I am not a contester, but I truly enjoy SKN.  Everyone is in a relaxed and chatty mode and you meet some really facinating hams.  This year was no exception, though I only made two contacts; e.g., WB6CGJ and W6JL.  WB6CGJ and I chatted for more than 45 minutes, at which point my Drake 2C receiver started cutting out and I had to QRT.  W6JL was not participating in SKN, but we had an enjoyable QSO and I learned he was running an all homebrew, 500 watt, station.  My station consisted of the Heathkit HX-20 transmitter that I started with when I got my initial conditional class license in 1969, a Drake 2C receiver that I scored on Ebay a couple of years ago and a Vizkey vertical bug that Mrs Claus gave me for Christmas 2011.