If yr gear aint trashed …

[philip winin]

"On the east coast the brush is gentle and nice"

Spruce trees in N.H. and Maine will cut you to shreds if you're not a skilled walker.

grog

[Diplomatic Mike]

Most of my hiking here in Scotland is off-trail. Probably more easy mountaineering than walking. I like to throw in a few scrambles to my routes.
I haven't trashed too much gear. Maybe i simply think about what gear to take?

I haven't climbed anything 'awesome' or 'gnarly' though. I've almost had the flag of Japan on my underpants a few times though. ;)

[Chad Miller]

As someone who is both a climber and a backpacker I can say with confidence that Eric Chan is full of it.

Not only that I remember Eric from years back on Backpacker.com where he was known for being a confrontational d-bag who spouted b.s. about his fictitious 'adventures'. Eric (bearbreeder) was banned from Backpacker.com due to his bad behavior.

[Al Nichols]

Now I'm really starting to appreciate my climbing partner that climbs in jeans, T-shirts, flannel shirts and hooded sweat shirts (no, I don't call them hoodies)!. Not one friggen logo on his "gear"..

[James holden]

why chad …. can you dig up those fictional posts? … you should do so with confidence …

i doubt i have ever posted for backpacker.com

it seems you are the one making stuff up now ;)

people attributing fictional posts to me, wishing me dead in the accidents book, my my my … BPL is not that different from other internet forums =P

hmmmmmm

[David Ure]

Eric – ignore it. I get the jist of your initial post and understand the underlying meaning.

Let's talk about the Jet Boil….; )

[Dale Wambaugh]

There's some truth to that, but it reeks of oneupmanship.

If you are bushwacking and climbing, stuff is going to take more of beating. My take is that if my gear is getting trashed, so am I. Stuff will wear out, and you will rip and tear your clothes, get ember holes in them, etc.

I don't get that dirty greasy hippie hike thing. It doesn't take much to give your pack a quick rinse when you get home. I take a stiff brush to my shoes to clean the mud off, as well as my trekking poles. I repair my stuff as needed.

[Chad Miller]

"people attributing fictional posts to me, wishing me dead in the accidents book, my my my … BPL is not that different from other internet forums =P

Hmmm indeed. You spend a lot of time on other internet forums where people don't care for you?

Your grade: T1 With all the time you spend on RC.com you should have better skills. Oh I see, you come here to troll cuz you're too scarred to do so on the noob. :)

[James holden]

Still waiting for those backpacker posta chad

Or are ya making those up ;)

[Chad Miller]

Oh come now bearbreeder, you know your posts and account where wiped from bc.com because of your trolling.

Why don't you post on the rc.com anymore? Is it that you're too scarred to post on a site that didn't put up with your b.s.? Or is it that because of your account here your rc.com account won't be anonymous anymore?

[Ken Helwig]

I have to say that this is the most stupid thread ever put up on BPL………………..

[Justin C]

agreed

[Anonymous]

Over the past several days we have had two active threads which deal with controversial subjects. They have gone in two very different directions which offer some insight into how this community can evolve. For me it is a sobering prospect.
This thread has pretty much gone in a very negative direction that has brought out some of the worst in many of us, myself being a prime example. The other, "Catch and Release", started by Mark Ries, was set up with a very explicit set of parameters governing the discussion and has proceeded in an atmosphere of civility and mutual respect, perhaps best described by Dave Chenault's comment, "A model discussion". I think much has been learned by many from reading/posting to that thread, whereas all this thread has accomplished is to take us a step closer, as OP gleefully pointed out, to being no different from all those other websites. Is this really how we want to end up? In the interest of trying to prevent this type of thread from gaining traction, I am publicly pledging never again to indulge in the kind of posting I gave in to here and ask anybody and everybody to call me out on it if I violate said pledge. In return, I would ask all of you to think it over in private and maybe join me in trying to make this the kind of community we all want it to be. The alternative is to have the Dr. J's, Dave C's, Kevin S's, Roman D's, et al retreat to their blogs or off into cyberspace and this place will become just one more Whiteblaze.

We are better than that.

[Kattt]

Tom, a lot of us here are guilty of getting drawn into a thread and crossing the line in our replies; not nearly as many are willing to see and acknowledge this. You are a great asset to the BPL community and I think this thread had it's ugliness and we can all move on. Once again, I appreciate how this forum is not patrolled and overly moderated. I think we are better off free to be jerks sometimes and then learn from it, then stifling any unpleasantness . Your last post made this thread well worth it's pain.
And on we move, with humor I hope ; )

[Ken Thompson]

@ Tom and Kat.

Very wise.

[James holden]

Im only responding to chads accusations

I only registered for backpacker late last year and dont think ive ever posted there

There really is no way that i could have posted and deleted posts of what he is accusing

And i have poste on rc last week

Whateve else people may wish upon my poor soul

Chad is simply lying and making stuff up

The dark side of bpl indeed

[Kenneth Cowan]

Props to Tom for salvaging this thread. Don't feed the trolls!

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

Nice save, Tom.

I hiked 3000 miles along the PCT and my gear is still in good shape. A few zipper problems but otherwise things are in good condition. I think it's possible to have an adventurous life without shredding your gear. But I'm no adrenaline junky and prefer a contemplative walk in the wilderness to anything extreme, so perhaps that explains my gear longevity.

[Nick Gatel]

I have been gone for a couple months and… well, things have changed to say the least. At first I thought this thread was about all the shinny new gear that is for sale. Seems like there are more gear swap threads than anything else. If this is not what the thread is about, then I have no idea what is happening.

[Author]

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