I once added it up too…

You Wonder Why We Don’t Have Nice Things | semi-rad.com:

Do you ever notice that you try hard to keep your new car pristine as long as you can, but if you buy a mountain bike, you hurry to get some dirt on it so it doesn’t look so new anymore? Or talking yourself into spending $100+ on a pair of alpine climbing pants, but wincing at a $100 price tag on a pair of jeans? Wearing $100 jeans to help your buddy move a couch is not OK, but wearing $150 soft shell pants to bushwhack through a forest of thorny bushes is OK. Walking through mud in $400 Italian leather loafers: absurd. Walking through mud in $400 mountaineering boots: expected.

Give me the warmest, best-designed down jacket, so I can spill coffee on it and watch embers from a campfire put tiny holes in it. Which I will then patch with Seam Grip, duct tape or Krazy glue. Please make it a bright, fashionable color that will highlight the stains I will put on it by brushing against dusty cars, spilling food on it, and coiling ropes.

[I once foolishly added up the outfit I was wearing while cycling. Worse it was the autumn, so there were a couple of layers and jacket… I immediately composed the outdoor clothing teetotalers pledge: “I agree to abstain from ever summing the cost of the clothing and gear I ride, wear, and abuse in pursuit of my outdoor activities. So help me Muir.” I’m not sure I’ll ever recover from that first time… and look.. REI is having a sale. Oooh, shiny…]