These guys are awesome!

“Check this out

Thanks for your order! We Have everything readu to go except your pillow
which we were out of stock on but will be arriving in the morning. Since it
was out of stock we are going to upgrade your shipping from Parcel Post to
FedEx 2 day service so that you will have it by the weekend. We will email
you with all tracking information so that you can hunt the FedEx guy. We are
also including a free Nalgene bottle in with your order as a way of saying
thanks for your business.

Thanks,
Brandon Binkley
www.backpackingdeals.com”

“no complaints from me, top knotch service from bb and backpacking deals. Would recommend them to anybody :o)”

“I will definelty recommend then to anyone now.”

“You do know that "these guys" is one of our own, Binks.
He hasn't posted too much the last lil' bit because he's so busy with the biz.”

“No, I didn't. Cool Beans!”

“Yeah, Binks rules! I still haven't placed my order yet. I'm trying to build up the list first. LOL!”

“I couldn't agree more.”

“the enertia trail food is worth a try Nigal. Think I'm going to splash out on one of the sampler boxes soon :o)”

“I ordered a bunch of enertia food, a new pillow and the alcohol stove they just got in. To lazy to make my own.”

“Thanks everyone for the kind words. I appreciate it.

Stove Stomper-You right, I haven't gotten to post much here lately. Business is very good right now and plus adding more stuff, just hired a lady to start helping with orders and the site.

Thanks for all the support everyone.”

“Binks..the only one i know that can eat an Enertia Sample Box in one trip”

“Hey Binks, I got the stuff today! Thanks for sending it Fed Ex! My wife got it and called me. She said, "You got more backpacking stuff. Where are you going to put all this stuff. What did you buy? Why didn't you buy me anything?" NAG NAG NAG!

You have a customer for life!”

“Binks, you're starting to sound like the guys from Moosejaw, but with less love.”

“lol @ wounded knee-Your going to have to take her shopping now.

Opie-Me? Eat a sampler case? Never

treebait-moosejaw? Who are those guys? lol”

“She wants a pair of good hiking boots, but refuses to pay more that $20 for them. I have tired to tell her that it's worth spending a little more for something like this, but she cannot come to terms with it. She is a Payless shoe junkie and will not go anywhere else. She probably has 50 pair of shoes that when added up, cost as much as my hiking boots.”

“LOL..I know waht you mean, She'll come around.”

“Go ahead and let her buy the cheap boots. Then, take her backpacking.

When she's crying and her feet are bleeding from the inexpensive foot torture devices she's wearing, say nothing. Do your best to bite your tongue until you get home. Pamper her some if you can.

Once her feet have healed up, offer to take her someplace to get some real hiking boots. Her resistance to putting out some bucks for some real boots will magically fade away.”

“You don't know my wife. I will get blamed for not making her buy better boots.”

“lol...too funny..you lose either way”

“I would like to meet a man that can "make" his wife do anything. ;)”

“If you keep using logic, eventually she will come around to it. At least, that worked for my wife.

Tell her, "I refuse to throw money away on a crappy pair of boots." This will appeal to her spendthrift nature, and convince her that you're not just wanting to buy brand name because "everybody says" they're better.

Another option: take her someplace and get a pair of boots fitted, then try to find them cheaper online. I'm guessing she likes nothing better than thinking she's gotten a good deal.”

“Yep, that's how it goes at my house. Can't wait until we have kids. They will probably always be right too!”

“Big time bit. She loves to brag to me about how much she saved on this or that. I wil just have to drug her, drag her into REI to have a pair fitted, wake her up and say OOPS, at least try walking in them.”

“Well, binks, I'm going to have to give you guys a try the next time I'm buying.

I like hearing good things about your store!”

“You're getting the idea now. You have to do this stealthily.


Make it seem like it's her idea.


Can you tell I've been married for 13 years?”

“I have been married for 5 (this OCT) but I have been with her for 14 years. If I push, I can break her.”

“Bitpusher,

a question of ethics. A store buys a supply of stuff, pays for lights heating/air rent taxes wages and all that stuff so you can actually see and try on the goods they are selling.

So you use everything they supply but then give your business to someone who can offer lower prices because they provide no service.

Ethically, if you want to buy online you should accept some of the risk. Your risk is the shipping costs to return the stuff you did not like or did not fit. Otherwise you are just ripping off the store owner.”

