What gear can you just live without but enjoy owning, and what cant you live without?

Non Essential:
Nigh tvision
lockpicks
goggles

Essential:
Wet suit (I am a water explorer as well)
TONS of gloves
balaclava
RADIOS! (not totally essential but so nice)

Non Essential:
lockpicks
pda
harness/accender/decender/ropes/biners
1 mil spotlight
respirator


Essential:
water proof footwear
4d maglite
kevlar gloves
extra socks

Essential:
- My roughly 15 pounds of camera equipment (including 9-pound tripod)
- El cheapo fingerless gloves
- Flashlight and/or headlamp
- Leatherman
- Shitty Shitty Asbestos Jacket (TM) in cold weather. I call it this because it is full of asbestos, not because it is made of asbestos, although that would rule.

Definitely a good idea:
- Bottled water (on longer trips)
- Waders for wet trips
- FRS radio (usually at large meets only)
- Respirator (if I'm doing tunnels)

My standard gear for almost every trip:
Headlamp (Petzl Duo, suffering from sand in the switch)
Backup light (Mini-mag)
Gerber multitool (this and the mag ride my hip holster at all times)
Camera (Olympus 4mp digital)
Police Scanner (completely legal here, and I'm paranoid)

Special purpose/extra:
Gloves
Rubber boots
tripod
climbing rope, harness, and technical gear.
hardhat
GPS/PDA
Bigass light or flares
Other stuff... can't think of anything else ATM.

Hmmm, I don't have too much that I can do without, I mean I own a TON of equipment, various flashlights and whatnot, but I tend to just leave it in my kit bag.

Essential for every trip:
-Camo Gloves with goosebump grips
-FRS
-Headlamp
-Mini Mag
-Camera
-Tripod

Non-essential:
-about 5 flashlights (mostly handheld, one is an ear-light, it wraps around my ear and looks like a microphone)
-Binoculars (they're broken, I've asked for a new pair)
-Camping Knife (I bring this everywhere pretty much, just not usually into a building)
-Asbestos Mask (I only say non-essential because not all sites need it, but I've needed it increasingly lately--having a bit of a breathing problem as of late).

It depends on where I'm going, but since I usually explore several hours from home I usually bring most of it in the car.

knee boots
chest waders
raft & air pump
too many lights to list
radios
rappeling gear
cameras
maps
GPS for desert exploring
spotting scope
recovery gear for the truck if taken
I even have different vehicles for different types of exploring

In my oppinion in is more dangerous for someone to UE with lockpicks in situations were POPO could get involved easily.
Edit: MH makes a nice point about this post i guess I shouldn't have really used these words (changed).

Why would you resurrect a thread to bring up a hotbutton issue? And with sub-par grammar?

"B&E" is so broadly defined in law that basically even opening an unlocked door like a normal person is potential b&e. Really, the laws are more like "breaking or entering".

This is the hardcore board anyway. I take them. BUT we are mostly mature enough to decide these things on our own.

We can just assume you meant to say "I politely disagree, and would never personally take lockpicks, as I am uncomfortable committing this crime. Additionally, I advise you to consider likewise."

ESSENTIAL:
-awesome Mechanix 3.0 gloves
-Nikon Coolpix P1
-case for said camera
-Glo-Toob (yay, low ambient lighting!)
-multitool
-craqqy LED flashlight

(mostly) USELESS:
-NVGs
-any sort of computer
-lockpicks
-gun (this is the hardcore board, we kill anyone we need to with our bare hands)

this, however, is only for infil.

Basecamp - Honda Element -

-Navigational System
-Dark Tinted Windows
-Vaio Laptop with Journals, and Maps
-Wireless Internet (Urban Locations only)
-Photography Kit (I have a large case for my Digital Rebel)
-First Aid Kit
-Change of clothes

As needed -

-Repelling Gear
-Climbing Shoes
-Kyack on Roof
-Inflatable Raft

On Body-

-Princeton Tech Headlight
-Mini Mag Light
-200MW Green Laser (Essential, not your toy laser)
-Handheld GPS (For locations far away in rural areas)
-Gloves
-Multitool

Essential:
Bushnell 3W luxeon flashlight (2 cr123a's)
3D Maglite (with anti-roll device)
Crappy digital camera
1 Multitool

Non Essential:
p100 respirator
Gas mask
My 6 other multitools
Climbing rope
2-way radios
Red and blue gels for my mag
Garbage bags
Tripod
Pentax SLR
Telephoto lens
External flash

Base - 2006 Toyota Rav4:
- TomTom GPS Navigation
- Backup VZNavigator on my Cell Phone
- Backup Backup GPS module for my laptop
- HP Laptop with internet access anywhere I get a cell phone signal.
- First Aid Kit
- Change of clothes

Bring on EVERY Trip:
- Energiser Headlamp. LED Light, with 2 Red light for low profile, and a throwing light.
- 1 Big Flash light, 2 well lite LED flashlights, one normal flash light.
- Gloves with Goosebump grips
- Leatherman Charge
- Water and some type of food.
- Ace Bandages and band aids.
- Flip out Knife
- Camera
- Cell Phone
- Batterys

Bring if I think I'll need it(Always at Base):
- Backpack with a 3million Candle Power Flood Light and 12v Battery pack /w inveter
- Extra Cameras
- Camcorder
- Portal to 3rd centery mongolia.

Scanner.