My first attempt…

nice job!

Excellent, concise, to the point and encouraging to those interested in learning. Somehow you'll have to mention BPL in a future article !

Though I do think that a tarp would be just too much for the average Joe !

Short, simple, informative and to the point. I like it.

Very nicely done.

I realize you probably have many editorial guidelines you have to conform to, but it would be nice if you could mention some niche company items that readers might never otherwise hear about like Henry Shires, Six Moon Designs, ULA, MLD, BMW, and the whole alphabet soup of great companies that offer truly superior gear for lighter weight hiking.

But this is a great start for the layman. When the REI One jacket first came out five years ago, it was the first softshell jacket to hit our REI. I recommended it to a number of customers, but I don'think we sold more than a couple in the first five months we carried it. Then an article in the Tennessean talked about how this was a great cycling, climbing, day-hiking and daily wear jacket for middle Tennessee in winter. Suddenly, we couldn't keep them in stock. Your article will likely have a greater effect than you imagine.

Thanks for everybody's positive responses.

I would like to get into specific gear instead of only speaking in generalities, but this is really a side project to my normal work (local government reporting), so it's a matter of time available.

In terms of naming names, I did list a few companies I thought were pertinant, but I realize the list could have been longer.

Thanks again, and any ideas you all have for future columns would be great!

Oh yeah, and as for average joe under a tarp, one of my first backpacking trips was two weeks under a tarp with NOLS, but then again, maybe I'm a little off.

Nice and short, I like the "this not that" :-)