Do you think ideas are discounted because of the source?

I was told that a main reason the larger outfitters do not carry UL gear is because of the possibility of frequent return of gear that was mis-used. For example, a silnylon pack might be easily torn by someone not using it carefully, etc.
In a local REI and REI Reno, REI Fresno, REI Seattle I have found capable sales people and plenty of gear, not packs or shelter, but titanium pots, rubber bowls/cups and stoves (Ti Snowpeak), fuel, footwear (low cut Merrells), smartwool clothing, footbeds, aqua mira water purifiers, Steri Pen, socks, smart wool products, Marmot DriClime rain gear, headlamps, maps, guide books, dehydrated food and snack bars, etc….
As an REI member, I get $$$ rebates refundable for gear or CASH.
I have met people who have been all over the world with REI sponsored trips often backpacking into the boonies. They also hold seminars and week-end trips for locals.
EMS near me offers similar gear, and a smaller local outfitter carries all the Golite packs and clothing. (Moor and Mountain, North Andover, MA)
I have met EMS staff on high New England Mountains in the middle of winter and talked with some who are AT Thru-Hikers and AT trip leaders.

BTW every stitch of clothing I have on right now is from REI, including my Patagonia underwear!

Am I a lightweight hiker? Well, I weigh all that goes into my pack. I have made my own shelters, packs, down filled sleeping bag, down quilt, waterproof/breathable bivy, alcohol burning stoves, wood burning stoves…and yes I still buy gear from REI and other big named outfitters.
Why not?

But, if not for thinking light about my gear,and constantly visiting and learning from this website, I probably would not still be hiking.

"As an REI member, I get $$$ rebates refundable for gear or CASH."

Yes, but you pay more up front a lot of the time to get it back after they make more money with your money.

–edited for harshness–

I do think people are too tough on the big stores, though. If they did carry the "cottage manufacturers" then no one would be happy with said companies. There's definitely a trade-off in trying to bring the outdoors to as many people as possible.

Plus the expectation that everything "you" (generic) buy is going to last forever. It's a pox on our consumer-driven civilization.

I personally don't have an issue with buying from REI and paying retail (though usually I wait for a 20% coupon for big items). Reason being is if that big ticket item fails, I have the REI guarantee.

For example – when we bought Walker his BOB jogger stroller I never considered anywhere else. Not when you drop that kind of $!

It works….

Rei an mec rock for returning items

are they the cheapeat or best? Nope

are they the most risk free … Yup

I should clarify. What I meant was parents getting their kids a 3-lb solo tent, or even a 5-lb. 2-person tent, to use alone on youth trips. Not parents getting the kid out of the family tent. At that age kids *and* parents really do like for the kid or kids to have their own tent for family trips. But for youth backpacking trips, kids can share with another kid or two. I've never known one to complain about smelly companions. As others have noted, for a couple of years they seem to revel in it. And it sure gets the per-kid carry weight down. That's all I was talking about.

I think that there is both a simple and a more complex answer to your question. On the simplest level, ideas and products always have some sort of adoption process. The most well-known adoption model is said to go as follows: attention, interest, evaluation, trial, adoption and confirmation. I think this summary lays out the pieces of this concept nicely. http://www.tocc.com/Articles/IDEA.PDF

In that summary it is said that "typically, awareness must reach 25-50% for a 5-10% level of adoption." That sounds about right with UL backpacking. I'd say awareness is somewhere around that level and adoption is most likely around 5 to 10% (with NO numbers to back that up. just my guess).

Also, for various ideas, please fall into different adoption categories. For instance, early adopters, late majority, etc. For different types of ideas, most of us fall into different categories. For instance, when it comes to TVs I'm a LATE adopter. When it comes to UL backpacking, I'd guess that I'm a bit of an early adopter, but others here are actually innovators.

There will always be some resistance to new ideas. I think now that the idea of UL backpacking is at least in the publics mind, that it is further along than it was years ago. In some ways, people just need to feel like they came across the ideas themselves.

For example, years ago I had never heard of UL backpacking. Over time, I lightened my load in the natural process of self evaluation. The old "why am I carrying a fork, knife, and spoon when I only use the spoon?" On it went like that for a while and soon my big pack was 2/3rds empty and I was tired of things rattling around inside. So, I googled "light weight backpacking" and off I went!

I suspect that the personality type of the backpacker plays a large part in the adoption process. I know we had a thread on personality types a year or so ago. I know that I tend to self-evaluate quite a bit and tend to search for novel ideas, while I have other friends and loved ones who have other personality types.

Overall, I think the less "extreme" and better understood the ideas around UL backpacking become the more quickly they will begin to be accepted. Hopefully, this will mean a price reduction on Cuben fiber! ;-)