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End of an Era

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Oct 4, 2011 at 11:38 am #1280163

Addie Bedford
BPL Member

@addiebedford
Locale: Montana

It's with fond sadness that we bid farewell to Will Rietveld as the Senior Editor for Gear and Apparel. Though he'll still have a presence around Backpacking Light, he's decided to take his retirement more seriously. Please wish him and Janet well in their new endeavors of actually relaxing!

Will, it's been a delight and a pleasure working with you these past years. You and Janet have maintained a high standard of writing and testing that's made my editor's heart beat faster for the sheer quality. I will miss your steady help and stewardship, but I pray blessings on you and Janet – may these next years prove better than ever!

With love,
Addie

Oct 4, 2011 at 11:50 am #1786576

David Ure
Member

@familyguy

Will – you were one of the main reasons I was a member of BPL for 5 years.

Have fun in your retirement. No doubt much of it will be spent in the mountains.

Oct 4, 2011 at 12:27 pm #1786603

Gary Dunckel
BPL Member

@zia-grill-guy
Locale: Boulder

You're contributions will certainly be missed, Will. You have given us many a good writeup, much objective information. It will be difficult for BPL to replace you and Janet. Thanks for what you've done.

Oct 4, 2011 at 12:29 pm #1786606

Travis Leanna
BPL Member

@t-l
Locale: Wisconsin

Will, thanks for all you've done for the BPL community. Your articles will be missed.

Enjoy retirement!

Oct 4, 2011 at 12:49 pm #1786618

William Cummings
Member

@rcummings1
Locale: Colorado

Will,
Good Luck and Happy Trails! Your work in retirement surpassed most people in their careers.
Thank You for giving us the information we needed to make intelligent gear decisions, and at the very least, the information we needed to justify adding new gear to the closet!

Oct 4, 2011 at 12:56 pm #1786621

Bob Bankhead
BPL Member

@wandering_bob
Locale: Oregon, USA

NO! Say it isn't so. WilliWabbit and Janet are hopping away. What a terrible loss. Your in-depth reviews will be sorely missed.

Best wishes on your new ventures down the bunny trail.

Oct 4, 2011 at 12:59 pm #1786624

Kendall Clement
BPL Member

@socalpacker
Locale: Cebu, Philippines

Will,

Thank you so much for all you've done in making BPL a great resource for UL gear info. I've enjoyed reading your articles and test results immensely. Your insight has been invaluable to me as someone who came to BPL and ultralight backpacking relatively recently (about 4 years ago). I wish you all the best in this next chapter in your life.

Kendall

Oct 4, 2011 at 1:07 pm #1786628

Jay Wilkerson
BPL Member

@creachen
Locale: East Bay

Thanks for your detailed reviews of some great gear. I learned so much from you!!!!!

Enjoy the fun days ahead of you.

Oct 4, 2011 at 2:24 pm #1786681

Michael Davis
Member

@mad777
Locale: South Florida

Will & Janet, I want to thank you for the conscientious work you have put into testing piles of UL gear. I've enjoyed reading your reviews over the 5+ years I've been a member. Half of what's in my gear closet is there due to your recommendations!

Enjoy your well deserved retirement butknow that you will be missed!

Oct 4, 2011 at 2:59 pm #1786700

Miguel Arboleda
BPL Member

@butuki
Locale: Kanto Plain, Japan

What a shock! I'm going to miss your wonderful reviews, Will. Perhaps some of the best gear reviews I've ever read anywhere. Your articles were part of the reason I kept coming back, and I still go back to your articles again and again to relearn something or refine how I think about certain gear or techniques. You will be sorely missed.

Oct 4, 2011 at 3:06 pm #1786703

Mark Primack
BPL Member

@bufa
Locale: Cape Cod and Northern Newfoundland

You have both been an inspiration to me–older folks who get out and far away a lot and are crazy knowledgeable gearheads. Have fun.

Oct 4, 2011 at 3:19 pm #1786715

Tim Zen
Spectator

@asdzxc57
Locale: MI

What a loss for us, but a gain for you two. Your gear reviews will be missed.

Happy trails.

Oct 4, 2011 at 3:42 pm #1786725

. .
BPL Member

@biointegra
Locale: Puget Sound

Best to you Will and Janet – your words will continue to inform and inspire us as we venture back outdoors as well.

Oct 4, 2011 at 4:01 pm #1786737

Mary D
BPL Member

@hikinggranny
Locale: Gateway to Columbia River Gorge

Will and Janet, you'll be missed!

