[pct-l] Marketing Gear

[Montedodge@aol.com]

A person does not have to look far to see how marketing sells in this 
country. Just look at the poke-man cards. Kids get bombarded with 
advertisement and now want all the poke-man cards they can get. We 
backpackers aren't much smarter. The new Backpacker and Outside Mags. are 
full of the latest " Gotta Have It " gear and we suck it up. Now all the gear 
we had last year is outdated, too heavy and the wrong color!!! The boys who 
make gear sell to the masses with thru-hikers too small of the market to 
care. What ultra hiker type gear is made is rare, made cheaply or both. 
E-mail your favorite gear company and whine. It sometimes helps and be a 
voice for thru-hikers. Our input can change things as we have a niche in the 
market ( though a small niche )
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