Not a hijack at all. Gear is what most people fixate upon because it is necessary; is relatively easy; and requires little time to acquire.
There is also a tremendous amount of self satisfaction associated with the entire gear issue.

Compared to physical fitness; a healthy lifestyle; performing under stress for (relatively) long periods of time; situational awareness, and a host of other things, gear is relatively simple.
All of it is required of course, and all of it is necessary to function in the environment.
There is a lot of good information passed along in these threads, along with some agenda pushing. Seperating the wheat from the chaff is a learned skill set...