Top Three Ways to Get Ready for Spring Backpacking

If you haven't put on the pack since last season, and you're not into snowshoeing or nordic skiing then chances are you've lost the touch. Before you start your backpacking training you should pysch yourself up with some of our pictures in the photo gallery. Get ready for wilderness solitude and natural beauty on the trails. Ok, so you're ready? Here's the top three ways to get ready for your first spring hike!

Running - a lot of backpackers maintain that running is not the best way to train for backpacking. I concede the point, they are right, backpacking is the best training for backpacking. However, in the off season, running keeps you fit and healthy and keeps those legs moving when the pack is hanging in the closet. It's a great way to just stay in shape and keep yourself from sitting on your butt all winter. Try cross country skiing and snowshoeing too if you want to hit the trails before the snow melts, they're both good ways to keep those legs moving and you could even try winter backpacking. GASP!

Treadmill Packing - throw on your backpack, pop in the ear buds, turn the treadmill incline all the way up, and go for a walk. Sounds boring, huh? Park your laptop in front of the treadmill and throw in your favorite movie or TV episodes and pretty soon you'll be getting ready for backpacking instead of sitting on the couch waiting for spring to roll around. Read more in my full article on backpacking treadmill training and conditioning.

Lighten the Load - it's not all about training your body, this one will help train your mind. Here are a few cheap, quick, ways to shave pack weight. Set out all of your backpacking gear. Then, go through and take out everything but your tent, bag, stove, pot, water bottle, and sleeping pad. Ready to lighten the load? If you have a self inflating mattress, put it back in the closet and go buy a closed-cell foam mat. They are about $30 for a Therm-a-Rest Ridge Rest, and weigh less than self inflating mattresses. They also will never go "pop" in the middle of the night. Now, ditch those Nalgene bottles for a Platy Bottle, my current model is the Plus Bottle. The clip can be great for attaching a carabiner sometimes. Last but not least, if you're taking more than just one cooking pot for a solo trip, you're over packing. Go grab a Snow Peak Trek 900. I can cook comfortably for two in just this one pot, any meal. Granted, I'm not a finicky eater and often end up mixing foods and flavors but it doesn't bother me and I'd rather not have the wasted weight of an extra pot.

Now, put these revised items all back into your pack and take a look at all that extra junk you're thinking about taking with you. Ask yourself "is this absolutely necessary?" and if the answer is "no" then leave it out. These tips will ensure your pack weight is low, but you need to find your comfort level yourself. Some people need more little extras on the trail than others. Just keep in mind, everything weighs something.

Get out there, put on your pack, and do your thing!

Why The North Face is not Worth Buying

The North Face is synonymous with prissy high school girls and rich college kids who want to make a statement. That’s right I said it, you were thinking it and I said it. For the vast majority The North Face products are overpriced and simply too fashion oriented to be a real competitor in the outdoor apparel market. I’m not saying that their products are bad, necessarily, I’m just saying that if you’re actually looking for economical functional outdoor clothing, you’re looking in the wrong place with The North Face. You’re paying for the name with these guys, and you’ll be paying through the nose... and mouth... and all sorts of nasty places to come up with the money for their extortionist prices.

Let’s take a look at The North Face’s Mountain Light Pant:

$180

Here’s a pair of pants that are seam sealed, light, meaning relatively little insulation, Gore-Tex fabric. Perfect for a long day on the slopes in wet conditions, right? These pants feature elastic gaiters, zippered pockets, the whole nine yards. Okay, so we can see that these pants are obviously not poorly made. What’s the price tag on these babies? You’ll be paying $180 retail for these.


Now let’s take a look at just one other potential competitor: Columbia Sportswear’s Men’s Splash Pant.

$120

As far as looks are concerned, they’re nearly identical. Except, of course, that with the Columbia pants you won’t be a walking billboard. Technical specs? Identical. The Splash is waterproof and seam sealed, elastic gaiters, zippered pockets. Same deal. What’s the price tag on the Splash? $120.

