Hey Hacksaw,

I also think this is a natural pendulum swing for all of us. One blog post from Pablo a while back inspired me to start making lists of my gear and then on the last day take inventory what was used and what was not used. Then better decisions could be made in the future on priorities of gear to carry for that type of trip.

Since you have so much gear experience perhaps it is time to set some time aside to develop more survival skills to maintain that balance. Perhaps taking a primitive skills course following the ol' Mors Kochanski philosophy of "The more you know, the less you carry" would also help in deciding what is essential.

If you can't budget in a full blown primitive skills course (neither can I frankly) check out a few primitive skills books from your local library and take a local wilderness first aid course and/or a few Red Cross training classes. In my experience these are fairly affordable introductions to skill building and when practiced have been more empowering than any shiny piece of gear I own. Every time I want to buy a new piece of gear to replace an heavier older version I put that money aside for a future class. I realized I was starting to compensate for my lack of skill and experience with more gear. Since I own the "essential tools" my brain needs some upgrading before anything else. The skilled brain is the ultimate back-up tool for improvising a solution to any set-back (e.g. lost or stolen backpack containing most of your gear).

Good luck Hacksaw.! Your sincere candor on topics and willingness to provide examples improves the usefulness of this forum dramatically!

Cheers,
Logan.