Best isn't best...at all.

I was amused the other day listening into a conversation
that two guys were having about purchasing a sleeping bag.
The salesperson was over heard saying, "This is the best!"
I immediately flinched and held onto a display rack
to prevent myself from shredding
my expensive Tilley shirt to expose my supper stopper uniform.
I don't know how I managed to restrain myself, but I found the strength to do it.
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THERE IS NO BEST! Let me repeat that...there is no best. Best usually means top line, like most expensive.

Best is merely a subjective term - an expressed opinion usually based on few facts and little research.

We see it everywhere - The Best Tent. Really? You telling me you have examined and researched all four thousand models and you have decided that "Pinky Tree Tent Company" has the best?

When looking at best ask yourself some questions.

When am I going to use this?
How often?
What will be the conditions?
What I'm I prepared to pay?
What are the pros and cons of this piece of equipment?
When will it go on sale?
What do the independent consumer reports have to say?

Do you really need to have a special brand name underwear?
For how much did you say? Get Real.
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I guess you can call this a rant, but it is not intended to be. It's just sad when I see people purchasing the "best" when it probably really isn't.

Here is a page from A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

Page 8 -
"The two big shocks were how expensive everything was - each time Dave dodged into the storeroom or went off to confirm a denier rating. I stole looks at price tags and was invariably appalled - and how every piece of equipment appeared to require some further piece of equipment. How much is this pack anyway? Two hundred and fifty dollars. Two hundred and fifty dollars! Are you shi____ I paused and put on a new voice. Are you saying, Dave, that I pay $250.00 for a pack and it doesn't have straps and it isn't waterproof? He nodded. Does it have a bottom in it?"

It's a good read.

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