You Can Get An Ultralight Backpacking Kit At REI!

Backpacking Gear,

Over the years I have noticed a growing elitism in the online backpacking community in regards to Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI). These self-appointed experts disdain, poo-poo, and generally criticize REI for all kinds of faults, ethics, and lost purity. Many say the only things at REI of value are gas canisters for stoves, and only when they are on sale. They shout out that REI is only for the poor load carrying burdens of beast – the “traditional” backpacker.

They are wrong.

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What We Can Learn From Our Children

The Digital Life, , ,

The Digital Life

Still feeling under the weather with this flu bug or whatever it is. Finally have a new roof on the house as of yesterday, so that worry is behind us. It has been cold and windy outside, so I have put most of my “man around the house” projects on hold for a while. This has provided some time for thinking, resting, and even catching up on some blog posts I’ve been kicking around for a while. The down time got me to thinking about my cost saving & budgeting crusade and some help I got from an unexpected source.

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Cuben Fiber, Dyneema, and Economics

Backpacking Gear, , , , , , ,

A LESSON IN ECONOMICS

America3 Yacht (picture found on the Internet)
America3 Yacht (picture found on the Internet)

I received an email from a friend asking me what I thought about the recent Dyneema – Cuben Fiber debate. I had no idea what he has talking about. He sent me some links to several Websites. It appears there is a lot of controversy and, in some cases, anger among backpackers who are advocates of extremely light gear. The anger is that Cuben Fiber is too expensive and not plentiful enough, and many people want more of it at a cheaper price. Of course no one really needs Cuben Fiber, but like spoiled children they want it. No one in the “anger camp” has identified the root cause of the cost and supply issue. So I am going to clear the air and explain it. First I need to provide some background. I will post some pictures to, hopefully, retain your attention.

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Are Internet Forums Obsolete?

Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, The Digital Life

The Digital Life

dinosaur

In the last half of 2015 I didn’t post much here on PopUpBackpacker.com. Life was getting in the way of living – meaning work was interfering with my leisure time and backpacking and camping trips declined. However, I have corrected this deficiency in life. Let’s move on to the subject at hand.

Since you are reading this, you probably know what an Internet forum is, and I would venture to guess you have participated or presently participate on one. Forums or their ancient electronic relatives from the 1980’s and early 1990’s: bulletin boards, CompuServe, Delphi, or AOL were all precursors to what we now categorize as social media. All of this is leading to the question: Are Internet forums obsolete?
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Does Home Solar Make Sense?

House Remodel, Solar, The Environment

pig with lipstick

When it makes sense, I love solar power. In my recent post of my all-time favorite camping gear our campers’ solar system was my favorite gear. In my post Solar for Backing I laid out all the considerations but did not say if it was a good or bad idea

If you want to carry this stuff, go ahead, it’s okay. Just isn’t my personal cup of tea.

In other words, I am not interested in carrying a bunch of electronic devices when backpacking, other than a headlamp and sometimes a camera and solar doesn’t make sense to me. I did try to be objective and present good information for those who are interested in solar for their backpacking trips.

Starting next month I will be on a fixed income, so planning to reduce my monthly fixed overhead has been a priority. The greatest opportunity for savings is our monthly utilities. For most people, the first thing that comes to mind is installing a solar system – especially since most of us have been bombarded by telemarketers and door-to-door solicitors over the past 4 or 5 years. When we get this volume of sales pitch bombardment, your first reaction should be “someone is making a ton of money and they are going to try and take advantage of me.” In other words,

home solar might just be a pig with lipstick

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PopUpBackpacker Most Popular Posts of 2015

Backpacking Gear

I started this blog in July of 2012. That first 6 months was really about learning how to do this. In 2013 I uploaded a lot of content. 2014 had a lot of backpacking and camping trip reports, and 2015 didn’t see a lot of activity on my part — I was too distracted with work.

Given that, 2015 saw a traffic increase of 63% over 2014. Where do these folks come from?

  • Over 90% from search engines (i.e. Google, Yahoo, etc.).
  • Almost 3% came from Facebook. I have no idea where or how, since I don’t belong to or use Facebook — ah heck, I HATE the concept of Facbook
  • A little over 2% came from www.backpackinglight.com and www.popupexplorer.com each, which isn’t surprising because those are the (only) 2 online forums I participate on.

So here are the top ten most popular posts of 2015

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My Favorite Camping Gear of All Time

Camper Upgrades, Camping

gear article PUBackpacker 05-01-2013

It is common for backpacking bloggers to publish their favorite gear for the year. I have done this every year since 2012, and there has only been one change to my favorite gear in four years as documented in my favorite backpacking gear for 2015. This is different than most backpackers, who seem to have new favorite gear each year, which leads me to believe that their focus is gear-centric and not walking-centric. This begs the question, why do so many backpackers constantly buy new gear? Is it consumerism or do they not focus on skills instead of magic equipment to keep them safe in the backcountry? I’ll let you, the reader, sort out that conundrum.

I have never posted a list of my favorite camping gear. I have been camping for over 50 years and for the past 25 years it has included a camper. The previous 25 years I camped with a tent. In 2003 I refined my camping equipment and little has changed since then, other than we have bought two larger campers over the past 10 years.

So instead of presenting my favorite camping gear for 2015, I will share my favorite 3 of all time.

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