I sometimes think that if we lived in a more "tame" world, then the rugged cameras and over built gear would not be necessary and we could all run around with the latest consumer grade gadgets. The world is not a very soft place as it turns out, and so we haul around 20lbs cameras with bulky tripods. National Geographic's Bob Poole is a guy I admire a lot. It's not just that I envy his hair (which I do), or that I hope to have that instinctive eye that he has despite carrying around a huge 2/3" ENG kit, I admire his willingness to experience something that civilization has spent a lot of energy trying to avoid for the last 4000 years.