What are people thinking some times!?

I am a fairly brand conscious person I must admit. Some brands are just better and others are cooler. Some even manage to combine the two. We get very fastidious and loyal about our brands when it comes to outdoor gear at Spirit of Adventure because hiking, camping and climbing stuff is expensive, looks cool and has to function well for comfort and for safety in a demanding environment. That is why we all hate K-Way. It is the Mr Price Sport of the outdoor world. Generic, unimaginative, cheap, almost everyone has it and it is often annoyingly competitive when compared to much more expensive gear...to start with anyway. So, if I'm honest, we all own more of it than we'd care to admit.

This is why we deliberate for ages before making a purchase and then mock each other relentlessly if a weakness is detected, sometimes even if it isn't. I have recently been very happy with my 'Thermal Comfort' blow up mattress, my La Sportiva hiking boots and I've just recently got an MSR camping stove that promises to be awesome, and it's called the pocket rocket... how can it fail? All very exciting for the hiking nerds among us. The tricky part in all of this is that there is an emotional connection to your gear as well as a practical one. It has to work and one obviously wants the lightest, toughest, warmest, smallest packing, longest wearing item on the planet but you also want it to make you feel good about yourself, as though all that money you spent has been worth it in some way. After all, the " aspirationally outdoor market" (is there a worse category to find yourself in anywhere on the planet?) relies on exactly this self esteem-boosting quality in outdoor gear, and makes Cape Union Mart lots and lots of money. This means that, even for the hardened hiker, your heart sometimes gets in the way of your head when choosing between one outstanding product and another, especially when one has a sexy brand name, is slightly better looking, similar in spec but is much more expensive and the other is, well, a K-Way. What should you do?

All that K-Way embodies

My little Mustang

Here I turn to a story about two of us Spirit of Adventurers who were both buying new cars. We both had similar money to spend. One of us believed the thing should be practical, efficient, reliable and get him from A to B with no fuss. If these are your only considerations there is only one possible car for you in the entire motoring universe; a Toyota Tazz in the best condition your pocket can accommodate. The other of us (me) liked all of the common criteria like reliability and efficiency but was prepared to compromise a little because he wanted if to be beautiful, fast, fun to drive and slightly individualistic. With the same amount of money as the Tazz buyer this was difficult. He (I) had to search long and hard and find some Indian genes from deep within himself in order to sell his previous car for more than it was worth and buy the new one for less than you'd ever find it advertised. The result; a two door, 1.6, top of the range Ford Fiesta with aircon and electric windows, CD player and airbags, with ABS and a sporty wire-mesh grill and big Ford wheels with low profile tires. This is a stomach in chest out kind of a car! Now it is a little less fuel efficient and it costs more to service but it doesn't just get me from A to B, it gets me smiling all the way from A to B and I often go via C just for fun. I'm sure this is adding years to my life and it makes me thankful for my brand snobbery every time I see my pony parked next to the infinitely more practical and sensible K-Way Tazz it shares a parking with.

Is any further argument needed Land Cruizer fans?

Nowhere do motor buyers understand the emotional importance of the brand you buy more than in the 4x4 market. I hope in years to come I can substitute my earlier story with one about a colleague in a boring, intelligent Land Cruizer looking with jealousy at my mud spattered, fire breathing, mountain bashing Land Rover Defender but let me not get side tracked. The bakkie market has been dominated by the Hilux for as long as dogs have pee'd on fire hydrants but this has finally been challenged by the arrival of the VW Amarok. If you have sworn buy Toyota with as much spit and vehemence as most Hilux supporters have been doing for the bulk of human history you have two options when faced with the awesome new-comer; either ladle scorn and hatred onto the new German and all who dare drive one or pretend you never drove anything Japanese in all your life and quietly cross the floor. Having parted with massive amounts of cash for your new Amarok and finding yourself the subject of much abuse from Hilux drivers you will find the only way to maintain a stable and coherent psychology is to ladle scorn and hatred with much spit and vehemence onto the outdated old Jap.

The New Ford Ranger, I'm holding my breath!

With these two options being all the rational bakkie owner has to choose from (aside from waiting for the new Ford Ranger which will thrash them both) you will understand my consternation when I was confronted by a tragically confused bakkie owner in the Pavilion last week. The poor man had chosen to wear his keys on a lanyard around his neck for all the world to see. This was no accident, he had a message to communicate to all the motoring public. The lanyard was bright and new. It was boldly adorned with the words "Amarok" and "VW". And the keys hanging from this attention grabbing accessory?... Unmistakably, Hilux.

Really, what are people thinking!?

Until next week!