Friendly expertise on camping. Please READ!!

[Mark Ries]

When we think of putting on our old packs it starts the fight or flight instinct

[Travis Leanna]

Dale, I think even around the 10lb base weight is respectable. 5lbs is on the lower fringe IMHO.

Unless I totally missed the the slight hyperbole in making your point. :)

[Dale Wambaugh]

I once dated a girl who's mother said, "Dale, darling, the closest you get to tact is 'appallingly blunt.'"

[Mike M]

Ahren said "I think that some of you missed the point."

yes someone missed the point clearly

Hi to everyone on SOCNET, please READ!- I've never actually made it through Special Forces training, but I have mastered the second level of Battlefield 2 and have watched Blackhawk Down more times than I can remember, so feel free to ask me any questions you may have about asymmetric warfare, battlefield triage or the like.

[Steven McAllister]

LOL!!!

[James holden]

i wish there was an REI up here …. give MEC some competition

honestly … you can go ultra heavy or ultra light at either store … everything you need is right there … you can try everything on … and you can return everything for a full refund even after years of use

course … you dont get too much "BPL cred" walking around telling people you bought it at REI …

"hey thats a real nice marmot helium you got there"

"thanks mr BPLer i bought it at REI"

"well then youre a %&&$^^%#, your base weight must be 20+ lbs, and that bag sucks!!!"

– warning dramatization ^^^

lol

[Mark Ries]

You can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink it if he still preffers beer bring him a bucket show him how good it is and leave him alone. P.S. I once bought a aether 60 and a 1#15 oz 40 deg bag to lighten up that was the specs on the bag it ended up weighing 2# 2 oz

[Dale Wambaugh]

Eric wrote ". …give MEC some competition…."

There's always Canadian Tire, eh?

[Greg Mihalik]

"…so feel free to ask me any questions you may have about asymmetric warfare, battlefield triage or the like."

And you know…it wouldn't surprise me to learn that answers Are lurking in the wings.

Amazing place, BPL.

[James holden]

"There's always Canadian Tire, eh?"

when crappy tire makes a value priced event jacket like REI … wake me up

or a Flash 18 pack

zzzzzzzzzzz

;)

[Ahren Grunow]

I have certainly stepped on the hornets nest. Well it was fun while it lasted. RIP

[Dale Wambaugh]

But, but you have Tilleys, and great singer-song-writers and 279 million fewer neighbors! And Crown Royal and Moosehead too!

[Steven McAllister]

Hey Ahren,

Don't leave. Seriously. We are just having fun.

I am fairly new here myself, well only a couple years anyway.

I read a lot of the other forums before I joined and this was after spending to much time on Whiteblaze and some of the other forums.

It's all in fun.

This is by far a better forum than any of the others I've tried.
I'm sure you have some input that many can appreciate.

[Dale Wambaugh]

Oh, c'mon. 4 pages in 4 hours? You are on Olympus! A laird of the fora! Hang around, we'll sing Kumbaya and teach you a few things :)

I have no spur
To pri*k the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself,
And falls on th'other. . . .
— Macbeth Act 1, scene 7

[Turley]

"I think that some of you missed the point. How many people here actually know how to fit a pack or pick out a filter or what is an EN rating on a sleeping bag, that's all. If some of you don't like me offering some simple, kind advice, don't read it."

No we get the point but we have BPL staff members that have thoroughly tested filters, sleeping bags, fabrics, tents, ect…not just by reading the package label at REI.
This forum has discussed EN ratings quite frequently over the past few years.
Additionally, I've been fitted numerous times by REI "experts" on pack fitting many times just for fun and have been given a torso range from 15.5" to 18.5". Not once has an REI "expert" provided my true torso measurement of 16.5".
REI is the last place I would trust for a torso measurement as people their tend to play with gear, not actually put it to use in the field. Store experience does not equal field experience.

Food for thought: One probably shouldn't go into a college classroom the first day, or any day for that matter, and try to belittle the professor. This is why you're getting the sarcastic answers as many on this forum are extremely experienced hikers and whom provide insight and answers…we know who they are without them self advertising.

[Travis Leanna]

Ahren,

Even though you most likely came and posted with the best intentions, it may have been a little pretentious, or at the very least innocently misguided, to introduce yourself here as a wealth of knowledge, regardless of any credentials.

There are so many incredibly well-versed and experienced people here that nobody gets very far by simply stating they have a value to this community– which I'm not implying that you don't.

I've been here 2 years and I know peanuts compared to a lot of these folks! Many even have degrees and/or vast work experience relating to very specific things such as textiles, marketing, biology, physics, etc.

In other words, you're dealing with professionals! Well, some people are professionals. I just pretend to like backpacking.

Take some time and read through the forums. You'll
learn more than you ever thought possible.

[Chris Benson]

Ahren, take some time to follow this forum. You'll probably find the experience level at which one might still be considered a relative noob (regarding just about any backpacking-related topic) is pretty high.

There's a ton of great information here, all levels of experience are accepted, and the discussion is typically civil.

If you have an opinion about Global Warming, please contribute in the Chaff forum!

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

[David Chenault]

I was having a dull moment at work earlier, and while I don't think I did too much to get the rock rolling, I probably should have said more what Travis said.

Alas.

I do think the thread title was, at least a bit, asking for it.

[Kattt]

What if he was not offering advice to those who know a lot about this stuff, but rather to some newer members ? Having a "transitional zone" would not be a bad idea, and some might benefit from a little less abrasive advice. . Just think, what if the SUL members didn't have to bother addressing a new member that asks which 5lb pack is better?

[brent driggers]

Oh Man…a very unsettling read so far.

[W I S N E R !]

"Just think, what if the SUL members didn't have to bother addressing a new member that asks which 5lb pack is better?"

I would certainly have far more time to attend to more pressing matters.

(Image by Yinka Shonibare, from The Diary of a Victorian Dandy: 19:00 hours.)

[Tohru Ohnuki]

"I will be hiking in the Desert this year, and would like to know if i Should get a Spot rescue system, im unsure if i will be able to find water frequently. I hear they helicopter in water if you need it."

I hear if you tell SAR the water is salty you can get a free ride in a helicopter! Whee!

[Hiking Malto]

Did I sleep for a few days and wake up on April 1st? Have to say that I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Now back to our regularly scheduled cuben fiber debates. Or was that Libya?

EDIT: I thought this was a joke but after a quick google search it appears to be real. Ahren, this really is a great place but you have to recognize that there are folks on here that have cutting edge experience. Many make their own gear or even own gear companies. There are triple crown hikers and others that have likely could give John Muir a run for his money. OK, that's a stretch. But, stay around, you may have much to offer and certainly this is a place to learn.

[Ahren Grunow]

Yeah I got it that everyone here knows everything and back. And never once did I say that rei was the end all be all solution to peoples backpacking needs. I merely thought I could provide people with a different idea to gear based off of my experiences with customers such as yourselves. Truly this is not the case and your level of welcoming into this has been annoying. Although I get that yeah evidently I bit off more than I could chew, making rude analogies and treating my own level of experience as it was nothing or short thereof is pretty crappy. You guys have your chats and I hope that others after me are treated a little better. I will be moving on after this for sure.

[Ken Thompson]

"you always start out with buying all the stuff possible" Why?

Oh yeah, I don't take advice from anyone under 35 or over 65

[Author]

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