Backpacker Magazine Insults Hammockers!

[nickelanddime]

The pelt of the animal comment threw me for a sec., but I think Narwhalin nailed it on the head as to why we won't ever see more than a blurb or two in a magazine.

As far as Backpacker being in the real worl... I don't think they have ever really been there and most people know it. Of the people I know around here I can't think of anyone who actually got themselves a subscription, it's been christmas present subscriptions or skimming at a bookstore. I'll skim if I find time but honestly it's to check for stove or bag comparisons and the possibility of a trail close to here that I haven't heard about... first aid, emergency response, and orienteering have not changed enough over time for me to feel I need to be updated monthly by magazine full of adds. Read the Complete Walker from the library and take a first responder course and you'll be more satisfied with the time and money you've spent than if you had a subscription.

For me it's no biggie if some mag doesn't want to show hammocks I'll just continue to show them to my friends and encourage them to show them to their's.

[rigidpsycho]

I still read the magazine just becaise I am getting back into it and everything has changed in the last 16-20 years since I last went backpacking. I do not have a subscription nor will I ever(don't have to I work for a magazine distribution company), but I stil get most of my information off of this site and others.

[Hector]

I'm having trouble getting upset about what some editor said in a magazine that's not worth reading to see what he said. Now, if it was in The Backwoodsman I might write a letter.

[headchange4u]

I'm sure if enough money was spent on "advertising" with the magazine, hammocks would be the next big thing. I have a subscription to BP magazine that I continue to get although I never subscribed to it and I have never renewed my subscription. I have been getting it for about 2 years now. I will browse through the magazine and then it gets disposed of. It's nothing special. The only hammock info I have ever seen in the magazine are the Clark Hammock ads. Maybe Clark's advertising budget is why the hammock is so expensive.

[te-wa]

the consensus seems to be that Backpacker is a waste of time/money. I think the only real effort they put forth (and once a year, only) is the Gear Guide. It may be a great way for a newbie bper to find some useful info on choosing what works best for them.
-so-
imo, backpacker is just a travelling billboard used to project the idea put forth by gear companies that you must constantly buy new gear every year. sierra designs, the north face, marmot and so, so on always come out with a "new" design for tents, clothes, hats, rain jackets... its so rediculous. How many possible models do you need this year, sierra designs? arent all of your flashy new tents just the same basic design anyway? maybe with a door over here, or a new color? what was wrong with last year's model?

Its a joke... Im glad to be a part of a forum that sees through this B.S. and doesnt need to be told what to buy. We have all made good choices on how to spend our hard earned money, and that, I applaud. I could care less if I ever see a Claytor Hammock ad. I know that I made the right choice for what I need without advertising. It seems that this group is different from the rest of the pack, and that's good enough for me. But hey, once Backpacker realizes that hammocking is cool, they might do a feature on it (just as they did with Ultralight hiking) about 15 years too late!
(and saying the west has no trees is untrue.. Arizona has the largest single stand of Ponderosa Pine trees in the world, running east from Williams, to the New Mexico border)

[1srelluc]

I have been looking at the Backpacker mags that were sent into the place I work. What a joke! In a way it was a good thing. Why spend hundreds on a top shelf pack when my mil-surp Berger ruck is plenty good enough. To listen to them you need at least a 6-figure income to afford to gear-up for a overnite loop trail.

[Crash]

I suspect Backpacker, if I read their response correctly in the "gear gab" section, will be reporting on hammocks in their June issue...
h

But that's what Editor Dorn told me over 2 years ago and they still didn't do it.

[riverkeeper]

A guesstimate (swag really) in a recent thread puts the hang population at about 1% of the overnight BP community.

Mags like BP generate the majority of their income from advertisements and they no doubt know aproximately what the outdoor market is. Therefore do not expect much hanger stuff to show there ... other than the occ mini blurb or two.


A couple of years ago the local REI carried Hennessy for a few months ... no longer.

I have the first several issues of BP when it started in 1972 I recall, know a few of article authors and infrequently subscribe but soon get disgusted and cancel....on about a 5 year cycle.

[rigidpsycho]

A about a month or so ago there was an ad in the mag for "JacksrBetter"

[scoutdad]

Apart from enjoying backpacking my other hobby is serious golf club construction and repair. This discussion sounds exactly like the one we frequently have about Golf Digest and Golf Magazine who give short shrift to one or two small companies who do state of the art design and manufacturing of custom club components. The reason is quite clear............their investment in ad space in the magazines cannot compete with Titleist, Callaway, Nike and Taylor Made.

Not much you can do about it but stay focused on what you know to be the truth and don't support them with you subscription bucks.