Product Description
This book will bring you up to speed on all the new products and load-lightening techniques needed to make your next trail experience a great one. With detailed recommendations and a lively visual format, this book will … More >>
The Boomer’s Guide to Lightweight Backpacking: New Gear for Old People
I was really looking forward to a good book for older folks who want to do light weight hiking. There are some good tips in this book but over all I was disappointed. I really wanted to give it a good review, but have to be honest on how it seemed to me.
Comments – mostly negative, a few good tips:
- The photos are not very good. For most of them, I can’t really get a sense of what the item looks like or how it works. The photos are clearly not done by someone with much photographic know-how. Not much thought has been put into composition and light such that you can really see the item clearly. Also, many of the photos are so dark you can hardly see the item at all. Complete waste of space. Photos in actual camping catalogs are much better, so you know it can be done.
- Even though there is a section titled “tarps, tents, and tarp tents”, there is no discussion about tents. Yep, you got that right. NONE! If you want help picking out a tent, this book is worthless. Oh, it does say one thing about tents – that they are lighter than hammocks. That’s it.
- Speaking of the hammocks, I personally could never sleep in a conventional hammock. The curve would be too much for me. She says “before you announce you could never sleep in a hammock, you should know that backpacking hammocks are way better than backyard lounging hammocks”. First of all, the photos look the same as any conventional hammock I’ve seen and used. Second of all, she doesn’t explain HOW these are supposedly different. They don’t look different and there is no text explaining how they are different.
- And the information on “tarp tents” is very sketchy at best. And again, the photos of them do not help much. One photo of a tarp tent looks to me like a tent with it’s door open. So what’s the difference?
- Her backpack of choice is one you have to order from New Zealand sight unseen. Great. One would have to be crazy to commit to a backpack without trying it on for size (and other reasons) first!
- Sleeping bags – she mentions that down is the only way to go and that it has to get really badly wet for it to lose its loft. This was good information for me. I was always paranoid about it getting wet so I always wondered if I should use the heavier synthetics. So this was a good tidbit.
But she goes on to say that you can’t count on the temperature rating and should go by top layer loft measurement. But then doesn’t say what kind of loft you would want for what kind of camping! Two inches? Three? Four? What’s good for summer? Winter? She says nothing about this. Just to rate the temperature rating of a bag by it’s loft. How can you if you don’t know what loft is good for what temperatures?
- A bear-proof fabric bag was mentioned, and I was interested in this, but it’s not on her “what works for me list”. No name of the item, no manufacturer, or where to get it.
- Many items on the “what works for me” lists are not mentioned in the text and there is no indication of what the heck it is! For these items the only thing you can do, if you are curious what it is (you often can’t tell from the name alone) is to go to the web site, just to see what it is.
- I liked the tidbit on water pumps vs. drops for purifying water. I didn’t know the drops made the water turbid and taste strange. Good to know.
- I was really hoping to get some good information on clothing. Particularly what kind of fabric to use. There are so many types out there, it’s hard to know which ones dry the fastest, are light weight, and wick moisture the best. So since this book says it did the research for me, I was hopeful. No help here. What type of fabric to use? Synthetic, not cotton. That’s it. Duh! Also, she doesn’t use underwear. THAT I did not need to know! Ugh!
- Hiking boots – they should be comfortable. Um, ok, thanks. Nothing about what types or brands are good or bad.
I guess I could go on but then the review will get too long and you won’t read it.
Definitely an amateurish production.
So, a few tidbits, but that’s about all I got out of the book. If a new edition came out with the above problems fixed, now we’d have a good book! : )
Rating: 2 / 5
While this is a good effort on lightweight backpacking it is not the best, THe illustrations were a bit of a distraction and could be better. In general the information is good but there are some things such as the use in trekking pole wrist staps is a bit risky. I did find the photos of the writer “embracing the wilderness” funny I am not sure I would want to round the bend on a trail and see a naked writer…..
OK I reread the book and am trying to bump it to 4 stars. There are some really good tips. Like the mutiple uses of 180 proof rum… And there are great equipment contacts so it is a 4 star book.
Rating: 4 / 5
I’ve been an ultralight backpacker for a decade and I’ve read pretty much all the books out there about lightweight backpacking. Carol’s “Boomer” book is the only one that had me salivating and super eager to get out there now! Her many gorgeous full color lake side photos are very appealing and inspired me to start researching my own trip to the Trinity Alps (featured in many photos). I enjoyed Carol’s opinionated, no-nonsense style and that the book specifically covers concerns more mature folks have. I gave it four stars instead of five because of my own bias towards ultralight backpacking. Older backs and knees can benefit from even lighter total pack weights than what Carol lists. Most ultralight backpackers start out with “heavy” gear and journey to the ultralight range in steps. Carol has obviously done a lot of experimenting and has found what works for her now. If she is the type to want to trim pack weight even further, I’d love to see an update with a lighter gear list or a new Boomer’s Ultralight Backpacking book from Carol.
Rating: 4 / 5
Very good book regarding backpacking for the aging. Excellent suggestions for gear and methodology to be safe and comfortable in nature’s beauty. I will never be without my possumdown sweater or my hammock again. Highly recommended!
Rating: 5 / 5
I’m just beginning to go into backpacking and I am reading to get good information on various options on how to go about it. Personally, I have been extensively hiking and I want to get a notch better. This book is a quick read and I would say I have learned a few helpful hints, but the author’s very focused view on what she uses limits the book. The “What Works For Me” section lists what she uses is probably the best thing in the book. Even though the products have web site links, they all seem that they can only be acquired over the web.
The only new thing I learned was a new perspective on hammock camping (6 pages w/ illustrations).
A very simple read.
Rating: 1 / 5