eloquently put, however, this isnt a forum that discusses high altitude mountaineering, deep sea diving, polar exploration or indeed any activity where our lives actually depend on our kit.
"Bushcrafting" is far from an extreme activity, if anything, the complete opposite, having little leather bags to keep our sugar in and handcrafted spoon carving knives could be considered by the masses to be quite twee, but certainly not high risk or kit dependant (agree winter camping is somewhat different, but then, i have spent a week at subzero temps in a bivibag and natural shelter and my timex still told me the time)
i dont think i have inferred those that own expensive things are crass, but rather the concept of spending £4 grand plus on a watch to be so, the same as spending £15 grand on a motorbike that doesnt go well, stop well or handle well but is bought for status and bling. i would say the same about £100k porsches or in fact £million houses
i cannot help being somewhat of a socialist at heart (hence a lifetime of public service at a wage at least 33% lower than my skill set would command in the private sector) but then, i also think the rich are undertaxed, the health service is underfunded, and everyone that has had a bankers bonus in the last 10 years should be paying 90% tax and have their passports removed to prevent the "brain drain"
so i stand by what i said, the thought of spending £4000 plus on something that offers no more than telling you the time (in our usage) when there are people living on less than that a year in this country, is offensive to me. I accept that everyone is entitled to spend their money on what they so wish, but i fail to see the relevance to this forum, the need for such within the context of what we do, how it is "not showing off"(unless a high altitude mountaineer/pro-diver or member of the SAS) or the objection to my opinion.
hold me in what regard you like, i have no more to say on the subject and have now learnt to not read threads that are essientially "willy waving"