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Product Reviews:
Beyond Backpacking: Ray Jardines Guide to Lightweight Hiking |
Rating: 3 (out of 5)
Summary: some useful information
Comments: Jardine has hiked a couple of orders of magnitude more miles than I expect to log in my lifetime, so what he says is worth listening to. Quite a bit of what he says seems like commonsense once you read it, however almost all backpackers wouldn't have thought of it. For instance, once you realize how much lighter a soda bottle is than the thick plastic water bottles sold at REI, it seems like a no-brainer to switch. It took me years to realize how much unnecessary weight, space, and expense I was devoting to stove, fuel, and freeze-dried packaged food, when in fact I could enjoy non-cooked alternatives just as much. On the other hand, a lot of the advice in this book is only relevant if you are planning on doing long hikes. He states a lot of opinions as facts, or calls them "discoveries." Some of these opinions just seem goofy to me. No way am I going to use a drafty quilt instead of a mummy bag. His statements about the amount of water people need to drink are part of an urban folktale that's grown in the telling over the last few decades, and many of his statements about hydration have been scientifically disproved, e.g., it's not true that coffee is dehydrating. The section on food is a longwinded, pseudoscientific screed on health food and whole grains, full of anecdotal evidence about how he personally felt bad when he ate pasta, and great when he ate whole grains. |
Rating: 1 (out of 5)
Summary: Waste of trees
Comments: Soon after starting I found myself paging ahead in hopes of finding something worthwhile for my backpacking quite soon i was at the end: i got up and threw the book in the trash; I NEVER throw books in the trash..........
A pointless waste of innocent trees, living things died to make the paper for this, sad, sad.
Vacuous opinion, little to no useful advice. purchase Fletcher or another, however anyway choose an author that actually wants to help rather than merely pontificate emptily. |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: Innovative, informative and encouraging
Comments: Ray Jardine has written my favorite book on backpacking. I was expecting a nutty, opinionated rant. What I found instead was an incredibly positive, articulate and informative book. I have been backpacking regularly for years however I can honestly say that this book taught me a lot and opened my eyes more than once. It's not critical of other backpacking styles and it doesn't make fears- it dispels them. After reading this book, I was so hyped up by his positive attitude and deep love for the outdoors that it made me want to get out even more. He points out that we've been taught to fear the outdoors by equipment manufacturers who want us to purchase all their bombproof, leadweight gear to deal with improbable situations on the trail. Much of this gear is not optimally functional and comes between us and the outdoor experience. He liberates us by teaching us to make our own gear and modify what we've purchased.
He deals with many aspects of backpacking not even touched upon by larger books like "Complete Walker IV". "Beyond backpacking" is largely dedicated to backpacking practice, rather than just a long gear list. That's exactly why I learned so much even after having read2books by Chris Townsend and1by Colin Fletcher.
If you go into this book having decided that lightweight backpacking is a fad, you are not going to like it. This book is not a fad, however, and Jardine doesn't even use the trendy word "ultralight". After reading this book, my pack went from 25 pounds to 10 and my daily mileage has doubled with no extra effort. The numbers are just numbers to me though, the important thing is that I feel my new backpacking style has brought me closer to what I go outdoors to enjoy.
He does have some 'mystical' moments that might not appeal to some, however I just see it as him expressing his great love of the outdoors. If it bothers you, just ignore those passages. He also comes to a few conclusions I disagree with, however these were minor. The book might be a bit too advanced for someone just getting started.
Overall, an liberating and encouraging book!! I highly endorse it!! |
Rating: 1 (out of 5)
Summary: hippy dippy blowhard
Comments: Ray approaches "the ultralight philosophy" like a recovering alcoholic preaching about the evils of "demon rum". The1thing all these ultralight writers have in common is they once carried ridiculous loads like sherpas, and finally saw the light. Who was ever that idiotic? almost all of us figured out long ago that lighter is better, and I have never seen anyone outside of a paratrooper carry 60 plus lb. loads. He reminds me of a kid I knew in 5th grade that maintained he invented the word (insert common racial epithet).
Jardine brings nothing new to backpacking, except for the digusting habit of hiking in biking shorts. For the almost all part his book consists common sense tips on lessening the load, interspersed with egomaniacal psuedo-spiritual diatribes. Other highlights include some incredibly stupid thoughts on giardia, mosquitos and food.
Save your money, purchase Colin Fletcher's book. He's a great writer 1st, backpacking guru second.
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Rating: 1 (out of 5)
Summary: I can not believe I wasted my money on this
Comments: After hearing of Ray Jardine's hiking exploits (AT, PCT, CDT), I decided spring for his book. This book is full of Ray Jardine's personal opinions that are packaged as "facts". In particular, his outright slander against all commerical food borders on the absurd, and he supplies no evidence for almost all of it, other than referencing some obscure books by guys who probably wear tinfoil hats. And, the Ray Way is apparently the only way to hike (so says Ray).
do not waste your time or money. There are far better guides out there that cover lightweight backpacking. |