Here's wishing you a happy and active retirement! Enjoy!

"We don't stop hiking because we get old; we get old because we stop hiking." (Finis Mitchell)

Oct 4, 2011 at 4:29 pm #1786755

Anonymous
Inactive

"What a shock! I'm going to miss your wonderful reviews, Will. Perhaps some of the best gear reviews I've ever read anywhere. Your articles were part of the reason I kept coming back, and I still go back to your articles again and again to relearn something or refine how I think about certain gear or techniques. You will be sorely missed."

Exactly what I wanted to say, only much beter expressed. +100

This is a real body blow to BPL.

I wish you and Janet many, many years of happy hiking.

Oct 4, 2011 at 5:34 pm #1786779

Jim Colten
BPL Member

@jcolten
Locale: MN

Fare thee well Will and Janet. May your future trails be numerous and happy (or at least interesting).

I stumbled upon your Southwest Ultralight Backpacking web site very early in the search for info about lightening my pack and your mention of Bozeman Mountain Works Air Core line led me to BPL where, at that time, the forum formerly known as G-Spot was limping along at the anemic rate of a couple dozen postings per week.

I've found almost all of your articles useful and interesting, even when dealing with something I was not interested in … have gained many tidbits of info that helped my in other areas. The ultra light winter footwear series revolutionized my winter hiking and snow shoeing.

Oct 4, 2011 at 5:58 pm #1786786

Hikin’ Jim
BPL Member

@hikin_jim
Locale: Orange County, CA, USA

Say it isn't so!

Good luck and bon voyage.

HJ

Oct 5, 2011 at 9:08 am #1786961

Bryan Crook
Member

@bcrook007
Locale: Nebraska

Best wishes and thank you for all of your work with BPL.

Please know that you will be missed here. I always read your reviews, absolutely the best on the site.

Oct 5, 2011 at 9:26 am #1786972

Daniel Paladino
BPL Member

@dtpaladino
Locale: Northern Rockies

Will!
It's been a pleasure working with you. The time and effort you put into every single review (or mini review!) was unmatched. I hope you'll enjoy your actual retirement, and put in some good trail miles (without the extra weight 9 pieces of the same type of gear to review!)

Thanks for everything!

Oct 5, 2011 at 9:29 am #1786974

Luke Schmidt
BPL Member

@cameron
Locale: Alaska

You'll be missed. The in depth SOTM reports and gear reviews were my favorites. Even if you weren't reveiwing the exact peice of gear I was using or considering your scientific approach and well organized articles still gave me useful information that I could apply in othe areas (The in depth review of frameless packs was one of the best and helped me improve my MYOG packs in a big way).
I wish you two well in your actual retirement but it will leave a big hole here.

Oct 5, 2011 at 9:32 am #1786975

Michael Martin
BPL Member

@mikemartin
Locale: North Idaho

Hi Will and Janet-

Thank you for all the work you've both put into BPL over the years. Your body of work is unmatched and you two can never be replaced here. I'm gonna miss you sorely, but I hope we can still get together for our Winter hikes. The snow is on its way… :-)

Oct 5, 2011 at 9:33 am #1786976

Mark Hurd
BPL Member

@markhurd
Locale: Willamette Valley

Will,
A heartfelt thanks for all the great work you have done on our collective behalf. As others have noted, your insightful articles and comments on BPL have kept me coming back here.
Best wishes to you and Janet.
-Mark

Oct 5, 2011 at 9:37 am #1786977

Jim Sweeney
BPL Member

@swimjay
Locale: Northern California

Will and Janet, have always appreciated your very intelligent, well-organized, helpful reviews. Have definitely learned a lot from you. I hope your retirement is rewarding and rich; also hope that you will continue to participate here in some form, as you are an extremely valuable part of the community. Best wishes for all future trips and projects.

Oct 5, 2011 at 9:44 am #1786978

Tim Cheek
BPL Member

@hikerfan4sure

Will,

Does this mean you can now finally tell us where all the really great hiking spots are in the Weminuche?

Have fun in retirement!

Oct 5, 2011 at 9:55 am #1786985

d k
BPL Member

@dkramalc

I will really miss your articles, which have been my favorite feature writing on BPL – well written and full of good information and wise insight. Thank you for all the fine work, and enjoy many many years of hoofing it down the trail unencumbered by the need to review the gear you're using!

Debbie
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