Minimalism and gear

I have a confession: I am addicted to gear. I love hiking gear, climbing gear, everyday carry gear (1), tactical gear and survival gear.

On the plus side, I know how to use the gear I buy. I am a climber and a former Recon operator and sniper. However because I know I have a weakness here I am very careful with what I buy and when I buy it. I follow Rule 12 as part of my Final Choices. Each piece of gear I buy gets plenty of use. I don’t buy gear just to collect it or just in case, I buy gear when I need it and I know it will get used. Usually each piece of gear I own has more than one purpose.

Knowing that each piece of gear I buy gets a lot of use makes my decision to buy a new piece of gear or not easier. I ask myself: Will I use this item every day? Every week? Can I climb without this in my climbing rack? Can I perform my work better if I have this or would another piece of gear I already have be sufficient?

It is very easy to succumb to temptation and just buy the new gear, but asking myself if I am really going to use it served me well to stop my craving for new gear. Leo Babauta (from Zen Habits) has a terrific article about wanting stuff.

On the other hand, sometimes you need to replace gear due to wear or simply because it broke. For example, I had a Leatherman multitool that I bought more than 16 years ago. I payed good money for it and I care for it. However, all metal is subject to wear and I gave that Leatherman a LOT of wear in those 16 years. I decided to buy another one, I chose the same brand and model. I spent good money again knowing that in the next 15+ years or more I won’t have to buy another one. Again, Final Choices. Leatherman is one of my Sensible Defaults (thank you Patrick for this one too!), I know the brand, I know the model. I like it, it works for me so I don’t have to think too much or research about it, I just go for it.

Again practical minimalism has a huge impact here. If I need 30 carabiners or 4 knives to be able to perform my work or climb then that’s what I’ll have. Take for example watches. My wife gave me a very expensive watch for our engagement. It’s a great watch, good movement, water resistant to 500m, sapphire crystal, etc. I know that this watch can take the pounding when I go running, climbing, training for the GORUCK Challenge (2), or other activities. However this watch is very special to me and I don’t want anything to happen to it so I bought another watch that I use for rough activities (3). Does this make me less of a minimalist? No. I don’t have 10 watches that I never use, I have 2 and I use them every day. I have what I need and nothing I don’t.

Notes:
(1) Bernard Capulong, the author of a great EDC blog, was recently interviewed regarding this, the minimalism and usability of the EDC gear. In that article he speaks about choosing the gear for EDC, choosing the right gear that suits your purpose and simplifying it. This is my EDC

(2) GORUCK makes incredibly tough backpacks, tough enough for Special Forces. I own GORUCK backpacks, I am a HUGE fan of the company, what they stand for and the quality of their products, not to mention they are designed with minimalism in mind. Again, this is a Final Choice, they are expensive packs but they will last your a lifetime. You should give the GORUCK Challenge a try, it’s a lot of fun.

(3) Old time readers know I love tactical watches. They are minimal, simple, tough and easy to read on differer light conditions. I tried several tactical watches during my service. Love them. The one I chose as my tough watch is a RESCO Patriot. You can see more pictures here. Again, this is a Final Choice. It’s not a cheap watch, but it’s one that will last.