backpacker gear guide

[Lisabob 13]

I was thumbing through a copy of this today in the bookstore. Some interesting reviews in there and I liked the pull-out section dedicated to maintenance and care for gear.

 

One thing I wondered though - it seems to be focused on fairly high-end users. Those of you who are more in the know than I am, is this a publication that you find applicable to the kind of gear and use (and abuse) that typical boy scouts really need? Do you find the reviews in this publication to be pretty reliable? Just wondering if I should bother showing it to the boys as most of the stuff in there is out of their price range anyway.

 

MODS: Please don't move this to the equipment sub-forum. The sub-forums are way too easy to overlook and threads there often don't get a lot of responses. Thanks.

 

 

[Bob White 20]

I have always found BackPacker reviews very helpful. It is going to be upper end stuff. Does a scout have to go that expensive? Not even close.

 

When I started as a Scout leader I bought an very inexppensive top loading nylon pack on an aluminum tube frame for $40. It lasted me over 200 nights of hiking and camping. I had a "good" pair of boots (military jungle boots $29 at an Army/Navy store, they lasted about 2 years, so then I got another pair just like em. Then I learned how to make things smaller to reduce their weight and take up less room. My sleeping bag during warm weather was one I earned as a Tenderfoot Scout (13 years earlier) selling American Seed Company flower and vegetable seeds from an ad on the back of Boys' Life. Then I bought a $69 mummy that I lined with a wool army blanket for the winter.

 

I didn't start paying serious money for camping gear until my mid thirties.

 

The key for good gear today for any beginning camper is: keep it small, keep it light, keep it dry.

[CA_Scouter 11]

Yes, Backpacker is high end stuff. It sucks you in an bleeds you dry. :-) I look at this stuff and wonder.. If I won the Lotto....

 

REI, North Face, Marmot, ArcTeryx and others have top quality gear that as Bob says, you can't afford until you are in your thirties, but if you shop carefully, you'll find that the gear reviews give you a hint on what is going to start showing up on the closeout web sites in the coming months.

 

Last year I picked up a 'last years model' fleece from Mountain Hardwear for half the original retail price. Couple of years ago I got an REI HalfDome closeout tent for $75.

 

Yea, most of this is too high end for the young'uns. I found Alps Mountaineering to be much less expensive and well suited to young'un use. They have a scout program that provides VERY significant discounts and I've bought a couple of tents, my current backpack, sleeping bags and pads and have been happy with all their gear.

 

www.scoutdirect.com

 

REI also will automatically give you a group 10% discount across the board ( sale items included ) if you register at their 800 number and order from there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GernBlansten 10]

I subscribe to Backpacker. Yes, they only review and recommend top end gear. Is this valuable for economy minded scouts? I think so. It will tell scouts what matters to serious enthusists and what to look for in the lower end stuff. There's some good ecomony gear out there and if you know the key points, you can weed out the really lousy stuff.

 

However, most of us addicted to the latest high end gear routinely sell our old stuff on Ebay or Craigslist. Great bargains to be had. Picked up a Gregory pack for my son for $35. Three years ago, it retailed at $200.

[Its Me 10]

 

Their annual review is ok. Most of their stuff, as you said is high end and out of reach for most scouts. I wouldn't base a training event on this magazine's gear review. Better to briefly show it and then use the online review sites. Epinions, is one that comes to mind. There are many and even most of the online stores I know Cabellas and REI have gear reviews or customer comments.

 

 

I like this one as they do an in-depth review.

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Packs/Internal%20and%20External%20Framed%20Backpacks/

 

 

[campdirector 10]

Lisa,

I would agree that most of the gear in backpacker is more on the expensive side of what a day to day scout may need.

 

However, from my experience as a high adventure camp director the one item I strongly urge scouts to spend a little extra dough is in outdoor clothing. Many a time I saw scouts show up for a water activity in blue jeans and a hoodie. A good pair of quick drying zip off pants and a polypro top will go a long way and get more use than the nice expensive backpack that rarely gets used. Every now and then the magazine does some pretty good reviews on clothing.

