I can't speak to the ownership v. sponsorship issue; that's something Packlite will have to answer. I do know that there is virtually no censorship on the site; I've never had a post changed or deleted. (I have seen some posts disappear - they've all been either blatant marketing pitches, spamming, or flame wars that got out of hand and needed to be stopped.)

As far as the lightweight issue, I come (as many of us in the "over the hill gang" do) from a very traditional background: Kelty, Camp Trails, Eureka, Svea, Sigg and The North Face were the old brand names you'd find in our packs. Stainless steel, cordura nylon, A-frame tents, and external frame packs were all state of the art.

Then came the end of the Cold War, and the "peace dividend." My theory is that suddenly, some very clever folks whose skills had previously been used to design missile guidance systems and high-strength aircraft were available to design GPS systems and innovative tents. Materials like titanium and carbon fiber formerly available only for defense contractors were suddenly on the market. Throw in the general entrepreneurial urges and a growing market for the product, and you got a genuine improvement in gear quality. (Much the same thing happened after World War II, when nylon replaced canvas as the material of choice for tents and packs, and down sleeping bags and clothing became commonly available.)

Anyhow, the cottage industry innovators got the wave moving. When the mainstream companies realized that the light stuff would sell in quantity, they started making lighter, more innovative gear and including it in their retail lines. Now, I don't know about you, but when I stood in the store trying to decide whether to buy a 7-pound Eureka Timberline or a 3-pound MSR Hubba, it didn't take long to figure it out.

I don't really think it's a conspiracy. It's simply free market economics at its best: consumer demand, responded to by competitive manufacturers and retailers, result not only in lighter, but also better, gear. The better stuff is pricier, but that's also the markets: perceived quality and utility command a premium in the marketplace.

Occasionally, when telling my granddaughters about the good old days, I miss my Adjustable II external frame pack, my 2-pound Sigg cookset and Svea stove, and my Timberline 2 tent with the twin vestibules. But when I take them camping, you'd better believe they'll be carrying Deuter or Granite Gear packs and sleeping in a 3-person, 5-pound tent. We won't be carrying any canned goods, either.

As far as having less emphasis on light, that won't happen here; the heavy gear that's out there is, for the most part, not worth buying. It doesn't work as well or last as long (and that's a gross oversimplification.) To borrow some phrasing from pop culture: "Light" is the new "heavy." The light gear works just as well (and in many cases better) than the heavier traditional gear, and is just as reliable.

Ultralight is another story. We have a few here who use frameless packs, and push total loads down toward ten pounds. I've played in that game, and retreated from it because it didn't fit my needs. It bears the same relationship to "regular" gear that concept cars bear to the cars you and I drive: it's a great place to test cutting-edge technology, but it has a long way to go before you and I will drive/carry it. But, excluding things like climbing gear or photo equipment, most of us probably carry packs that range from 20 to 30 pounds for a 4 or 5 day trip. If you want hard-core ultralight, you'll have to try other websites.

The short answer: what you're seeing is evolution, not hype. The skills required to use the lighter gear are still pretty much the skills I needed when I started out. The new materials just make things generally more pleasant.