backpackinglight.co.uk

Different country/continent. Been around for quite some time too. First you've heard of it?

I believe there was an unwritten agreement between Ryan Jordan and this UK website.

There's also this one.

If BPL don't register it, these domains are up for grabs. In some cases they may predate BPL. Not that much different to companies like Black Diamond being stuck with http://www.bdel.com

Are site registrations worldwide? Wonder how it all works???

Google the Domain Name System.
The absolutely fascinating bit about this is that the entire Internet depends on the DNS, and it is not run by any government or UN body. If anything, it is run by a combination of techies and a private company.
Which may be why it works.

Cheers

"Are site registrations worldwide? Wonder how it all works???"

Emmm, no? :p

In the case of the OP domain, the TLD is .uk (The country code top-level domain for the United Kingdom), and as such they have localized rules regarding those naming policies and use, other TLDs such as .com etc are more "global" in that they have a standardized set of restrictions as set forth by the primary groups responsible for such mess, specifically ICANN/IANA.

However, when it gets down to trademark holders in multiple countries of the same term, well, the best lawyers normally win the domains.

Many countries have a ".co" sub domain to the two-letter country TLD, reserved for commercial use, the U.S. (i.e. ".us") is a major exception( actually .co.us, is in place for the state of Colorado), and as such we pretty much just use .com

This explanation over simplifies the complexities and politics involved in this subject btw.

Cheers ;)

As far as I know .co.uk is entirely distinct from .com. As are .edu, .org, etc. [Edit: looks like the immediately previous poster has more knowledge!]

I think backpackinglight.co.uk is quite a bit like this site. They have some pretty interesting podcasts. A little window into how they do things 'over there'.

Thanks everyone

As to why I only found it recently, two reasons: instant google and I have little cause to purchase from overseas web sites with the exception of an occasional map from Harvey in the UK.

I understand the complexities and politics for domain name registration as part of my day job.

When Backpackinglight UK first came out I, too, was concerned about the infringement on BPL's domain and identity, especially since the logo looks exactly the same. I privately emailed Ryan Jordan and he told me that BPL UK had first contacted him about their plans and he had agreed to the them. BPL UK is doing nothing wrong and even has BPL's approval. Please don't start another US/ Britain bashing fiasco.

I didn't see any UK bashing…

No, I know there isn't. Just wanted to get that in before it did start. Remember the whole Bushbuddy/ Bush Cooker travesty? It really turned off a lot of Brit members here and on the OutdoorsMagic forums. And most of the diatribes had nothing to do with the original objections.

I see… preemptive strike. :)

"If anything, it is run by a combination of techies and a private company. Which may be why it works."

As somebody who works in this field, I'm constantly amazed that it works at all. It's such a bizarre and fragile system. A mistyping can take down entire companies or cities, depending on who does it. Things are improving, but I remember days when it was trivial to hijack somebody's domain, a simple e-mail in the right format could do it. Now it involves faking IDs, but it's still quite possible (I've seen some bad fake IDs from people trying to hijack sites).

As Javan mentioned, there are many top-level domains. Some are "global" meaning they represent people from anywhere in the world (COM, NET, ORG are the big ones). Some are specific to countries (UK, AU, JP, etc.). Each country can set their own rules. Some allow anyone to register, some require proof of residence or proof of business interests in the country.

Big companies frequently buy up any related domain name that they can get. It's far less expensive to register their trademarks in every available country than it is to litigate to get a name that somebody else registers.

This site is cleary heads above Bpl.com, wow the lack of forum really keeps me coming back. (sarcasm)

Ike, I don't think they are aiming to be a UK replacement for BPL. They're an outdoor company, and they specialize in videos and podcasts. I've bought more items from them than I have from BPL. At least their stock is most times in!

Great Podcasts, excellent customer service. Keeps me coming back to them.

They have excellent customer service and are very well respected in the UK (which is an island nation to the North East of the United States:)). They have also won awards for their great podcasts. However, they don't seem to me to aim to be a UK equivalent of BPL.com.

Nothing like BPL.com. Bob and Rose run a outdoor business selling kit aimed at light weight backpacking, and offer advice and information via podcast etc. No forum, reviews and anything like BPL.com offer.

In the UK they are respected across the outdoor community and held in the highest regard. I cant recommend them enough and their customer support is the best going in my view. I have found outdoor magazines and packs of sweets included in my orders from them as gifts and hand written notes as well. They phone you a few days after a order should have arrived to see if all is ok with it. You can see why we like them and they are competitive in their pricing as well.

They have GREAT podcasts on a range of topics. Many of them are recorded out in the field, which really adds to the experience. I think Bob's website complements BPL.com nicely,

I'm amazed at the assumptions a lot of people in this thread are making. BackpackingLight.com is a site and a company whose name itself is a generic term for a style of backpacking, along with similar terms like lightweight backpacking and light backpacking. BPL doesn't have a monopoly of the words "backpacking" and "light" simply because it's a site we all enjoy.

Obviously, Ryan Jordan understands this, so it isn't a big deal. This is how domain names work. There's nothing stopping me from registering any number of derivative names, and there'd likely be no negative impact on me if I were to do so unless I tried to convince people that my site/company and BPL were one in the same so that I could commit fraud, etc.