Is expensive equipment neccessary?
All of my equipment is very cheap. This is not because I am cheap or poor it is just that in Thailand it is harder to come by high quality stuff like custom knives and axes or Timberland boots and other name brand stuff. You can get it but you either have to have it shipped here ,which is very expensive, or buy it from tourist shopping malls which are a ripoff. I make out very well with this cheap stuff. I have a parang which I bought for about 3 dollars in US money, a pack which cost about eight dollars and fishing rod made from a stick. These items have lasted through many days and nights in deep jungle and mountains. I do have an old pair of Timberland pro boots and Hi-tek hiking boots but often I just wear cheap athletic shoes in jungle, since I know when these boots wear out it will be hard to replace them. (I do understand that in very cold weather it is important to have high quality equipment, and when I lived in upstate New York I paid more for gear than here in the tropics.)
I am not suggesting people buy low quality gear. If I had access to it I would like to have custom bowies and gore-tex. I am just wondering if maybe people sometimes are spending more money than they need to, especially considering the economic problems.