“This is why I bought my boots at a local store. I was simply trying to help out a fellow TT'er. It's up to him and his personal ethical code to accept or reject my advice.

If you'd like to lecture me further on ethics, I suggest you address a tree; you'll find a much more receptive audience.”

“I understand your thought here Manuka, however I know nothing about fitting hiking boots. The pair I have now I eventually settled on after trying on some 20 pair at a REI in my area. I settled on a pair of Asolo 535's. Because my feet are so narrow, the service rep fit me with women's boots. I would have never thought of this while ordering online.

To add to it, the nearest true outfitter to me is about 45 mailes away and when driving my Jeep, I use probably a half a tank of gas, about $10 worth. Right there is my shipping and handling. I am going to buy from the store anyway.

I know I rambled a bit there, but why do you care if someone tries something on at a store then goes to a website to purchace it for cheaper. My response would be, whay can't the store come done to match the cheapest price advertised? This happens at other stores across the country. What do you think?”

“mailes=miles”

“I wish I had the same problem WK. My wife spending $150 on boots would be a drop in the ocean of the massive shoe budget defecit ;o)”

“I think the most amount of money my wife ever spent on shoes were the clogs she has to wear when she cooks. The were like $50 and it was extremly hard for her to part with $50.”

“Wounded Knee,

Why do I care ?
Probably the same reason that I would say something if I saw someone taking something from your campsite, or siphoning the gas out of your car at the trailhead.

I try to live by the Edmund Burke quote “All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.”

or another quote about naziism "first they came and took the intellectuals, and I said nothing, then they came and took....by the time they came to take me, there was no one left to protest"

I am not trying to win a popularity contest, if I think something is wrong I will not stay silent.”

“I would like to see someone siphoning gas out of my car at a trail head. I would just light a match.

No seriously, didn't mean to get you all worked up there Manuka. I just wanted to know what you thought of the store matching prices, that's all. Don't take it so personally!”

“Wounded Knee,

Hey! funny, second time in 2 days that someone thinks I am taking something personally and all worked up.

I'm not upset about anything, just presenting a different viewpoint. I have never been very tactful and this site does not have a 'do you really want to say that?' edit feature.

Now if you do want me to get worked up try dropping garbage on the trail, or leaving partially burned food packaging in a fire ring.

Cheers,”

“So by Manuka's reasoning bbinkley must be Der Fuhrer.”

“I do not do any of that Manuka. I do pick up what I see because people are pigs. Good, I don't like to get people angry, especially those that feel the same as me about the outdoors.

Salude!”

“I am lucky I can drive 2 miles and be at www.backpackingdeals.com
then I can browse around just like I do at REI or Blue Ridge Mountain Sports. So I am shopping the local store.
I stopped by last night to buy something and tried on those Waldies shoes that are the rage right now. I might buy a pair a little later on.”

“Old Hitler completed the first chapter of his book, Mein Kampf (spelled right?) today. Haven't seen anything from him since. Oh well.”

“Ewker, do you think I can wear a pair of those with a suit to work?”

“you could but make sure you buy the bright yellow ones :)”

“Absolutely wrong, I have no problem with reading reviews, talking to other backpackers, getting recommendations from friends, or replacing worn or damaged stuff with the best price I can get. Online is great. Even better for specialty sports where there are no stores nearby. Try finding crampons and ice axe at a local sports store where there are no mountains.

I do not think I should go into a store and try their stuff on until I get the right fit and size, and then go and buy elsewhere.

I am sure that bbinkley expects a certain amount of returns due to bad fit. I also think it would be unethical to buy a sleeping bag from bbinkley or any other retailer, use it for a 4 day trip and then return it saying it was not suitable and expect a refund.
I do not think that people that have this type of behavior are clever and get to use hiking gear cheaper or for nothing, I think they are dishonest.

The 2 quotes are about seeing poor behavior and not having the guts to say something because you just might offend someone.

The two responses provide an interesting perspective on personal values. Wounded Knee showed some concern about being misunderstood, bitpusher suggested that I talk to a tree because it would be more receptive.
Of the 2, which do you think I would rather hike with or lend gear to ?”

“Sweet, going buy a pair now. Black suit, yellow shirt, black tie and yellow Waldies shoes. Go to work looking like a fricking bumble bee!”

“me?”

“hey WD, I want to see a pic of that. That reminds me of the skit that they use to do on Sat night live where they dressed up as bumble bees”

“THE KILLER BEEEEEEEESSSS!”