I can't say I totally agree with you. I mean, yes, people may go corporate with their products this makes them more readily availiable to a wider base of consumers, but so what? Is it so terrible that more people get into backpacking? I mean, the only people that will get into it and stick with it are the people who really enjoy and appreciate it. What's the harm in that? Maybe it'll help people want to preserve the wilderness a little more so that the backpacking opportunities don't become surrounded by buildings and cars instead of trees and mountains.

I do understand your point on people simply reading things and getting them right away instead of learning about them as they get more into the activity. I personally like doing the research and learning myself rather than reading it, but you have to start somewhere. Even when you read something right out of the book, you still have to figure out what does and does not work for you. It isn't like everything you'll ever need to know and use is just handed to you in a gift wrapped basket.

My first pack was a Kelty Redwing 3100 I used and still use for overnnighters and weekenders on occassion. So what? That pack helped get to know something and learn something I still love and enjoy doing. Does this mean I'm not keeping it "pure?" And what is pure really? There's no need to become the forums bigoted fascist dictator deciding what is pure and what is not. The people who backpack are the people who are meant to backpack. The people who aren't are the ones who tried it and didn't like it or looked at it and ran away before they even learned more, which means they weren't meant for it.

It is like the poeple who get angry at the bands who sign to a record lable and then call those bands sellouts. So what? They want to make a living and get their music out to a more diverse audience? As long as it is good and you still enjoy it, who cares?