There’s a sixty dollar difference here, with absolutely no change in quality or function. So what could possibly explain this phenomena? Let’s call it The North Face’s tendency to take advantage of it’s uneducated consumers. Gore-Tex lost its patent on waterproof membranes long ago and since then it’s done a good job trying to convince consumers that other waterproof membranes are inferior. In truth, all waterproof membranes operate nearly identically and Columbia’s Omni-Tech waterproof membrane is just as effective as a Gore-Tex membrane. You will find that almost always Gore-Tex products are more expensive than the next waterproof competitor. Choosing carefully, with quality in mind, it’s quite simple to circumnavigate Gore-Tex’s expensive name brand. Put The North Face name, along with Gore-Tex and you’re just asking to pay ridiculous prices just for the name brand.

Let’s take a moment to consider the blundering buffoon, Bear Grylls; possibly The North Face’s most recognized face. Not only did his show advertise some of the best, most creative ways to kill one’s self in the wilderness, it also put The North Face’s name with it. Millions of people watched and love Bear Grylls (unfortunately) and we see The North Face logo on almost everything he has. Honestly I’m surprised they didn’t persuade him to get a “The North Face” tattoo so that even when his shirt is off there can be no questions; Bear Grylls is The North Face’s bitch.

Now, on a positive note, I have owned a pair of The North Face pants for several years which have seen me through survival training, hiking in the Red River Gorge, and backpacking in Pisgah National Forest. They are a great pair of pants, and I love them. I even had a hot coal pop out of the fire one night while I was curled around it in November, trying to stay alive under a pile of pallets and plastic tarps. It simply left a small hole which will never fray because the heat seared the fabric edges. Today, a year later, the hole is still as small as the day it got there. I bought the pants on clearance for $40 instead of the retailed $60 which, in my book, was worth the cost. It’s entirely possible to find good The North Face products for a price you’re willing to pay; it’s simply a matter of being an intelligent consumer.

I appreciate The North Face’s goals. They love the wilderness, I love the wilderness. They make good quality gear, I like good quality gear. However, I do not support their prices, nor do I support the mainstream image that The North Face has developed and seems to adhere to. It is unfortunate that a good outfitter, like The North Face, has ended up being a high school fashion statement and a product available only to the most financially well off and economically ignorant of outdoors people. If you’re a The North Face die-hard, take this article for what it’s worth: there are better options out there for your money.

I don’t know about you, but even if I had the money to throw away, I would not support the manipulation of consumers that is going on with brands like The North Face. Their products are good quality, but their prices are absolutely brutal. Don’t be an ignorant consumer, shop around.

Giveacar Motorcycle Donation Program | United Kingdom

This is a guest post by Daniel Frank, Marketing Executive at Giveacar Ltd. He knows we like our motorcycles here at the Adventure Lifestyle Blog. :)

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Motorcycles have always appealed to adventurers, offering a freedom and independence that even cars can’t match, as well of course as that all important rebel image. However as outdoor enthusiasts we must also respect and look after the environment and disposing of your motorcycle environmentally once it has reached the end of its life can be challenging. Like cars motorcycles are full of toxic chemicals that are hazardous to environment, such as oil, brake fluid and petrol.


If you want to dispose of your motorcycle then you need to find a reliable scrap yard that will depollute your bike before recycling it. There are scrap merchants out there, which will put unsafe bikes back on the road, or just strip them for parts and leave them to rot. In contrast a proper junkyard will recycle everything it can and ensure that everything else is properly disposed of.

So the challenge for motorcycle owners is to find an environmental way dispose of them. One quick and simple solution is to donate them to charity. In the US there are a number of charities, which will accept them of which the most famous is probably Teddy Bear Cops, though they are far from the only ones. You’ll even get a tax cut for doing so. In the UK, in contrast, Giveacar has recently extended its innovative car donation program to include motorcycles.

It may not be the most adventurous thing you can do with a motorbike but donation is surely the best option when it comes to giving your beloved bike a good sendoff both ethically and environmentally. And what’s more it works for scrap cars and trucks as well!

A Conversation With Les Stroud | The Backwoodsman

The March/April issue of the Backwoodsman Magazine, a primitive survivalist publication, featured a full cover picture of Les Stroud on a river raft with his digicam bandanna from the Peruvian Jungle. The article title, “A Conversation with Les Stroud”. In the write-up Les is asked several questions, which he answers quite extensively. I will sum up the question and answer session for you here.

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Q: Does Les Stroud believe everyone should know survival skills because an apocalypse is coming?

A: Les doesn’t worry about any apocalypse, he believes that learning and practicing survival skills should be done because one is passionate about it. It is a way of life. Les believes survival skills are not necessary for all people, i.e. city dwellers, but that the personal discipline and personal skills necessary to be a survival expert are universally applicable.