 

North Face and Moutain Hardwear definitly make the most durable pants. REI's are a little cheaper but you get what you pay for. Now a days most of this stuff is fashionalbe enough to wear day to day for a kid.

 

I've found that everyone of the skills and how to tips from backpacker mag that I've tried work great. Want to put on a well informed outdoor skill course, get a stack of old backpackers magazines and make notes from all of the skills sections.

[Eagledad 2779]

HI All

I have to laugh at the first time we had a backpacking expert come in and talk to our familes. We were going on our first big backpacking trek in six months and we wanted to give the families and idea of their sons needed. Well by the time he finished his talk, each family needed to cough up $1500. That almost ended the trek, but we started all over and found someone who showed us how to get what we needed at less than a third the cost.

 

You dont need to go for the expensive gear. For example you can find fleece vest, jackets and even pants at Walmart really cheap right now. Many discount stores and sporting goods stores have long pull off sports pants that repel water and more important wind really cheap. If you arent hooked on brand names, you can find 0% cotton socks very reasonable and there is no reason you cant find boots $50 to $100. Packs can get up to price pretty fast, but there are a few really good $100 packs and plenty of those same packs used on ebay. Personally I think the sleeping bag is the most expensive item of a back packer. But there are some great deals out there if you watch.

 

I really enjoy reading Backpackers Gear Guide because I like that stuff, but honestly if you do a google search on backpack reviews or sleeping bag reviews and so on, you get reviews on a broader range of equipment.

 

The difference between buying expensive gear and finding cheap gear is the amount of research you are willing to put in. I know you can spend 1/3 the cost for really good quality gear if you just check on Campmor.com everyday. And there are other stores, but Campmor is an easy online store to get an idea of good online camping stores. They have an outstanding selection of backpacking gear and daily sales all year long. But when they give good deals, they go fast. Still, you have to do enough research to learn what you want and dont want. We had a few members of our troop, me included, that watched the internet and would send out notices when we found a sale. I would also go to Walmart and then give a report at the next meeting. And there are a lot of gear reviews online as well. That is a good place to learn what makes some gear better than others.

 

By the way, Oklahoma City is not a mecca for backpacking gear, but we have one store that sells high end stuff to scouts at big discounts. But what I really like about them is you can bring in a group of scouts and they will teach them about gear. And they dont try to sell their expensive gear, they do a really good job of telling the scouts what they can use around the house. So I would check with local venders to see if they give scout discounts. Oh, many of the online stores give Scouting discounts as well.

Now is the time to start learning and buying discounted gear.

 

I love this backpacking stuff.

 

Barry

 

[bucabaker 10]

Like so many magazines they slant their reviews to what their advertisers are promoting and selling. It hardly matters if is backbacking, gardening, or computers. In most cases it is the high end stuff that their advertisers are trying to get in the eye of the consumer and distinguish themselves with.

 

Sometimes the high end product has value to the consumer, sometimes it does not. We all have to filter this information.

[Oak Tree 15]

I subscribe to Backpacker and I find their reviews to be very worthwhile. They do way more testing than some other magazines like Outside, for example. I have their gear guides going back several years, and I find it very helpful for seeing what's all available. I've made a number of gear decisions based on their data, and I've been very happy with them.

 

They do review the higher end stuff, but they also include Kelty and Eureka and other cheaper models in their very extensive listings of equipment. The things that Backpacker lists as "Bargain!" are often about what is appropriate for Scouts, in my experience.

 

I still find it hard to believe that there is a $450 rain jacket.

[Lisabob 13]

Yeah I saw that! The $200-ish air gel sleeping pad caught my eye too. Looks cool though.

[Gold Winger 9]

Call me the frugal hiker. For Philmont, I looked for bargains

 

Inflatable mattress came from ALDI, the European chain of discount stores

Nylon hiking shorts were found on the closeout rack at Gander Mountain for $10

Wool socks? Costco, 4 pair for $10.

