Hiker Cook Kit Special Deals – Thanks for all the love !

Robert,

Congrats on your 8th year anniversary and thanks for putting this deal together.  Best wishes on your next 8 years!

Hi Robert

This is Gear DEALS. What extra special DEAL is being offered to BPL members which is not available to the general public via your web site?

Cheers
Roger Caffin
Online Community Monitor
BPL

Extra special deal not in the ever changing rules. Currently,”Postings must include a deal (usually a discount) for BPL members.” So I think his limited quantity is the deal. Fine with me since a specific discount for BPL is not a requirement.

^^^ is this the rule for everyone? Because I just scrolled through about 20 gear deals and a good number of them had holiday sales that were not BPL specific, just announcing store wide sales.

@Roger – Happy New Year. This offer is my way of thanking several communities that have welcomed and supported me. BPL was the first of these communities. My very first titanium trowels were made and sold to BPL’ers. That was late in 2010.

You are correct that the deal is not exclusive to BPLers but has also been announced on a couple other forums. You can even find it on my website if you look for it. It’s just a way to celebrate and say thanks. If that’s a no-no on modern-day BPL, please feel free to remove my post.

Hi all

I THINK the intent of the guidelines was that the DEAL should be specific to BPL members. But whether everyone has read it this way is another matter.
I will have to discuss with Ryan and Matthew which way we want this to go. I can quite see the alternate PoVs. Deal? Yes. Exclusive? Dunno.

Cheers
Roger Caffin

But we can list sales we find here too, so? Kinda weird.

The rules used to state that a seller/maker/owner had to offer a special deal to BPL members to post here, but that language was purged from the rules a little while back (I’m thinking about 2 years ago?). I like what the old language said and what Roger is indicating he thinks the way it should work.

That rule only applies to a seller/maker/owner. If a member unaffiliated with a product/company sees something they think is a good deal they can post it here without it being a special deal for only BPL members. In that case it’s members passing along good karma, the member posting gains no benefit or profit from the post.

I do like that two-pronged approach, makes sense and allows the community to be helpful but not overrun with advertising posts.

EDIT : Oops, I do see that the rules do now again say that postings must have a special deal for BPL members, so I’m glad that’s back and sorry for saying it’s not there anymore. But the rules still are missing the idea that a member can post something they think is a good deal without it being a special deal for BPL members if the poster is not affiliated with the seller or product.

Example,

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/massdrop-titanium-sporks-cups-cooksets-combs/

Lets do away with the BPL “exclusive” deals. We miss out on all kinds of deals offered to the world at large by having that one odd rule. Is it a deal? Great. Is it prices as usual and so just a promotion post? Then maybe not. See a deal online that you think others would benefit from? Bring it on. I think this would best reflect “ Gear Deals”. Otherwise we end up enforcing one day, not the other and all that comes with that.

Hi all

Well, we have discussed this internally, and we are going to go along with Kat’s recommendation. There still must be a DEAL if the posting is by the vendor, but it does not have to be exclusive to BPL members any more. Ryan will amend that guideline in due course.

Postings by non-vendors about a DEAL they have seen somewhere else are still OK.

Promo posts by vendor without a DEAL – nope. (And no shoe spammers either.)

Cheers
Roger Caffin
Online Community Moderator
BPL

Thanks Roger et al for a common sense decision that serves members’ interests.

May I further suggest that the rules state that anyone with a vested interest in the item(s) or store being promoted must clearly identify in their post that they have a vested interest? Whether owner, employee, shareholder, manufacturer, even a reviewer who benefits from the post, etc.

Yes thank you Roger and Ryan!!

@JR, It looks like the rules do state that already:

“Commercial postings require full disclosure of affiliation.”

Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!

I still have Kits of both sizes available (750 cc and 1100 cc). Pots are uncoated Ti from Toaks.

The video is HERE