Backpacker Magazine 2005 Gear Guide

[Jon Dorn]

Anybody here ever hike the A.T. in Pennsylvania? I'm out there all the time with my daughters.

Two quick points of fact in response to teloshykr...

Backpacker takes beer and wine ads, but not liquor. It's Rodale policy.

Backpacker is not owned by Primedia. Phew.

Back to the grind...

 

[DougPaul]

To Dorn's credit he is wise to come here to check out input and opinions. However, he was arguing his position and view point and not trying to clarify or understand the comments that were made in this thread.

Agree that it is to Dorn's credit that he is interested in reader feedback, however, I interpreted his answer as a description of why they made the changes that they did.

And in the spirit of constructive feedback:
* I found the format of last year's gear guide more useful than this years format. Descriptions of several noteworthy members of a product class followed by the table covering many products within the class. The flow charts were a waste of space for me.
* The GPS routes are counter productive. Anyone who goes to off-the-beaten-track places should have the skill to do his own navigation.
Publishing a waypoint to indicate a location in an area with few landmarks is one thing, spoon feeding a GPS route encourages traffic from the "I have a cell phone and GPS, what more do I need?" crowd.
* The 3D maps are unreadable. A section of topo would be far more informative.

Standard Caveat: These are my opinions. Yours may differ.

Doug

 

[Gris]

Dorn sure seems like a cool, smart, level-headed (is the check in the mail yet Jon?) guy to me far as i can tell. But the real litmus test is whether he will show up at "Peakbagger's Gathering"in August. I mean, come on, Essex NY is right in Dorn's backyard... I'm calling you out Jon - LOL!!!

 

[John K]

Snappy response

To Dorn's credit he responded to my critique of the Gear Guide lightning quick. Now I have to respond with real feedback and not just complaining. Humph.

 

[marty]

In Jon Dorn's post, he invited input and suggestions from all of us. I sent him an e-mail with my concerns (see the very first post on this thread) and provided a couple of suggestions. Specifically, I suggested that they include an introduction section for all changes from previous Guides and that they post weights of all recommended gear. Jon immediately replied, thanking me for the feedback. He also informed me that he would forward my comments to the editor managing the Guide. I encourage those of you with suggestions to improve the magazine also e-mail Jon (his e-mail address is in included in his post).

I have a long term subscription to the magazine and do not intend to cancel it. They just made some undesired format changes on this year's Guide, which is why I started this thread. I find the magazine to be one of several good resources for ultralight gear, in addition to a few on-line resources and reference books. I also like some of their stunning photography.

 

[Rick]

I have been reading this thread for a bit now and I am a bit chagrined that folks on this board are beating up so hard on BP.

I wonder, perhaps if BP isn't really geared to folks of our outdoor caliber. I think that most of the folks on this board have probably been doing outdoors activities for years as well as being much more knowledgeable than the average person on gear and backcountry techniques. I beleive the magazine serves as a great resource for the folks that go out occassionally, that are armchair backpackers, that have families and little knowledge of the outdoors or are just looking to get into the game.

I am glad Jonathan Dorn came on and defended his magazine. I do agree the magazine has changed considerably. I look back at the old issues (especially the first 20 or 30) and there is a huge difference, but then again, It appears that BP is catering to reader comments and going places that allows it to build sales. If that is how they define success, I see no problem with it. AND it seems that they are listening to some of their customers.

I find reading about some old duff hiking along the WBTT extremely interesting, but for every one of me there are probably a million that wouldn't - If you are trying to feed your family as well as your employees' families, and someone in corporate is calling the shots and issuing guidance, then you go with what works (ie target the demographics that offer the highest levels of revenue.)

I don't really think there is a place on this board for non-constructive criticism. I also even wonder, if it were profitable to write as they did in the old days (and I'm not saying it's not, I just don't know) why someone hasn't taken it up yet.

This thread also seems to go hand in hand with the "non-outdoors" folks wearing outdoor clothing thread. If the manufacturers were counting on me, They'd starve - I'll buy GTX jacket or pants every 10 years and some closeout $6.00 polypro from campmor and perhaps hit STP or EMS closeouts for a new fleece jacket every 5-6 years (though I did recently splurge on some REI one Pants).

So I for one, am thankful that there is a mass non-technical audience out there that is buying gear/clothing and backpacker magazines - Just think - Not only do they keep the outdoor clothing companies in business and the prices affordable for the rest of us, but they keep BP mag in business so we can still get it every month for $20/year and have the OPTION to filter out what we wish to read. And the best part is that these folks don't venture more than a few miles from their vehicles when they decide to tackle the backcountry, leaving the best of it to us.

PS Thanks Jonathan for taking the time to make your points.

 

[Stan]

Oh sure ... you guys all change your behavior now that you know your posts are taken seriously by someone they affect!

Actually, most of this seems fairly constructive, honest and blunt. I must chuckle because for all I know I may have suggested a flowchart approach, I do like flowcharts, and here I've trashed it ... without even seeing it no less! ... on the basis of what someone else reported. So, without further adieu I'll now suggest instead a multiple regression and sensitivity model to help shoppers select gear. That way there'll be something else we can bitch about next year.

 

[KayakDan]

Rick,well said.
Maybe some of us have "outgrown" some of the advice in BP,but there's still some good articles and info.
When I first started backpacking,I thought BP was awesome-really helpful. The mag has changed,but then,so have I.
Maybe we need a Backpacker Magazine-Extreme Edition!

 

[Jasonst]

Oh sure, rag on BP, but I do give them credit for relighting the fire to go out west. Everytime I read an article about the Tetons, Rockies or Yosemite (yes, even Alaska) I think about planning the next trip. Time is limited with my little kids, but I can dream, can't I?

 

[teloshykr]

politics&snow

Sorry folks, I was unaware that political discussion was a nono here. Although it should have been obvious since that type of conversation tends to bring the a#@ho*# out of some people. It wont happen again
Hows everyone enjoying the "blizzard" today?