This is a conceptual model that I think about a lot. It has to do with the complexity of use and the impact that has on design and utility. It applies to all facets of life, but I also think it applies to gear. Because I think it is so useful in evaluating gear, I thought I would present it here and reference it in the future in reviews as a shorthand. Here is what I mean by the Jeep and the racecar.
The Jeep Wrangler is a vehicle that has not had much change in its design since WWII. Sure you can get a new fancy radio or even a full electric drive train, but the configuration of the chassis, the nuts and bolts of the design have remained largely the same. I had a friend in philosophy grad school that liked adventuring at least as much as he liked philosophy and when he went to Central America he took a Jeep despite its less than comfy ride and the tremendous noise in the passenger compartment. He wasn’t going off roading either. But, as he told me, no matter where he was in the world, he could find parts for a Jeep and fix it himself. And, since the vehicle was built for off roading, it was robust enough to deal with even the shittiest roads. The Jeep never stopped working. It could take a hit and keep going. It was going to get you there no matter what. The Jeep is useful because it always works, because it is robust, and because it is simple. The Jeep is all about unsurpassed reliability.
The racecar on the other hand is finnicky, expensive, impossible for a novice to fix. It is fragile and often hard to use. BUT, and this is a huge point, when it does work, it is insane. The racecar’s peak performance is staggering and destroys what the Jeep can do. It is precise, agile, and focused on hyper performance. The racecar is all about performance regardless of the cost.
This concept applies all over the world in all different aspects of life.
Tony is waxing poetic this week, but I promise he does bring it back around to knives.
Read the whole thing at EverydayCommentary.com
https://www.everydaycommentary.com/www.everydaycommentary.com/2025/6/10/the-jeep-and-the-racecar
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