I never bought into the gear craze, never saw the point in it I guess. As far as I could tell, the animals couldn't tell the difference either.
I started doing hunts in remote Alaska back in 2002. I did my last remote Alaska hunt last September. The coat I was wearing was the same on both hunts, and also happened to be my coat for hunting whitetails in Maryland during all those years.
Got a photo of the moose I shot in AK back in 2006. The rifle is the same rifle I used to shoot my last caribou, last fall.
Got a photo of a caribou I shot in AK in 2010. Wearing the same pants and shirt that I was wearing when I shot my caribou last fall.
During all those years I used the same Ruger Model 77 bolt action rifle; the same Nikon Monarch 10x42 binos; the same Nikon 16-48 spotting scope. Never even thought about upgrading any of those items. They all worked, and work to this day.
A couple of times I skinned and quartered my caribou using 2 Victorinox paring knives (1 straight edge, 1 serrated) that cost less than $10 apiece including shipping. The caribou didn't seem to notice the difference.
I have never owned name brand hunting clothing, and all of my hunting clothes cost $50 or less per item, including my heaviest coats. The only exception was the boots that I wore, had to break the bank and pay $100 for those.
The only gear item I ever splurged on was a Barney's freighter frame and backpack, because they were (and are) the best in the business and can haul way more weight than I could ever handle. I think I paid $500 for it back around 2006 or 2008; sold it after my hunt last fall for $450.
I see all the gear on the market these days, and marvel at how many guys were able to get it done in the 60s and 70s using cowboy boots, blue jeans, and cotton clothing. Wonder what those guys think of all the newfangled stuff that sellers try to convince us we HAVE to have.
Maybe accumulating gear is a mindset that you either have or you don't? If that's the case, I am glad that I didn't have it - saved me a lot of coin that I was able to use to go on all of my AK hunts.
Guess I do have to admit to one gear upgrade recently...when I retired back in 2020, I gave my old hunting/fishing/fun truck (a 1994 Mazda 4WD that I paid $7000 cash for in 2001) to my best friend's son. Treated myself to a 2022 Toyota Tacoma when I could find one. Guilty lol.
Best of luck to all with your hunts this fall.