", guys!

Sue

Blasphemy!

If you like it, buy it. It's the American way. If it serves a purpose too, bonus.

DTG, I'm going to ask the obvious question- how long ago was the $100 worth of stuff? Inflation sucks.

But if you are carrying a grand of gear, that is a little high, but not horrible. As others have said, quality has a price. My ditch kit lives in a vest that if I had purchased it new would have been over a hundred dollars. But it holds everything I need, has it where I like, and becuase of the modular magic of MOLLE, can be changed in the future if I need to. Ditto my three season pack- if I had to replace just the nylon, that would be over $250 new. But also know that this gear can take at least as much abuse as my body can, if not more.

When I made my first serious bug out stash, it was a milk crate full of gear that might have totaled $150 back in '98, and it would have been packed into a rucksack that cost me something like $40 that had about $30 worth of surplus ALICE gear attached to it. I would say that I had too much weight in the wrong places then, with things like canned foods. But guess what- two thirds of that $150 was tools, like my Ka-bar and the Leatherman that is currently digging into my hip. *squirms* (I gotta get a better chair here.) And the $10 on clearance Grundig mini shortwave receiver that I still own.

So don't sweat it too much. You've got good gear. Truely good gear is working family heirloom stuff, in the same class as a good hammer or a rifle. Look to see how much of what you have is "survival bling"- stuff bought becuase it has a flashy name. While I'm not fond of a lot of it, it actually serves a purpose- you'll look like all the middle class slobs who, unlike you and I and the others here, are in dangerous need of a clue. It's suburban camouflage.

I guess it's all relative. When I was young and broke, but a lot more tolerant of doing without, I made what I had or could afford work. Now I am older, I've done my time, and I have some coin to blow. I still consider myself frugal, but if I see something I want, I am more inclined to buy it without scrutinizing whether or not it is essential, or if I could make do with something lower quality or slightly less functional.

It's like anything else I suppose. I could make a $700 POS vehicle work just fine for me, provided I don't rely on it too much. I can make a $5,000 vehicle do just as well, and maybe get a bit more complacent about checking on it regularly to make sure nothing is about to fall off or blow up. I will probably never own a brand new vehicle because getting one two or three years old that is mechanically sound seems more than I would ever need, regardless of how much money I have in my pocket.

I have a lot of dutch ovens that I haven't used in the past 3 years. In fact, I am hard pressed to think of a time when I ever had to use all of them at once for anything except when I taught camp cooking. Even when I worked as a camp cook I never needed more than maybe 6 with me. They are all good ovens that passed a fair amount of scrutiny at the time of purchase, even though most of them are from no-name manufacturers. A couple are from the best in the business, just because they are exactly what I was looking for at the time, or they were something special that caught my eye. There's still a few models I don't own that I wish I had, like the bigger Maca ones, but I just can't seem to justify spending $300 or more for a pot I will seldom use and is so heavy and bulky. However, if I came across one that was on sale or someone gave me one (yeah, that's not gonna happen), I would probably keep it and use it when I could.

I guess when it comes to survival gear, there's a time and place to be cheap, and then there's things that you will want to spare no expense on. Frugal isn't always about being a penny pincher, it is value for money. Like in another thread, it just doesn't make sense to me to own 100 lbs of bug out gear, regardless of how much or little it costs, but you can be sure that I will pay as much as I can afford to get the best in certain cases. A 99 cent bic lighter will get me by most of the time, a $7.00 refillable piezo electric/catalytic wind/waterproof butane lighter will always be my primary go to firestarting source, and I will never pay $50 or more for any kind of lighter, even though there's plenty of them out there.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the gearaholic! It is no worse than being in law enforcement and going in to a uniform store, where they always have some new toy that you are sure will save your life ten times over, so you buy it. Over and over again. Hence the saying, "if you die first, we're splitting up your gear"...

Yeah, its good to take a look at your spending. I still get a few bg ticket items, but also buy much of my gear* used on eay or at the local goodwill type store.

As I've aged I've found ...

My sleeping pads are getting thicker (and more expensive) and my tents are getting taller (and more expensive)

My sleeping bags are getting wider (but not too much more expensive)

My flashlights and stoves are getting smaller and more reliable(and more expensive)

My knives are getting much nicer, thanks to Doug (and more expensive). I tend to justify the cost of Doug's knives by convincing myself that most of that money goes to equipped.org. "See [wife's name] I'm helping Doug save lives!!"

The one place that things are still very reasonable, as billym says, is my plastic (lexan) eating gear. I did try the Countycom.com spork once - just once. Now I bring both a lexan fork and spoon. Try eating spaghetti with a spork

[I never could spell "spaghetti" - I had to look it up in a dictionary.]

I have the same problem. Since money is not so forthcoming now I have two children I still find myself getting new stuff just because I want it. Just this week I spent around 80$ at Countycomm. Now i think I am gonna put some money back for some things i really want. There are some times when I feel I am working hard enough I deserve some of my wants but it can't happen every week. Whewn your needs are taken care of you can then take care of your wants (which there is a whole list of).

As far as the titanium spork goes I have one and it stays in my lunchbox for when i want to eat some canned fruit (works well on sliced peaches). I just like titanium then again i am a ironworker/welder by trade so i like playing with all kinds of steel.

Ah, I don't think I've ever really had that attitude. I'm quite happy to spend money on things which make me more comfortable.

I am concerned about looking conspicuously rich, but that's another matter. I have found that cheap stuff is sometimes better - especially smaller and lighter - than the more expensive stuff, but again that's another matter.

For me, any attempt at minimalism is balanced by a desire for safety and comfort. It's not about managing with the least gear, it's about being comfortable with the least gear.