Not really anything to disclose in terms of intellectual property, and not a lot of adventure, so I’m talking discourse.

I don’t care to spend much time bitching or dissing but I’m having a hard time with all the Outdoor YouTube Influencers out there. Seeing these “Noob” versus “Expert” videos on different gear makes me wary of the whole thing. And the way some portray themselves in comparison to those they feel are below them would be interesting if it wasn’t so cringe.

It seems to be that Backpackers come in two flavours, normal backpackers and through hikers. So the through hikers look down on the backpackers who look down on the car campers.

There are endless videos on gear comparisons and always the newer better lighter option. But the caveat is that this gear also has to be inexpensive and I mean cheap. There are some out there that do sampling of their audience and conclude that gear should cost this much and why aren’t companies listening and making gear for this price.

I mean the entitlement of these guys. Not long ago companies make great products that you saved up to own and then treated the object with respect and care. Today it’s cheap shit from overseas with no regard to how something could possibly be so cheap.

No one wants to consider the effort and cost to produce something and so these items will be made on the back of someone or something. Either slave wages to those making the item or horrid conditions to the animals that provide the materials (think down feathers, wool and leather) or the toxic mess left from industrial production or the cost to recycle this crap when it

Then there is this idea that everyone needs certain things if they are going to be in the “Expert” group. A guy like Yvon Chouinard would be rolling in his grave if he was dead.

Who the fuck needs a chair? And if I don’t carry the same fire starter kit as the influencer then I’m a Noob. These guys think that being able to make a fire with a variety of methods is necessary, but don’t  factor in differences in location. I’m not planning on a fire when I’m in the alpine. What am I going to burn? And if I’m below tree line, well I know how to use what is available to get a fire going in under 2 minutes (required to pass a course I took). What did we bring with us? A bic lighter. That’s all you need and the understanding of where to get the right material.

Then there are the UltraLight guys that think they’re the first to think “light is right”. Well this has been going on in mountaineering for a very long time, and these hikers would die if they had to carry a rope or two plus all the necessary protection and special tools needed to reach a technical summit. We actually went without tents, sleeping bags, pads and more but we didn’t argue over what chair was lighter of what pad was the warmest for the cheapest price. We sat on our packs, slept on the ropes and bivouacked in snow caves or under a ledge in a bivy sac.