> I'm quite surprised by some discussion about certain gear.

As my mother says, "Everyone needs a hobby."

Discussing, buying, trading, collecting, playing with gear is FUN, at least for some of us.

For myself, I try to put gear into 3 categories: preparedness, entertainment, and paranoia.

All three are legitimate categories, it's just important to make sure which is which.

Yet another flashlight, knife or multitool to add to the dozens I've already got? Ok, folks, let's be honest, that's entertainment, we're way out of the preparedness category. I like flashlights. If I want to spend $20 on my birthday for another one, that's just fine.

Accumulating geiger counters and iodine pills and fallout shelters, given I'm a few miles from a major city, i.e. target? For ME, I'm going to call that paranoia. Others may disagree, and that's fine, too. Do I plan to survive a nuclear war? ("No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.") But if it helps you to sleep knowing that you have a Geiger counter, that is justification for buying one, as long as you can afford it.

Storing water reasonable amounts of water?: Preparedness.

And as anyone who has looked at expensive backpacking equipment knows, going lightweight and lean can sometimes be an expensive hobby of its own.

I think it's great to hear about everyone else's outlook on preparedness. Even if I would put something in a different category (entertainment, preparedness, paranoia) than someone else, I enjoy learning about different approaches.