Miss the old BPL? What article content would you like to see?

[Emylene VanderVelden]

For the 2016 article year I have a full year of articles lined up and in one stage or another of draft, revision or publication.

2017 is another story.

As readers of the magazine what articles would you like to see? I make no promises about writing all your ideas, but I am always on the hunt for good ideas.

Any burning questions about UL or lightweight theory? Things you think newbies to UL and lightweight should know? Interviews from UL celebs you are dying to see?

Ian B gave me some great suggestions, some which I have scheduled for later in the year and some I’m seriously looking into for next year.

BPL Staff writers do want to hear from you.

….. And go!

[HkNewman]

That varies as readers are diverse. Some like gear, some like adventures. Personally I think some pushing light gear into colder months, like the Sierra post-trip report by Andy D recently on BPL, would help (hopefully) with getting some readers away from the computer screen…

Also a reminder quick weekends (24’s -> 36’s) are possible. Was quite a few mentions of those when I first joined. Maybe newer members missed out?

Add: maybe finishing some articles, updating some others …. combining the approaches as the gear companies have some new offerings.

[James holden]

Mythbusters style tests of gear and techniques

unfortunately that wont make some manufacturers and members happy

who else will keep the marketing spin in check?

;)

[Stephen M]

Dwr down vs non dwr down.

Freeze fried meals state of the Market.

Synthethic inulation state of the market.

[Emylene VanderVelden]

I’ll admit I’ve been here a couple years but avoided the forum. I however have decided I like you guys.

HK Newman: Thanks for saying what we have been all thinking ;-) those who don’t do, criticize. I do have some features coming up on the weekend warrior trips by intention, because I totally agree we left some newbies in the thru hike trail dust somewhere.

Eric Chan: I love the idea, totally suits my ‘skip the crap and tell the truth attitude’…. May get me in trouble but I’ll see if I can come up with something ;-)

Steven M: totally questions I have been asking myself on the down. I did the research on the synthetic for an upcoming review and should put it to good use. I don’t know if I would be the best on the freeze dried thing, I make my own and just published an article on it in MYOG. Its a great idea, regardless. Someone else may pick it up or I might just take a year off home made. Actually I kinda like that idea, I haven’t done freeze dried in ages…. And the wheels start turning….

[Ed Biermann]

Nice of you to ask. Should this not be posted in the Editors Roundtable or BPL.com news and info forum instead of Gear? A number of folk search specific forums. Easy for stuff to get lost in Gear. That miss the old BPL thread is in the wrong place too.

I would like to see more trip reports, done well

Also would like to see articles on the classes and trips that BPL sells.

[Emylene VanderVelden]

I agree the original post likely should be elsewhere, so “should” this one but the commentary was here seemed good to have both questions in the same place. I’m a bit of a rebel ;-)

What makes a well done trip report in your opinion?

A news letter addressing BPL trips would be a great idea, I’ll pass that on.

[Michael Schlesselmann]

Updated state of the market gear reports. Especially for newcomers, all the reviews for cottage gear is all circa 2011 unless its been explored by forum members.

+1 on the trip reports/photo essays

Gear reviews for gear as it comes out. Not sure if you could get samples from manufacturers before or around a product release date but that would be helpful.

[Emylene VanderVelden]

Ed: I agree the original post likely should be elsewhere, so “should” this one but the commentary was here seemed good to have both questions in the same place. I’m a bit of a rebel ;-)

What makes a well done trip report in your opinion?

A news letter addressing BPL trips would be a great idea, I’ll pass that on.

Michael: I agree, it was a fleeting thought early in my planning season to do a couple and it got lost in my shuffle of ideas. Sixteen articles planned and approved later and totally dropped the ball on the market reports. I’ll attempt to get some up and running for 2017 for sure. I’m seeing this as a popular request.

[Brad Rogers]

I would like to see more “epic” trip reports like Jogen wrote about his Alaska treks. I would like to hear about off trail treks in remote locations.

I would love to see Richard Nisley style lab tests on wp/b techs.

Updates on some classic technique articles such as “hiking in a cold sustained rain” etc.

State of the market reports like the old ones Will did on down jackets. These could be updated every few years.

Perhaps a recomended gear list article to help newbies. I think there was one in 2011-12 timeframe.

There could be a re-occurring colum such as “what’s in Ryan’s pack” where he talks about a favorite piece of gear.

(This may draw some critisim) recomended trips like Dave C’s packrafting loop article.

Outdoor Retailer updates and synopsis.

Perhaps a comparison of how different shelters hold up to wind? Scientific data required of course.

[Brad Rogers]

Perhaps a reader submitted picture of the month?

