I was searching through the older gear list posts and it seems like the suggestions and discussions have fallen off considerably. Some of the older posts have people like Mike Clelland, Ryan Jordan, and other BPL Staff giving suggestions. Now it seems people are lucky to get 3 or 4 comments. What happened?

It seems to me that many of the "elders" have began to get burnt out. You can see this most poignantly in the shift from Ryan's "I want to save every gram possible" competitions with Glen Van Peski and articles to the more recent ones where is has more of a "Just go out and hike, stop obsessing" attitude.

I miss the 'elders' -- but I also subscribe to the "Just go out and hike, stop obsessing" message.

I don't think Ryan is burnt out at all. He's just matured and toned back some testosterone in regards to the whole weight thing. His ideals have become more about balancing comfort, weight, and simplicity. I think that's true for most people who've been at this a while. Is weight important? Absolutely! - else none of us would be here. Is there a significant difference between carrying 10 pounds versus 12? Not really.... especially for the one or two night trips the majority of people are taking.

FWIW my wife and I picked up some new backpacking buddies recently. Both are female and we've dropped their weights considerably. Our friend Sharon was carrying 25 pounds for an overnight on our first trip together and she just left for two nights in the Smokies carrying 16 pounds including food, water, and adult beverage. Maybe I'm becoming more personable and less of an online-only recluse in my old age.

Edited by simplespirit on 03/08/2012 17:29:44 MST.

My 2 cents are that maybe people got sick of repeating the same advice to swarms of people. It seems like the search for advice is pretty much the same, and so the "elders" post and repost the same pointers. Few people bother to look through other gear lists and posts, maybe because of the site, maybe because they're lazy, but the advice given on gear lists is often the same: carry less stuff, find lighter big 3/4, and take a good, hard look at your perspective about comfort.

I also think there's a reflection of people relaxing about being hardcore about cutting weight. But burn out on the same thing over and over can get to anyone.

-Jeff

what Jeff said.

i think its just the "elders" getting sick of re-fried beans, posting & having the same discussions over & over because people are too lazy do do a descent search for themselves.

at the start of a post there is often a lack of info with regards to a particular question or list. mike c had a nice post/thread re etiquette when posting gear lists (could do with a few more bumps to the top)