In message <[email hidden]>, Richard Baker
<[email hidden]> writes
Quoted message said:Hi Andy
I read your post in the walking forum and agree with you, some gear is so
exspensive I would be afraid to use it.
And we have all read your response too! Slight case of the reply
address slipping into the subject line, I think.
Quoted message said:
Its like a tent; I have used a Vango Force ten for over 20 years, and mine
is about finished, but the new price is near £300! I have a nylon dome job,
which is OK in summer but I will have to think very hard about stumping up
the money for a new Force Ten.
But there's a serious point to my reply. I've just stumped up such a
price for a tent, but I had reasons for spending that money. I wanted a
very lightweight tent that would cope with high altitude use in bad
weather with no retreat available. So I had to pay for the fabric that
would meet both these requirements: and with it came the costs of
greater attention to stitching and seaming and the problems of low
volume sales. Was it worth spending all that money? Well, I don't
know. I'm very pleased with it and followed the advice of those I trust
- on this newsgroup as well as elsewhere - and those are not people who
give much time to designer labels.
If your needs are similar then spend the money, but if you camp from a
base camp site, possibly with your car only a few yards away, then such
a tent is a waste of money. The weight is of no importance if you are
not carrying it on your back up a mountain and the robustness in storms
is similarly of less importance - if it falls down you can retreat to
the car with relatively little discomfort.
Quoted message said:
I guess walking/climbing has really got the "designer label" bug.
I used to think this, but actually I think as a hobby it's going the
other way, certainly amongst the more hooked. In times past it was not
designer labels per se that were important, but there were long lists of
rules and regs about what equipment to use. Boots were a must and had
to be a single piece of leather with a vibram sole. Nowt else would do
and those infringing this rule were to be shunned by all 'proper'
walkers. Rucksacks had to have an external frame and so on. These
rules have softened: insisting on their essential nature in the face of
the new breed of fell runners wearing practically nothing began to look
rather silly. Anything goes nowadays. [I still use boots made from a
single piece of leather with a vibram sole...]
--
Michael Farthing
Aardvark Ltd
