would you?

[Smossy]

Do him a favor and give him a helpful list.  If he listens or not who cares.  My cousin was like this and after a few all day hikes he started upgrading.  He still is frugal and relies on me a little but doesnt complain and always holds serve.  Just not as comfortable sometimes.  Some gear is required but gear does not make the man.

Good way of putting it. I agree with Mudman. Just shoot him a bare minimum list. If he can rough it with that, He will do great with most of the comforts later. You never know untill you try.

[Colville]

Jackelope, It's been a long winter and I needed some picking up! Backcountry threads, yep, that'll do er.

Smossy, it's all about expectations. Just like being a good manager of employees or of customers, proper expectation setting will dictate whether the outcome is considered a success or massive failure.  A gear list can be as useful as a kiss on a w$)*#.  Everything can be bought and the trip be a disaster. Or none of it bought and the trip a total success because the bar was set so low.  So that's the bottom line, if a buddy is going to help another learn what he has in him and if pack hunting is in his future, good on that guy and set the bar damn low.  On the other hand if a guy is hoping to have a great hunt with the real prospect of getting to, and after, what he wants then he'd better do a ton more vetting than whether his partner has light weight treking poles.

[fillthefreezer]

haha, i hadnt checked back on this lately, it kinda blew up!
no way would i be taking a new guy during high hunt without him proving himself scouting or bearhunting.
thats more what ive been thinking and meant with this question was for scouting or bearhunting.
my original thought was when he asked me, maybe we could get out and scout areas i like on the map but havent been to, hopefully find new country together so its mutual and not me taking him to a spot i found..
i just dont want to get into a situation where he's got huge blisters and he froze all night and his pack strap rips the F off and now what...

[dreamingbig]

" just dont want to get into a situation where he's got huge blisters and he froze all night and his pack strap rips the F off and now what..."  Leave him with some fire starter, a space blanket, and some food and go hunting!   Like all others have said, a quick shake out trip in the summer is mandatory to see what kind of moxy he has.