Q: Does Les Stroud think that Survival should be a public education requirement?

A: “Absolutely.” Les beieves that presenting children with the problems encountered in a survival situation help stimulate their personal confidence and ability to overcome adversity.

Q: What brought about the differences between Survivorman and Beyond Survival?

A: Les was passionate about the way his native survival coaches lived and survived when he was touring the world doing the Survivorman show. Thus, he developed a show where he lived among native groups of people and explored their ways of life and survival, Beyond Survival.

Q: Does Les Stroud feel more spiritually connected to nature after his Beyond Survival experiences?

A: Beyond Survival re-instilled Les’s connection with nature which he lost during the labor and time intensive making of Survivorman. Les believes he was more in tune with nature before starting Survivorman and making Beyond Survival allowed him the opportunity to rediscover his connection to nature through the native tribes he lived with.

Q: Who inspired Les Stroud to become Survivorman, and how did he learn his survival skills?

A: Les Stroud started learning survival like most people, a weekend hobby and local college survival seminars turned into a way of life. Les’s favorite survival company? Prairie Wolf, owned by John and Geri McPherson. In Canada his closest survival friends include David Arama and Doug Getwood.

Q: What’s the down-low on Les Stroud’s new album and multi-media tour?

A: The tour will be an emotional and spiritual journey through all of Les’s experiences around the world fostered by his Surivorman and Beyond Survival shows. It will not be a concert, but a conjunction of film and music which bring together all of Les’s favorite and most meaningful experiences.

Q: How does Les Stroud feel he influenced the mainstream view of survival skills and outdoorsmen in general?

A: Les Stroud believes he walked the line between filmmaker, and survival instructor. He claims to not be perfect at either skill set but believes that his position between the two extremes enabled him to bring survival skills into the mainstream. Les Stroud believes that it’s not necessary to be a hardcore outdoor addict or gear junkie to enjoy what he does, and he made this apparent to the general public. Les regrets that now the survival genre of television and filmmaking now has gone the way of all other filmmaking. It’s surrounded by drama, controversy, and bickering among the rather disconnect and ignorant masses. Les says that his background off the screen, as a normal guy, was one of the best things going for Survivorman.

Q: Does Les Stroud believe that anyone will top Survivorman in the outdoor filmmaking arena?

A: Survivorman took an intense amount of effort to produce physically. Setting and carry all of his own filmmaking equipment (upwards of 50 lbs), it was physically exhausting. The most important part, though, was his passion for filmmaking. Les thinks that his utter devotion to filmmaking and his passion for the outdoors are a combination that will most likely never be seen again.

Q: Will Beyond Survival run a season two?

A: Les is confident that there will be more than just the multi-media tour coming up in the near future. This neither confirms or denies a second season but promises us something in the future.

127 Hours Movie Review

This movie was quite abstract. I went into it open minded since I found it hard to imagine how a director would go about making a two hour movie about a guy whose arm is stuck behind a rock engaging. James Franco, of course, is an amazing actor and his emotion and spirit really made the movie work while he played rock climber Aaron Ralston. Most of the movie trailer revolves around a very small section of the movie. I had hoped the whole movie would be filmed from the perspective of Ralston (Franco) documenting himself with the video camera. These scenes in the trailer are both funny and enlightening about the character’s personal development and overall plight. In the movie its self, we don’t get to see Franco narrating to the camera until about half way through or better.

While entrapped in the rock slit, Ralston (Franco) begins to hallucinate about everything from his family, to Scooby Doo. That’s right, at one point there’s a rather disturbing scene where Franco dreams up a giant Scooby Doo which is about to attack him. Scooby, we find out, was never real and Ralston (Franco) then wakes up. At first it’s a rather disjoint scene that doesn’t fit the movie but with a little analysis we can see that the director is trying to show Ralston’s mental dissolution and we can see that our hold on reality, as humans, is really quite fragile. The story really gives us, as an outdoor community, a sense of humility as we see Ralston re discovering his humble self. In the face of death we see how truly vain our choices can be.

Check it out. This trailer is easily one of the most inspirational clips I’ve seen in a long time! The Funeral by Band of Horses kicks in at the end to tug on the emotional ties of Ralston realizing that he’s going to die alone. Very powerful film, but dry at times.