A yearly or quarterly “state of BPL” or upcoming at BPL to keep everyone informed on what’s upcoming at BPL

Perhaps an article on lightweight backcountry photography. I know Ryan is a great photographer.

A trip report from each of the BPL classes or trips (from an instructor or student)

Good writing, topics, photography, and editing are important to the articles. BPL could offer a spot in one of their classes for some help writing, editing, marketing, web developing, etc that might cost Ryan and BPL significantly less than actual payments. Just a thought

[Brad Rogers]

Of course all in all it is the forum that makes BPL great. I am not sure why we lost so many posters with the new software but probably a combination of many of the reasons already discussed, but we need to get them back. The forum was the heart and soul of BPL and it is but a shell of what it was a year ago.

[Emylene VanderVelden]

Brad: you are a venerable idea mill. You haven’t considered submitting an article or two have you? Some of your ideas are beyond my scope as an author but I can certainly pass the ideas on. I like them, I suspect others on staff may as well.

[Mitchell Ebbott]

I’d love to see Ryan finish his SUL Wanderer series.

[BlackHatGuy]

Probably a bit of an outsider view, but, top-of-the-head thoughts:

What’s the difference between national forests and national parks? How do these differences effect backpackers?

Some stories about efforts of some groups to get non-hikers/backpackers out into the wilderness to ‘grow’ the audience who cares about public lands.

Reviews of good books/articles about the outdoors – not just books of someone’s long hike.

As a regular feature, upcoming shows that might be of interest (like NatGeo’s series on Roman Dial’s search for Cody).

Fan favorites for their after-hike meals. Sort of a roadside diner series for backpackers but not just a ‘what i ate’ story, rather how the restaurant came to be, a bit about the owners, as well as great apres-backpacking meals.

More (much more) coverage of European places to backpack, European rules for backpackers, European gear, etc.

[Dena Kelley]

The main draws for me are, as another posted, “epic trip reports”. I’m especially one who likes to read about trips in off-the-beaten path locales like ANWR or other very remote areas where it took a lot of logistical planning (and the article covers the planning) plus has a lot of photos and details about the trip itself.

Gear reviews on the newest gear is also a draw for me. The primary reason I joined this forum was to learn about gear as I learned to develop some UL techniques.

[Brian B]

LNT – a recurring, helpful, sincere effort to promote ethical wilderness use. Have it as part of trip reports — ‘we could have camped in this epic spot but didn’t to protect the vegetation’. Make carrying out TP cool. Make bathing in small water sources uncool.

[Matthew / BPL]

I’d like to see more scientific testing of fabric and materials.

I’d like to see a technical overview of water treatment options written by someone who really understands the science.

I’d like to see the forums fixed. So many broken promises…

[Tony Wong]

Emylene,

Thank you for reaching out to the community and to solicit us for our ideas!!

Here are my suggestions for articles that might help increase the sale of BPL memberships and to earn BPL some much needed money:

Rewrite/update basic articles on the Basics of How a Traditional Backpacker can make the Transition into Lightweight/Ultralight Backpacking.

Why do this vs. working on something new and exciting that we have never seen before?

Because “we” the old timers on BPL really are not your core reader/source of revenue.

We old timers have probably learned 90%-95% of what is needed to go lightweight.

The demographic that is likely to pay money for a BPL Membership is the traditional backpacker interested in making the transition to lightweight/UL backpacking.

I figure that this gives BPL a 1-3 year window to capture money via a membership from this new member….assuming that they will learn most of what they need to make that transition and after that may end up as non paying members on the forums to have much of their needs met.

The reason why someone would want to visit the BPL website is for one main reason….to answer this question: What is Ultralight Backpacking and How Do I Lighting My Backpack Weight for Backpacking Trips?

Failure to answer this question for your potential new paying BPL member would be an unforgivable business mistake.

As much as trip reports and State of the Market Reports are, if BPL fails to answer the basics they run the risk of pleasing the older timers at the expense of being able to grow the paying membership.

Furthermore, I would recommend that these “core” articles be featured predominately on the Home Page (accessible by paying BPL members)  so that 1st time visitors can see the answer the THAT key question about What is UL backpacking and how do it do it…..so that they can see the immediate and clear value of signing up and paying for a BPL membership. (Lesser or more basic articles can be written that give a few “free” tips on how to lighten a backpacker’s load, but ultimately, they just need to show that BPL are experts at going Light and that the visitor NEEDS to buy a membership to learn all the secrets to UL Backpacking).

These set of Core articles should be rotated weekly so that the website looks fresh and new for this new and hopefully repeat visitor to BPL…all with the goal of enticing them to sign up and pay for a membership.

