Jim,

I've seen K-Mart Kampers on the AT and felt a bit sorry for them. But if their equipment holds up past their initial blunders like building a campfire downwind of their nylon tent, carrying a way too heavy stove, taking cotton clothing and not having waterproof stuff sacks or pack cover while hiking in a downpour then MAYBE, just maybe they will actually be gently enlightened by experienced backpackers they meet.

The big thing is to encorage them to stick with backpacking. Later they will have to face the sticker shock of purchasing truly good backpacking equipment. (However, if they own a nice motor boat then the cost of good quality backpacking equipment will seem trivial.) heh, heh > "boat" - A hole in the water into which one pours money.

But, yes, I've seen these woefully unprepared (skill wise) people who have new - but heavy & cheap - everything and now have to live with it for a while.
This is where current Boy Scout training DOES help to some extent because all the Scouts in our troop that I used to mentor were taught things like Leave No Trace ethics, routefinding, basic camp setup and proper equipment choice and use.

Eric