Plastic undershirts? Wal-mart, $7 each

Sleeping bag from Alps Mountaineering for about $60

Lexan water bottles from Target, $7 each

Sterns rain suit from Wal-Mart for about $30.

 

I learned the hard way that cotton underwear didn't do me any favors on hot days, so not wanting to go commando, I started looking for synthetic briefs. First problem was that they were expensive and second problem is that most don't have a fly. I found underwear that fit the bill at www.freshpair.com.

 

 

One place that I made the mistake of buying cheap was bookts. I bought a pair of Itasca boots for about $50 that are waterproof and came up over the ankle. The problem was that on rocky trails, the sole flexed way too much and caused problems with my feet.

 

I did luck out on replacement boots. I had just bought a pair of Asolo boots at REI for $150 and stopped at the local Dick's because they were having some sort of show in their parking lot. Big clearance event. Took a look at boots and there were the Asolo boots that I had just bought but for only $100. Bought those and took the REI boots back.

 

One more thing about cheap boots. Two members of my Philmont crew had bought cheap boots at Target, their boots did not survive the training hikes and the trek. The soles seperated from the upper.

 

However, if the only hiking that you'll be doing is a five mile jaunt to the campsite, those cheap boots might do you well.

[Pack212Scouter 10]

"One more thing about cheap boots. Two members of my Philmont crew had bought cheap boots at Target, their boots did not survive the training hikes and the trek. The soles seperated from the upper. However, if the only hiking that you'll be doing is a five mile jaunt to the campsite, those cheap boots might do you well."

 

Very true. Wal-Mart & Target are fine for 5 mile hikes but any high adventure I beg you to encourage them strongly to invest in boots. The waterproofing, sole, and stitching frequently fails on cheaper boots with heavy use. I've done 50 mile winter dogsledding excursions and 4-season backpack treks. The one thing that I can guarantee is happy feet=happy scout. Unhappy feet=unhappy Scout. Cheap boots on long treks can cause not only sore feet, but back pain, blisters and more.

[John-in-KC 311]

As a sourcebook not for gear, but for learning about gear, I recommend Colin Fletcher's The Compleat Walker. I believe it's now in its fourth edition. The first edition, while truly obsolete in terms of the gear itself, is a great read about how things work together with the "House on your back!"

 

You can save bundles on polypro fleece getting it at Wally World and other places. Extruded coke bottles are extruded coke bottles... period!

 

As I've said here and elsewhere, spend some energy on good (not greatest... GOOD) hiking boots and socks, then breaking them in before the expedition. Also spend energy on getting frames that fit. I started backpacking before there were hip belts... you cannot know how much that belt shifts the load. If the hip belt doesn't fit, the backpacker won't have fun.

 

 

[scottteng 11]

A scout is thrifty for backpacks try:

http://users.scronline.com/troop77/EquipmentTrader/backpacks.htm

 

Then you will have more money to spend on good boots. Switchbacks are quick dry zipoff pants don't save em just for BOR. Have the garage sale mavens keep their eyes open there are a few in every troop and make the good stuff available to the other boys in the troop. We have gotten mess kits for a buck, usable tents for four bucks, nice external frame packs $5 and polycarbonate bottles as low as 25cents. Let them know what your looking for, they usually do a good job with the uniform closet too.

[Eagle732 27]

If your looking for ideas on backpacking gear for new scouts check out this site:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/boy_scout_gear_list.html

I copy this article and give it to all my new scouts.

They also have a Philmont gear list that recommends more appropriate equipment for high adventure.

As far as boots go scouts might consider a high quality trail running shoe with a stiff sole. I've put many miles on a pair of Montrail trail runners while backpacking the AT with no problems. They are lighter than full boots (a pound on the foot is eaqual to 5 in the pack) Also you could consider them duel purpose since the boys can wear them to school too. Kids will out grow a boot before they wear them out.