Backpacker mag on a comeback?

“read last months and noticed it had some "better" content than the downward spiral i believe it has been on lately. it still seemed a little too un-meaty to me though. but, i noticed some improvement.
read this months cover to cover and i have to say it's getting better. there was an article about a few companies layering systems. it was pretty informative.(if you know how to understand their wording)ex. slightly above average means BAD.
the dayhiker article was pretty cool too, except my only thing there is they still don't do enough stuff out of the Rockies. most of their destinations seem like they're half Rockies, half everywhere else. i know it's cool out there but focus on ME a little more. afterall, i am the one who matters, aren't i?
the survivor stories were good reads, also.
anyone got any input?”

“IMHO, I didn't really see any improvement in the current issue. I'm finding Outside Magazine is catching my interest more these days (I just put in for a 3-year subscription, as a matter o' fact). But I think that's do in large part because they have more adventure articles, which I love reading. Backpacker seems to be pretty much all gear reviews, with the exception of one other "real" article each month.”

“They did mention a new product out that might interest some hikers, beer in a pouch. It isn't dehydrated, but there's no can or bottle and the pouch is strong and reusable so they claim.”

“i never saw that! what page?”

“sometimes i think i used to think bp mag was a lot more informative than it really is cause i didn't know anything. now that im more experienced a lot of the little tidbits i used to find so interesting seem kinda lame to me.”

“Page 17. Packin pilsner.”

“I still get the magazine, but it seems to shrink every year. I have older issues that are twice as thick compared to what you get now. It's going the way of everything else. Pay more and get less.”

“that's what i meant by the whole "meat" issue.”

“$#!% - I can't find that issue - is there a web address?”

“Beer in a pouch, eh? Not bad...now, if I could only figure out a way to dehydrate and reconsititute Guinness...or Cabernet...or Black Jack...”

“backpacker.com”

“I have always liked the magz and I think it is been better as of late!

8)”

“I'll never see the beer in a pouch. We still don't have chicken in a pouch! What, people in metro Detroit don't deserve chicken in a pouch?!”

“haha - I meant one for the actual beerinabag.”

“Ya that beer in a bag is a good idea!

I can see it now in the winter when we are all backpacking we will have another reason to drink!

Well that is a good thing right?

Hheheheheh!!!!!

8P”

“People in Detroit don't deserve #&%!$! Y'all burned your own house down when the Tigers won the World Series, fer cryin' out loud!”

“incanpouch.tripod.com”

“The beer is made by a micro brewery in Alaska, Yukon spirits. The company says it's really selling well with hikers and comes in 16,22 and 64 oz. bags. Maybe Bud and all the rest will jump on board.”

“thanks richb
I bet we don't have that in canada :(”

“that pouch should be pretty easy to slip into someone else's pack in the morning and snatch it back during the last break before hitting camp:)”

“I know in the winter I am going to get one!

8)”

“any beer would go good in there. it says they're reusable.
i was just talkin about packin some homebrew on my next trip, too.”

“They said there are other brewers in the Northwest that are starting to use the bag and it can be found in stores, but doesn't say what stores carry it. The bags look just like Platypus bags. Now hook that up to your hosers for some real hiking action.”

“Wow, this thread degenerated quicker than an alcoholic.”

“I said METRO Detroit, Father Goose...no burning in my neighborhood. And we truly do deserve chicken in a pouch. =(”

“That would be good also Sass!

Meat in a pouch!

8)”

“Hey Sass!!

Never fear on the chicken in a pouch thingy - we just got it here in Central Texas about 2 months ago. Iffin ya want, I'll buy ya some and send it to ya UPS.

The brand name is a regional brand name and not one I recognized from my travels all over this great USA. However, I tried the stuff and it was great.

Let me know if you need some' email me off board - okay?

See y'all!

Tex”

“OK sass, you can have the damn chicken...”

“Yeah! Start the beer I.V. drip! Then after you drink that 64 ozer, rig it up for clostomy use so you don't have to get outta your sleeping bag!”

“Beer through a straw is a No Go, LOL

What's next? Kangaroo in a pouch?”

“Gee, Tilt, what a novel idea! Who'd a thunk it? ;-)”

“Has anyone noticed they changed the format of their cover from beautiful scenery and folks camping to closeups of happy TV/Movie-like folks with hiking clothing on?”

