Backpacker Mag's Get Out More Tour

So I just got back from the BP Mag's "Get Out More Tour" and it was pretty neat. They had a lot of information, mostly geared towards more beginner style backpackers or people getting into the sport, but I was still interested to see what they had to say about new products and different styles of products.
Even won a door prize - a 1 yr extension to my subscription to the mag!

So did anybody else go to one of these, or are planning on going to one in your area?

I went to the one in MI and like you said it was more for beginners. Some of the gear was neat and obviously was furnished to them by the manufactures for advertising. I looked at the WEB site later and they listed the items in the pack they carried and the total came out to $2850. That would buy five or six of my setup.

Did you say TWO THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTY? Was the titanium spork gold plated?

MNS

Actually I exaggerated. It was only $2841.99

http://www.getoutmore2010.com/2010/07/03/whats-in-the-backpack/

Wow.

There's obviously a whole ton of room to disagree with their choices, and I'm not going to start that two-vovlume work here.

However, I did notice that the list included a $200 watch and a $150 satellite GPS messenger (whatever that is.) So, personally, that's a cool $350 I wouldn't spend.

Of course, I'd just blow the savings on a Western Mountaineering sleeping bag and a good tent (instead of the bivy they chose.)

I also noticed the wardrobe was a lot more extensive than I'd select personally, so there may be some savings there, too.

I thought about my own gear list, which is simpler than theirs, and I was still in the $1,500 - $2,000 neighborhood, if I had to re-create my load. I could probably trim that to $1,000 if I used house brands (REI, Campmor, or EMS) instead of the pricier stuff I've treated myself to over the last few years.

We must also remember that Backpacker Mag is in business to sell advertising space. The magazine is thus extremely biased in order to maximize its advertising revenue. The gear they "recommend" is a quid pro quo to their advertisers. As readers we are not the consumer, but the product. We are "sold" to the advertisers.

I once had my entire pack stolen out of the back of my car and was horrified at what it cost to replace the gear. What cost me about $500 when I purchased, cost me over $1500 to replace. I usually wait for a sale to buy, but when you have to buy immediately to replace stolen gear, you pay full price (ouch!).

But if you compare the long-term cost of backpacking vs many other outdoor pursuits, it is reasonable. There is an initial investment, but it is basically free thereafter (I do not count backpack food as an expense because you have to eat whether at home or on the trail). And you can also say that if you were to stay home, you still would be driving the car around and using gas anyway. And like any other sport, there is a wide price range for that initial investment. High end gear may make the trip more comfortable, but low end gear should not stop you from getting out.

I read reviews to get the deatails on design of equipment but then make my own comparison and choice. I tend to be on the tail end of bell curves- what others reject I ofen find very suitable. I love to read "too small, too tight, hideous color" - that gear is usually just right for me!

Yeah, if you compare backpacking to a lot of other outdoor sports, it comes out much cheaper. For a base line, I could get a very nice kit with $1000 for backpacking (that would include a WM bag). But, let's look at other sports.

Mountain Biking...You can get a good bike for $500, but $1000 is more common. Then add all the other gear you need.

Hunting....You can get a decent rifle fro $500, but again, $1000 is common. Then again, add all the other gear, which is similar to backpacking gear. Generally you need a hunting vehicle, like an atv or truck. That will bump you closer to $10,000.

Horse packing....I am not sure how much the horse alone costs, but I bet it is more than $1000.

ATV, dirt biking....they aren't cheap, plus the truck to pull them.

RVing....You need a second mortgage for these.

Yeah, backpacking is cheap.

GPS messenger = SPOT satellite messenger...have one for $100 @ Cabella's...not cheap and not light either! But it keeps mom+dad, friends, brothers, and most importantly gf off my back by sending them updates nightly.

And as everyone's said they were deffinitely plugging for certain companies and were semi-biased to what they had in their packs and how much "use" they got out of each of those items. As I stated, it was more for beginners, but there were a few of us in the room that you could tell were more into the "sport" of backpacking and each of us chuckled at an item or 2 when they were talking about it.

I just like to soak up as much info as I can, then make a decision.

I talked to the owner of the shop where they made their presentation and he confirmed that the gear is given to them for promotional purposes. The prices shown are also MSRP which is seldom what you would pay for many of the items. Given the choice between a $300 piece of gear which someone gave me for free and a $100 piece of gear that I had to pay for myself it is no contest. On the other hand if I have to choose between $300 or $100 I am going to give the $100 item a good hard look. Also like many of us we watch for sales, last years model and used items and seldom purchase full price items. Function is a large part of the equation but if fashionable, cool and the latest/greatest are important you are going to spend a lot more.

Some of the items which they "took" on the trip they went on after the presentation were certainly not necessary or even desirable. The trail they went on is one I hike frequently because it is close enough to home that I can leave on Saturday morning and be back home on Sunday afternoon when I just have to get out there for a little while. I would not hesitate to recommend the trail to novices using nothing but the brochure map put out by the forest service so the SPOT/GPS is just dead weight. Given the weather report during the time that they went a lot of the clothes was also just dead weight.