Other articles that would help encourage new/paying memberships and would answer the 2nd key question that is asked by Traditional Backpackers: How do I Lighten my Backpacking/How do I go Ultralight

1. Reviews of Tarptent shelters or free standing lightweight shelters from well know traditional manufactures….current or new one on the market as these are likely the 1st lightweight shelter that a traditional backpacker would gravitate to vs. a tarp and bivy
2. Reviews of Lightweight backpacks….framed or frame less, a mix of well known commercial brands and cottage manufactures
3. Reviews of Light weight sleeping bags

Again, address the Big Three…..the 1st place a Traditional Backpacker looks at to make the UL Transition.

Anticipate the journey that the Traditional Backpacker is going to logically make while going lightweight and make sure you have articles to address their immediate interest.

Cover the Big Three and then have articles on Cooking Systems, water treatment and hydration systems.

Writing a bunch of articles are things that stray from this is still important as it deeps knowledge, keeps BPL on the cutting edge of what is new….BPL still needs to be the number one trusted source for information about Ultralight Backpacking….the go to place.

I know that people love trip reports to inspire them to go to new places, but fact is that other websites can offer that….offer what BPL does best- UL/Lightweight Tips and Techniques.

Not saying that there should not be trip reports….they are nice, but not CORE to the business.

The more traffic and eyeballs on the screen, the more chances to sell a membership.

Lastly, I would like to recommend articles on showing how UL/Lightweight backpacking gear is used in the field.

Too often, THIS is about gear porn.

Giving someone a list of gear is just not enough….how about articles showing how to setup that tarptent, tarp, or pyramid shelter? (Illustrating the need for good site selection for non free standing shelters….showing the need for using your brain/skills because of the limitations that lightweight gear has vs. traditional gear).

How to use a bivy and tarp combo and why they are often used together.

Articles with pictures can do wonders vs. reading abstract instructions on how pitch these shelters.

Also….how about inviting guest authors like Hikin Jim to reprint their own articles on BPL?

BPL cannot cover it all, so why not leverage the passion and expertise of others out on the web?

Invite them to post their articles in return for links to their webpages…..they give BPL something and expose their own website to a whole new set of readers who may have not heard of them before.

Maybe that can work out as beneficial to both parties?

BPL gets articles up faster on topics and products. (One of the complaints that I have heard is that review come out on “old” products that have been in the market for a while…making BPL look slow and behind…..not the leader and authority on UL backpacking).

Flash articles on new products that are not in depth reviews, but simply announcements to the visitor to BPL, to make them aware of something that might interest them or that they have never heard of….quick highlights of what it is, the cost, and link to the manufacture’s website.

Anyway, just some quick things off my head as I take a break at work.

Hope it helps.

P.S. Thanks to KT for reminding me that I should be positive vs. negative and not give up on BPL. (It is easy to bitch about what you don’t like, but why not give constructive suggestions to make BPL better).

Tony

 

[David Thomas]

“What makes a well done trip report in your opinion?”

Harsh editing of photographs.

And good writing.  Which can vary a lot.  Some trip reports tell stories of the people involved.  Some are DIY instructions for the trip.  Others convey the feeling of the place.  Those are all good.

But even if you took 10 fabulous photos every day (you probably didn’t), they don’t look so fabulous when rendered in a 1 mexapixel image on my computer screen.  So does the photo help tell the story, instructions or feelings you are trying to convey?  If not, leave it out.

That said, many people have posted well written, edited, and photo-documented trip reports that I really enjoyed reading.  Personally, I like reports of epic trips that get me dreaming and inspirational stories – often about getting kids into the wilderness – that motivate me to do more of the same.

[Mark V.]

I would like to see more articles on winter UL & SUL skills, gear, and technique.

 

[Mitchell Ebbott]

I think the State of the Market reports are some of the most useful pieces of content BPL has to offer. Many of them are long past due on an update.

In fact, I would really like to see a continuously updated version of these. That would be harder to do, but would be a wonderful resource.

[Nick Gatel]

I would like a joint interview with Ray Jardine and Dan McHale. A podcast would be cool. A video even better, if you can get them together in the same room.

 

[Justin Baker]

I would like to see an in depth article dedicated to food storage in bear country. Hanging techniques, odor resistant bags, ursacks, bear canisters, all of that. That would be a good article to help beginner backpackers from losing their food and contributing to the problem.

How about a state of the market for ultralight expedition size packs. Like hmg vs seek outside.

[Ed Biermann]

How many writers are on staff now? And who are they? Good replies being given.

[Author]

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