i like kit, have just bought a new gore tex paclite jacket and a few other bits and bobs and was excited waiting and even more excited when they arrived!

why do we all get so much pleasure from owning kit?

how much kit have people got?

is there anyone on here that thinks they have too much, if thats poss?

are there answers or is it just that i am a kit freak?!

Because we've all been posesed by the demon of consumerism? ;-)

Or, as you say, we just like buying shiny new kit!

Definately got too much kit, but not as much as many on the forum i'm certain.

Repeat after me....

"We are ALL Kit freaks".

How dare you call me a kit freak!!
OBSESSED yes a freak well??




go on then im a freak too!!

JUST DONT TELL THE WIFE..

My therapist thinks its normal..
he calls it OCD--- OBSESSIVE CIT DISSORDER..LOL

Yeah I know your type! all the gear no idea!,
only joking chris. Yes Gear is nice but remember its the journey not the objective and its the man not the gear. And if you don't find that patronising enough its a matter of weight over durability . He He!

Because it's just the same as dressing up like a cowboy and going out to play in the garden.

But at our age that would look a little suspect so we dress up and play in the great outdoors instead :o)

I've many sleepings bag and just ordered another 1
I've ordered a watch because it has an altimetre and barometer which I don't really need
Sum total £340 ish which I can't really afford.
Why Oh Why.

I broke my no-kit-buying until summer rule today with a Silva Expedition 4 and an Ortleib mapcase.

I've been good - bought a new sleeping bag, and sold my other two. Bought a new rucksack, and sold my old one. Just bought a new jacket (Montane Superfly), and am in the process of selling my old jacket on eBay.

I'm trying to get some more gucci kit (got a Terra Nova Laser Competition ordered!), but also trying to get rid of the old stuff!

But yes, new kit is nice. Just get rid of the old stuff!

lol ptc. very true.
having lots of kit is the only secret i have from the Angel. well, secret in as much as cost.

i have too many jackets, and to prove it i've just ordered another two. i think that will bring it up to somewhere like 19. i have lots and lots of socks - can you have too many socks?

>>>why do we all get so much pleasure from owning kit?

I wish I knew the answer to this, too, as it might be the first step to finding a "cure"! I think it's a very primitive hunting instinct - we take loads of time poring over catalogues, comparing specs, researching prices until finally... the credit card is launched and the desired object brought to ground. Not far off the hunter finding and stalking his prey for hours on end until the moment comes to strike!

I have just bought a new sac that I cannot stop admiring, as described slightly embarrassingly on another thread. I will confess that I was caught by my other half doing a "trial pack" in my (home) office, when I was meant to be working. The look on her face cannot be described...

Looks like we need to start a Kitaholics Anonymous. Except that I'll have to find a pseudonym.

"My name is Earl and I'm a Kitaholic." But (it seems) not so deep in my addiction as dear Parky. 19 jackets... should keep you cosy then when the next iceage kicks in.

Of course, I am my own worst enemy. I seek out well made, rugged gear that is built to last... and then get frustrated after 10 years of use when it still hasn't needed replacing! My problem is not so much how much I buy but how little I can bear to throw out. Alasdair has the right idea. But unfortunately, the more I paid for something in the beginning (even if it was 15 years ago) the harder I find it to retire it when it's knackered.

I make no apology for liking nice (not necessarily new) kit. When I go to work, I put on a tie. It serves no purpose, but it puts me in an industrious mood. Likewise when I take part in an outdoor sport, I feel better prepared if I know I am using kit that is appropriate. I tend to buy stuff that is useful for a wide range of activities... and then try to engage in a wide range of activities to test it!

Chris, that's a really good question, and one which I've often asked myself. Of course I like other things too, but what is the unique attraction of "kit"?

I guess we all have different reasons, but part of my business is designing stuff, and so I often look at this question from a design point of view. I think my answer is that "kit" design is pared down minimal, designed to do it's job and no more, with no frills or decoration. The design is totally honest about it's purpose. I really think the Mountain Hardwear Space Station is the best pieces of architecture I've seen anywhere.

The use of "kit" exactly matches this design ethos too - a minimal, pared down way of life, which we find very attractive when things get to complicated in our day today lives. The necassarily minimal design reflects and evokes an attractive minimal way of life.

We all need a bit of freedom/escape from our 'normal' lives. At least our 'addiction' is a healthy one.
And it's not that expensive if you think what a coke habit would cost !!!!
I wonder if any housebreaker ever stood up in front of a judge and used outdoor gear addiction as an excuse.
"I had to get money your honour, there was this lightweight stove and i was desperate......."

Anything that gets you out into the hills must be a good thing.

I just like kit because it makes life easyer and mroe enjoyable when you go out on the hills, and I love testing stuff to, so taking a tent out on a nasty night or a raincoat in a downpour and see how it does. And having good kit jsut gives you that sense that you can push your limits even more and go to new places. Its like an extension to yourself. Like I jsut bought a MSR miniworks filter, now I can go out for longer without needign to carry lots of water, and can fee lsafe drinking from anywhere, so really with weight saved and stuff in not taking water, and/or fuel to boil it)m jsut a lightweight filter, I could take more food and go further into the middle on nowhere without a worry.

excellent john. i knew there must be a deep seated reason for the jackets - something for every possible contingency!* way hey! an excuse for for catalogue browsing.

* shame i rarely seem to wearing the correct one at the time though

* shame i rarely seem to wearing the correct one at the time though'

Like the other week when i was travelling light with my Haglofs LIM paclite with no pockets and i wasn't carrying gloves either.
It was snowing and blowing a hooly and my blue fingers were reminding me of my nice thick Rab gloves at home and the lovely handwarming pocket in my Aspira!!!

We like kit because of fathers day! and birthdays and christmas ....and sneak buying and hiding stuff at the bottom of a pile of other kit in the vain hope the other half will not notice the CC bill.
How I long to use the line
"what ? new! this ,NOoooo, I,ve had it ages....years..... honest"

I did need that new Garmin GPS i bought today its way better than the one i have..and it was half price..bargin ..

even got her to drive 30 miles to go pick it up..

What a star!!

Jonno,thought it was only me who used that line,easier if I pay cash as I leave the finances to the other half.Every time I visit an outdoor shop I see something that is vital to my wellbeing in the great outdoors,luckily the wife is almost as bad with stock phrases like "you can't have too many fleeces"

"At least our 'addiction' is a healthy one.
And it's not that expensive if you think what a coke habit would cost !!!!"
Thats the easy way out, healthy? its the endless hours of over time that grind me into the dirt which stop me getting into the hills cause either im at work, to knackered from work or waiting for the post man.
"* shame i rarely seem to wearing the correct one at the time though" and the more gear you have the worse your choice is when your out there, as one option means that it could not be wrong but ten options means there is a big chance of getting it wrong (mainly in the mind that is)