Lots of hobbies (I want to say male hobbies, but presumably there are female examples as well) attract people buying equipment that cannot be objectively justified by the skill level of the practitioners buying it: The proverbial titanium head drivers in golf, fancy mics, amps, and instruments in music, tricked out hiking gear, etc.

This might be an increasing phenomenon in advanced middle age, as we have more money and less time to invest in our hobbies.

Signed, a guy who just bought a laser cutter today...