This happened in real life :

[filson.com].

@BD66 A fine story and clearly no walk in the park.

Interesting idea. At one time I worked for a major University (Univ. of Maryland European Division). We once had a lifelong academic who had PhD in one field come take over the HR department. He had never worked in any field and was clueless. He lasted barely a year and everyone was glad to see him go. He was terrible.

@JackPedigo I have seen brilliant academic scientists being defeated by the simplest tasks.

@Gwendolyn2018 The ability to think on your feet and improvise because of lack of material or to make something happen in spite of the negligence of others.

Those are bed rolls. Those boys look drastically ill equipped. I just can't even.

Those are their yoga mats. Gonna hike to a nice location and stretch it out, ya know young people shit.

@Tejas What they are carrying can be used as a bed roll or yoga mat and whatever other use it may put to is anybody's guess.

@ASTRALMAX sometimes jokes go over my head too

@Tejas I once knew a very intelligent women who simply could not get a joke. One day as she and I sat in a cafe with a group of friends one of the group told a joke and we all laughed, she sat there pan faced. I guess that she could not visualise the elements that combine to make a joke.

The rolled up foam mats serve to insulate the body from the cold ground. The down or fiber filled sleeping bags compress under the body which allows the cold from the ground to seep through. The pad prevents this from happening. When backpacking in the mountains, protection from the cold ground when sleeping becomes essential.

I think a lot of us are having trouble with that one right now.

In today's world, I wonder how many us actually experience anything to really test our AQ. Given the explanations of what they are, I can see how the others might apply, but we do live in a world that has been made safe for the most part.

@RussRAB Agreed but I think there are levels. It's kind of like the boiling frog syndrome. As the heat is slowly turned up we are better able to adapt. That is until it reaches the boiling level.

@BufftonBeotch

Nonsense. Since age 21, I have hiked over 300 miles/year and never needed a gun.

Six unleashed dogs are the only animals that attacked me. I blame the owners.

@LiterateHiker I have never needed the razor knife on my key ring either.
But it is there. They are not walking into a placid little marked hiking trail in a pleasant park with a parking lot behind them.

@MaryChristmas I am quite experienced in the whoop.

The real world isn't Disney animation smiling animals that want to pull on your pant leg and sing a song.

Even the ground hog more or less wants to kill you.

@LiterateHiker Thank you. I too have hiked a lot and, again, large dogs off-leash were often a problem.

@MaryChristmas I doubt there is a stand selling gluten free vegan pizzas down that way.

@MaryChristmas In the picture.
Can't tell you the number of times I have gone on a long hike and people did not bring their own food and came sniffing around mine.

How can you seriously have bought $300 dollar boots and a designer backpack and not figured out you might need food?