Dougfirtree
Well-known member
To be clear, I didn't really mean to start an argument about whether outdoor gear, in general, is a good value. I was just calling attention to the instances that are so ridiculous, as to be almost comical ($20 for a small bag of crushed corn cobs, $4 for windicator, etc. ) I may have been influenced by grumpiness at having to pay $20 for a bag of crushed corn cobs, but I am legitimately interested in the way a specific target market can increase the "value" of a product (I'm guessing in most other markets, crushed corn cobs do not go for roughly the same price per pound as a good steak). In any case, I guess forum threads are like arrows launched at a bugling bull elk; you do your best to aim and release for a certain trajectory, but once they're away, you're at the mercy of every little tree limb you didn't notice...This thread was started by DougFir as a question: Is high priced outdoors gear really that good or do outdoorsmen (and women) buy it simply because it's expensive? In other words, are they paying a lot simply because they want to advertise they have the means to do so? Some on here maintain they are buying top of the line because they're convinced it serves them better. And maybe it does. Maybe they just think it does. Doesn't really matter. A few have been honest and admit they buy fancy gear essentially because they like shopping for high end things. A hobby if you will. That's okay. A few, like myself, eschew shopping and stereotyping. We're more cautious about following the latest fashion, whether it's guns, gear, clothing, whatever. Sometimes it's due to financial constraints (which I can assure you is NOT the case with me ... not now anyway). Sometimes it's simply because we value being individuals and not slaves to marketing. That's okay too. What I'm seeing is most who have responded on the high-spending end of the spectrum are aggressively defensive. They assume folks who explore or adhere to a different philosophy are ridiculing them for being wasteful or pretentious. Because we with low end preference can demonstrate that we have success without excess, we're branded braggards. But those same guys who brand us flaunt photos of themselves and their expensive gear, rare collector guns, exotic dogs, etc. worth tens of thousands of dollars. Yeah, there's some irony at work alright.
