Backpacker Magazine's Gear Guide issue…meh…

Always looking down your nose at BPLers seems a bit eletist as well. You know best, I guess…

Well when those BPLers look down on other folks there ken …

without differentiating those who might take a bit more weight because of the conditions, thei jobs or additional factors

seems a bit elitist =P

theres many a folks who arent exactly heavy but not UL out here who would give many a BPLer a run for their ounces

let me me ask you this …

are you UL because of the gear you buy … Or the skills you have ???

and i dont mean the skill of going on a spreadsheet and making gear lists

if all you do is bring the gear everyone else has, with the same “comfort”, but is just lighter …. Then yr just BUYING UL

on the other hand if you can go SUL and use a poncho tarp and bivy in constant PNW freezing shoulder season rains with a 40F down quilt, 6 oz down puffy, rain chaps …. For several sunless heavy rain days i a row … Safely

i have the utmost respect for you

;)

But we are talking about backpacking, not climbing, guiding, hunting, firefighting, whatever.

But bob …

Many of the same folks who do those things use the same gear they use for say climbing or guiding or hunting … Etc …

and theyll still run circles around you or me

because they depend upon FITNESS, SKILL and good JUDGEMENT

many folks seem to thing that being UL is what matters

its not … Its what that weight reduction allows you to do that matters

and if there are folks out there who arent UL who do more than what you do …. Then perhaps being UL isnt the most important thin in the world, at least not enough to look down on anyone who isnt so

;)

Backpacker doesn’t put the work into the gear guide like they use to either. Use to be full of tables that listed hundred upon hundreds of items. Now it is more like spotlight reviews of a few things per category. Hardly inclusive.

are you UL because of the gear you buy … Or the skills you have ???

Both.

And, when combined with reasonable fitness, they allow an older fart to keep up with the young ‘uns. :^)

I confess to and profoundly apologize for feeling sorry for those poor blokes laboring under crushing loads as I skip down the trail.

OK, I really don’t apologize. ;^)

I remember 2 old BPL articles that generated quite a bit of comments years ago

the first looked at what it takes to complete a big hike (cant remember which one)

basically it came down to determination …being UL wasnt the greatest factor

the second suggested losing belly fat in addition to lightening your gear … Ie get in shape and not overly focus on spreadsheet grams

quite a few BPLers were quite vocal about that second article

;)

Fat guys with tiny packs. Dude, are you supposed to bring that up? That change from within is the hard part.

LOL I like that, the part about ditching the belly fat. I admit I am guilty of having a bit of that, thankfully not much, but enough to make me think that I am overly fat when others would say I am not.

Eric

I backcountry skied a lot today. It was fun. I had a thermos of mocha during the day below the Continental Divide. Fantastic snow conditions.

What were we blathering about again? :)

A new Mags challenge, I think.

Backpacker doesn’t put the work into the gear guide like they use to either. Use to be full of tables that listed hundred upon hundreds of items. Now it is more like spotlight reviews of a few things per category. Hardly inclusive.

And a heckuva lot easier… Ctrl-C/V the ads, lol!

If only the subscription copies didn’t have ads, it could be a pamphlet.

i think we were trying to find some poor smuck with a 12 lb base weight on BPL and beat him down for not being UL ….

i walked around the crag today looking for folks who didnt use ultra thin light ropes and the lightest carabiners …

then i looked at my ginourmous belly and realized that everyone with heavier gear climbed harder than me anyways

;)

We can criticize Backpacker all we want but I don’t see a lot of UL or lightweight gear tests on BPL as of the past 2-3 years.  I mostly visit blogs for that.

Personally, I like my Backpacker mag. Have a three-year subscription. Like my Adventure Cycling mag as well.