Ehy do I even bother to look at this page?

Well, what were you expecting? It's a backpacking site. There will be limits to what is discussed. Especially now the Chaff has been hobbled.

You can tell us about your dislike of the NeoAir, your Tarptent mods or your love for your Caldera Cone. Oh wait…

Seriously though I still think that personal blogs have had the biggest impact on BPL being able to get and publish first run, quality content.

Do you recommend as an alternative?

What is it you would like to see?

Ditto what Ken said. It's such a narrow topic and there's only so much that can be said. For me personally, the gear stuff is nice and I've received by far more valuable information here than anywhere else but my kit's about dialed in so… not much at the top of the page for me right now.

I really like the trip reports so the largest value BPL has for me right now are ideas for future trips and living vicariously through other BPLer's adventures. I think that BPL has published some awesome trip reports (brooks range) so I think they'd be wise to place greater emphasis on that than lackluster gear reports/reviews although they can be outstanding when the effort is invested into the article.

Here sits Eric. Decades of experience as an educator, ski patroller and survival instructor. One would think that this is the type of person that could generate quality content for other to enjoy.

It is easier to complain. I know.

To the OP:

That's a glass-is-half-empty statement for sure. It's as easy to start a meaningful discussion as it is to complain about the lack of them!

I'll start one:

Which knots work best on slippery synthetic lines?

Also, which lightweight cordage is best for holding knots?

Favorite scene from Crocodile Dundee movie …. in fancy hotel in NYC sees a TV. Switches it on and it is playing a rerun of "I love Lucy". "Same thing as last time", he says, and switches it off.

Also I am thinking of a variation on an old Woody Allen joke – "the food here is terrible, but at least there are large portions".

…is actually pretty good, but the portions are small." On this "General Backpacking" page that is, not Gear and others.

Well, yeah, maybe I should quit griping and contribute a decent thread. I stand corected and rightly so.

So to remedy that oversight I'll do one on my fav piece of gear, tents, and "optimal features" (for me, that is).

There are a lot of nice tents out there with some very nice overall designs and/or great individual features. There are some great 3 season tents and a few great winter tents. "Four season" tents? That's a touchy subject but I'll take a stab at it.

I'll do this piece tomorrow and, unlike my scathing opinions on ti cookware, I'll attempt to keep it balanced. I may even include annotated footnotes and a bibliography.

Then maybe someone can do a thread post on tarps of all sizes, shapes and weights.

And then a thread on hammocks, jungle, 3 season, and winter types.

Jus' sayin'…