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

Well, yes and no on this statement.

I am fortunate in that my backpacking gear often was used in job related field work tasks, giving it a double justification.

I would also make the point that doing light weight does not necessarily entail buying expensive gear, but is more of a process of determining your basic, fundamental needs, and searching for gear that is versatile, often filling more than one function, and developing a system that works for you. It well might not be a system that works for me. We are all individuals.

In buying gear, careful thought is necessary. Quality gear is not for sale at cheap prices. But I learned long ago, that good gear, carefully chosen, gives outstanding value and service, especially if it is versatile and multi-use. It is usually more economical to buy a quality item, say a sleeping bat, once, and use it for twenty plus years than to buy a succession of cheapo items which wear out quickly and that don't work as well.

Most of the gear that I will depend upon in a survival situation is repurposed outdoor gear, just slightly redeployed when raw, screaming wilderness arrives at my doorstep.