[pct-l] Gear question?

[Jim Banks]

Nicholas, great question.  Here is my two cents worth.  A lot of this brand
bashing is due to the fact that a lot of hikers lean towards being
counter-culture, anti-establishment, anti-big business, anti-corporate
world.  I am not necessarily saying that as a negative, just an honest
observation.  So if a company such as Jet Boil Inc. (emphasis on the Inc.)
makes a backpacking stove, it couldn't possibly be as good as the stove
someone made from a soda can.  I also think there is a lot of peer pressure.
If you are 22 years old and hiking with a bunch of other twenty-some things
and everyone else has a certain kind of sleeping bag or uses a tarp instead
of a tent, then there is a certain pressure to conform (although isn't
non-conformity their goal?).  And last but not least, I think there is a
certain amount of lack of self confidence, so if a person is uncertain about
a particular choice of gear their choice is re-enforced if they can convince
other people to buy the same item that they did.  If lots of people have
that item, then I must of made a wise choice.

As for me, I have the gear I have because it works for me and I couldn't
give a rip what anyone else thinks about it.

I-Beam  

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Nicholas Fey
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2010 6:14 AM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Gear question?

This post may not sit well with a moderator, but still I wish to put it out
and 
see what the general feedback is from it. What's the situation with outdoor 
people and their condemnation of brands, I have never heard such a strong
stance 
against name brand items until I joined the ultra-running community mail
list. 
Then here, reading the archives all the way back to 2008-nearly every gear 
question included numerous subtle comments suggesting that anything which
can be 
identified by its brand is absurd or a poor choice. 


 Which leads me to my question of: Is it just that I am misinterpreting a 
persons reply to a gear question or is that honestly on the overall a large 
number of people on here have personal issues with brands? 

By brands I mean like these:
MSR - Any question about stoves lead to saying a home built alcohol stove
was 
better
Any backpack brand other than "ULA" (who they are I don't know) is just
bulky, 
heavy, and no good
Any tent question lead to that manufactured tents are as above bulky, heavy,
and 
no good that a tarp would serve better

Those three are of course just the most consistent items I saw during two
years 
worth of traffic. 


In closing please don't take me as Trolling because I ask this in earnest,
due 
to my in no more then four years stepping away from everything, for a year
to 
hike and enjoy life as Thoreau suggest in "Walden" (I even have 2 acres
which I 
may do as he did, and build my living with my own hands).

Nick,

P.S: Great list as I said about the history I read, it certainly gave me
pause 
for consideration on numerous items which I would have most likely glossed
over 
during any stage of preparation for a thru-hike.
_______________________________________________
Pct-L mailing list
Pct-L at backcountry.net
To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l

List Archives:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/