“It wasn't a great mag before Johnathan Dorn but now it's worse. It's too bad they couldn't find an executive editor who is intersted in backpacking. John Viehman was basically a canoer and Dorn is now basically a car camper.”

“The last issue and I came home to the new, arnt to bad!!!!

Ive been reading more of the National Geographic ADVENTURE mag which is great.

Our local gear store has ALL Backpacker mags that are in mint condition. You see one of there 1979 mags it makes you happy for what we have. I go just to read some old articles.”

“I let my sub run out. I just re-uped for outside. Backpacker had gotten fairly stale. It is still a neat mag for newbies.”

“National Geographic Adventure mag is really good!”

“Neat meg for newbies!! your crazy!! it doesnt have a thing about newbies, if you read some stories in it then you'll appriciate it! SOMETIMES!, You think we go there for gear reviews!”

“TY TX. Thankfully we're headed into the refridgeration months around here and hopefully, the chicken in a pouch will magically appear before spring. But if not....=)

Thank you Father Goose!!! Now, may we also have the beer? lol”

“there paper quality sucks! picked up the mag off the table and the whole cover fell off, what haoppend to quality?????”

“Sass, if you're talking about 'beer in a bag', have at it! You can be the TT alpha tester, LOL. I'm not convinced this is a good thing, but it'll be great if it works.”

“Yeah, I notice the new cover format the other day while looking for the current issue and thought someone had dug out one of my really old issues. It looks like it would appeal more to the general consumer, dayhiker, or car camper. Although I enjoy dayhiking and car camping, it’s not my cup of tea. Why was there an entire backpacking issue dedicated to dayhiking? That's what the new Camper mag is for.”

“It really must be hard to keep putting out a full magazine about backpacking alone without repeating past subjects. I guess that's why the dayhiking & canoeing issues.”

“If they would just get rid of some the lame editors and get someone like John Harlin in as executive editor it would be better.”

“I agree with Gear Slut NG Adventure is great reading. Outside has great adventure reporting when they get around to it. (between reviewing designer apparel and the most expensive gear) I subscribe, read it and like it but when it comes to destination ideas, and gear reviews, I have to defer to Backpacker. Not perfect but the best I've found. I'm a magazine junky and get them all.”

“Its very hard to do anything with limited subject matter without repeating yourself.

I run into that every year with Boy Scouts. Granted I get a influx of new boys every year but it gets tireing for my older guys to cover the same ground every year. I devote a lot of time trying to think of ways to cover the same subjects using a different approach.

GS- John Harlin sounds very familiar but I can't place him. Care to jog my memory please?”

“.....the beer thing is over rated. For that amount of weight, carry a 32 oz Nalgene bottle of Absolute Kurant and mix with your favorite powered mix (gatoraide, crystal light). Carring a 5th of vodka is like carrying a 12 pack, or more, without the weight. Now after the hike, feel free to consume mass amounts of beer with hot wings to top it off yer hike.

As far as BP mag goes, IMHO, it helped me out alot when I first got into bping. One thing that I noticed, though, was that they do not cover ultra light subjects as much as they should. Why is it that they and gear manufactures designate packs by the lenght of trip days. Example, one pack is said to be 2800-3500 cu is concidered an overnight/weekend pack, while a 5000 cu is called a weekend long pack. Is it me or isn't the amount of days you can stay out determinded by the amount of food you can carry, not pack size. Don't you use the same amount of gear as you would for an overnighter as you do for a week, just more food? I think is just a ploy is get you to fill that big @ss pack with more stuff you don't need!”

“John Harlin is the PNW editor. At least he still gets out.”

“"Carring a 5th of vodka is like carrying a 12 pack, or more, without the weight."


Let's see...

1/5 of a gallon of vodka at 80 proof = 128 oz / 5 * .4 = 10.24 oz alcohol (assuming proof limits are by volume)

12 pack of beer (3.8% by volume) = 144 oz * .038 = 5.472 oz alcohol


Now if you really want to go lite,,,,just carry a pint of Bacardi 151 or a pint of Everclear”

“and the 151 can double as stove fuel. Some would concider that alcohol abuse, though....”

“I can't find the bit about beer-in-a-bag in my mag. Pg 17 (as noted above) is the publishing stuff in extra small print. ????? Do canadiens get a different mag?”