Doesn't it make you feel like running and hiding in the closet or under the bed. From what? The Gear Monster. I envision a large creature, made of snowshoes, backpacks, cooking utensils, camping gear, tents, and stakes running me down and taking over my life. Yes, it is the attack of the gear, and who can survive?

Don't get me wrong, I love new and shinny gear just as much as the next person. When I got my Gerber Bear Grylls knife for Christmas I slept with it for two days straight.

But, sometimes when I'm trying to get ready for camping trip or some other outdoor adventure I'm attacked by the gear monster. The piles and piles of gear is overwhelming.

Photo by thekirbster

What do you take? The knife, the knife sharpener, the sleeping bag, the sleeping bag liner? The compact cooking set, which boots, which pack, which tent, which flashlight, which fire starter, which water filter?

Ahhhhh...like I said, attack of the gear.

It is amazing the incredible rise of the gear review websites and blogs. They sprang up out of nowhere to take over the online world. From Outside Magazine, to the Gear Junkie and other websites in between. We are bombarded day in and day out with the newest and coolest fad and craze when it comes to outdoor and adventure gear.

I mean seriously, who can resist Amazon.com and its awesome prices? "Not I," said the man with visions of Patagonia in his eyes.

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far away... there was a time when you had to get your gear out of a small semi-colored magazine or drive two hours to that store. Not anymore. From your email inbox to your favorite website, the gear is there waiting for you.

The other day when I was cruising my blogroll looking for that interesting content that is so hard to find these days, I started wondering, "How many headlamps can this world invent? How many different styles of footwear and clothes can be made that have not been made?" Apparently a lot.

Some might say, "So what? I love all my little pretties. They are my....precious....golumn..golumn."

1. Doesn't all this gear cost us money?

2. Doesn't all this gear separate us from our environment?

3. Isn't the production of all this gear we buy bad for the environment?

4. Doesn't all this gear actually complicate life for the most part?

How can we escape the attack of the gear? How do we become the one that survives the gear apocalypse? Next time we will discuss how to become one of the chosen few who can shed ourselves from the weight of all that gear we drag along with us.