[pct-l] Gear question?

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

On Sep 3, 2010, at 3:09 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> ?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.

I don't think anybody has an issue with brand-name items. I think  
people are pointing out that these items are not necessarily the best  
for long-distance hiking even if they are the most well-known or  
recommended by Backpacker Mag. Many of the brands like ULA and  
Tarptent make excellent gear but they make them from very small shops  
for a small market mainly of people who want to hike long trails.  
They were often thru-hikers themselves so their gear has features  
that thru-hikers will appreciate. (Who else but long distance hikers  
would rather hike on with a wet tent in a mesh pocket than wait for  
the sun to come out to dry it?)

When you come to a place like this and ask former thru-hikers for  
advice, they are going to recommend the products that worked for them  
and steer you away from heavier items and toward items that are  
lighter and get the job done.