I find it remarkable how backpacking gear traditions can be so entrenched. I am not sure if it is the retailers who are influencing the buyers or the other way around. I suppose it is both, like ants endlessly following each other around the rim of a cup, feeding an endless loop of misinformation. For example:
The retailers will tell you that you need a large pack for a long hike and a small pack for a short hike, when experience tells me exactly the opposite is true. People out for a camping weekend are likely to take a giant pack filled with all the comforts of home, but long distance trekkers are minimalists. For example, see this screen shot from REI (touted as one of the best outfitters) when I search pack and filter by trip length, you get 30 70+L packs as an options. However in the last survey by The Trek of AT thru hikers and LASHers, they found 97% carried packs smaller than this.
thetrek.co/appalachian-trail/t…-trail-thru-hiker-survey/
As for shoes, it is common "knowledge" that you must have waterproof boots to keep your feet dry and ankles from being broken. Indeed when I select for backpacking footwear at REI, I get a selection of waterproof boots (and one pair of slippers, I presume for camp shoes). Yet in The Trek's survey, 90% of thrus and LASHers used shoes. As for the waterproof thing, Andrew Skurka's blog calls them a "complete failure" based on backpacking about a bazillion miles through Alaska.
andrewskurka.com/waterproof-go…-chance-complete-failure/
thetrek.co/appalachian-trail/t…l-2019-thru-hiker-survey/
Of course there is nothing wrong with these gear choices (HYOH, yada yada). But my experience is that most people think that the good folks at REI actually know what they are talking about, believe them, and repeat it over and over as the gospel truth on countless social media posts.
The retailers will tell you that you need a large pack for a long hike and a small pack for a short hike, when experience tells me exactly the opposite is true. People out for a camping weekend are likely to take a giant pack filled with all the comforts of home, but long distance trekkers are minimalists. For example, see this screen shot from REI (touted as one of the best outfitters) when I search pack and filter by trip length, you get 30 70+L packs as an options. However in the last survey by The Trek of AT thru hikers and LASHers, they found 97% carried packs smaller than this.
thetrek.co/appalachian-trail/t…-trail-thru-hiker-survey/
As for shoes, it is common "knowledge" that you must have waterproof boots to keep your feet dry and ankles from being broken. Indeed when I select for backpacking footwear at REI, I get a selection of waterproof boots (and one pair of slippers, I presume for camp shoes). Yet in The Trek's survey, 90% of thrus and LASHers used shoes. As for the waterproof thing, Andrew Skurka's blog calls them a "complete failure" based on backpacking about a bazillion miles through Alaska.
andrewskurka.com/waterproof-go…-chance-complete-failure/
thetrek.co/appalachian-trail/t…l-2019-thru-hiker-survey/
Of course there is nothing wrong with these gear choices (HYOH, yada yada). But my experience is that most people think that the good folks at REI actually know what they are talking about, believe them, and repeat it over and over as the gospel truth on countless social media posts.