Increase in quality gear on Gearswap

Got my stimulus today…

There is a joke or two in there, Ken.

I think a lot of trips are cancelled, too.

Personally I’ve been going out for quick overnighters in my local area. As long as I stay away from the front country trails, I see very few people out there. I will usually stealth camp rather than stay in established campsites, too. This beautiful spring has been too good to waste.

The gear swap deals indicate two problems to me. First is the conspicuous consumption of backpacking gear, the second, and more importantly, COVID-19 is going to have serious financial implications for millions of people who may never totally recover from it.

I have just finished reading Nomadland, by Jessica Bruder.

It’s about the hundreds of thousands of people that move around the US to get seasonal jobs, a lot of them end up working for Amazon during the busy season.

Most fell victim of the stock and hosing market crashes of 2006/7 and never recovered.

(a movie is in the making)

Some people actually like the gypsy lifestyle. They move with the seasons and take in all America the Beautiful has to offer. Tired of the scenery in one place? Just pack up and move on. Gypsies learn to travel light, just like thru hikers.

yes, but that was not the point of that book.

BTW, I grew up with gypsies (Romani) about.  One of their typical camping spots was about 200m from my house; used to be part of my grandfather’s farm. (now  the middle of the town)

So , yes I am familiar with roaming as a life choice, the book is about not having enough money to pay the rent….

https://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/real-reason-retirees-are-choosing-live-rvs.html/

Maybe people are just unloading old gear to buy new gear. Or cleaning closets while they’re stuck at home.

I find it interesting how much gear there is on swap that has “never been used” or “used once.” I tend not to purchase anything – for backpacking or anything else – that I haven’t thoroughly reviewed and thought through, so everything I buy gets intensively used and often used up completely to the point it cannot be sold. The only exception I can think of are sleeping bags. I have a lot of sleeping bags and they’re all still usable. But I had to try a lot of them to find one that was warm enough for me. And for some reason, I just cannot get rid of sleeping bags; I keep them all.

My reaction same as Karen; I’m always surprised at the amount of high zoot ‘catch and release gear’. I also tend to use gear damn near ‘one at a time’, such as having one well worn sleeping bag (bring layers!) and only one or two tents. Lucky in that I recreate in the balmy northern Sierra, and have become comfortable with being slightly uncomfortable.

I think with so many backpackers, they have the money to buy quality gear, they just don’t have is the time to get out and use it. They have every intention of going on trips, but life gets in the way. Then many of them end up saying to themselves “I spent all this money on this gear and I haven’t used it in years, might as well sell it.” I also believe gear becomes a substitute for people who are too busy to get out on the trail.

I used to sell gym memberships, and Gold’s research showed that it was better to have someone on a month to month program than to get a pay in full because members will say to themselves “I don’t want to cancel because I’m going to get back in that gym.” But our statistics showed that 80% of the people who join hardly ever (or never) come in after the first month. I think it’s kind of the same with gear, people have good intentions that aren’t followed through with. Then you see their new “only set up in the back yard”  Duplex on Gearswap.

There is absolutely some truth to that Monte.  I have found myself that my gear purchases actually  go up when I’m not able to backpack as much as I want.  When I am able to backpack more, generally I’m just replacing gear as it wears out.  It’s like I try and fill the void of not being able to backpack with looking at (and procuring) gear.

I’m just unloading gear that I really either don’t or have never used. I’ve transitioned from ultralight backpacking to lighter gear and canoeing.  My wife would have a fit if she saw how many shelters, stoves, and other stuff I have stashed away.  This sitting at home all day has caused me to buy another shelter, more cookware (who doesn’t need 9 pots and pans),  and one more air mattress.

I have lots of gear I don’t really use anymore but little of it is good enough to sell. I’ve half-heartedly tried to sell some of it now and then. One guy got mad at me when I decided I didn’t want to sell something after all. I was honestly afraid he’d be mad at me if he’d bought it and it wasn’t up to high enough standards. Some of it is stuff I’m not sure I won’t regret if I sell it. I think I have packrat tendencies.

Diane, I’ll swap you five therapy sessions for a slightly used Tarptent.

I tend to do all the research. Read all the reviews and then some. Wander back and forth considering why this particular piece of gear is going to change my kit forever. Bite the bullet, finally purchasing after saving up the cash and still find out that only 1/3 of the items make it through to the final stages after using them. Sometimes you just don’t know until you get it and try it out. That’s the haps paps. Which reminds me. The only reason I ended up biting the bullet and purchasing a membership here was to sell a once used piece of gear. And I still haven’t done it yet!

Ha! I also finally signed up to sell gear.  But it’s a good forum otherwise too.

I think a lot of people buy gear for a specific trip they are planning and looking forward to. With so many trips being canceled they don’t see a need for the gear they just bought, hence the increase of stuff on  gear swap. The money is needed more than that Duplex that can’t be used.