How outdoor shops are stopping people going outdoors

Outdoor shops stopping people going outdoors

Our capitalistic, narcissistic obsession with "stuff" is making it too expensive and too damn hard to go bush.

An amazing camping experience, without all the latest "essential" gear: North West Island, Queensland.

Back in the Middle Ages, when I was studying at the University of Technology, Sydney, advertising 101 included the basic aim of advertising in a capitalist economy: to sell people stuff they don't need. It's pretty simple really – if people actually need things, they either have them already, or know how and where to get them (and are simply prevented by circumstances such as finances). So advertising's only purpose is to convince people that they actually need more than they currently have, in order that they will buy stuff and keep this strange, environment-destroying economy going. Economic growth is purported to be the ultimate good, and the sign of a "strong" politically adept society, as opposed to a malfunctioning catastrophe that is continuing to plunder resources to create things we don't actually need.
Been to an outdoor/camping shop lately? Seen the extraordinary range of goods on offer? I'm talking about Kathmandu, Mountain Designs, Paddy Pallin, etc, etc. The range is bewildering at best, and the prices, in many cases, extraordinary.
My elder sister (now the high side of 50) received a Duke of Edinburgh award when she was at school. She had a simple, two-pole A-frame hike tent that I was still using 20 years later, a fairly crappy, heavy sleeping bag, and a rough, framed pack. My folks weren't rich, but could afford all of that, and encouraged her to go, despite her tiny size and lack of experience.
Today, I hear of parents not allowing their kids to do the excellent Duke of Edinburgh program, because it simply costs too much. By the time the kids buy all the gear, and pay for the increasingly heinous and compulsory costs for the school to employ an outside company to run the program (in most cases now, it's not considered acceptable for a teacher with great camping/hiking experience to run the course), the cost can be well over $1000. This is just for kids to get out in the bush and go for a walk for a couple of days. I think it is obscene.
My encouragement in my book, Top Walks in NSW, and in fact whenever I get the chance, is to just get out in the bush with a few simple things, and down the track work out if you'd like to upgrade something.

Start simple, and add things as you feel you need them.

If you are not doing something extreme (such as off-track camping in the high country in winter), and take a few simple precautions, you really don't need a lot of "stuff" and you don't need to spend hideous amounts of money, despite what the outdoor shops will tell you. Yes, you need something on your feet. If the track you're planning isn't particularly stony, try your sneakers if you have nothing better. Heck, the old Dunlop Volleys was used to set some of the most classic rock climbs in the Blue Mountains.
Yes, you need a pack to carry stuff in, but I wouldn't recommend spending hundreds of dollars until you know what you want. My wife just bought a $40, 65-litre pack from Aldi for my son. I loaded it up with some heavy weights and took it for a field test . It has pockets in the right places, a rain cover, padded hip straps, and certainly on a three-hour walk was as comfy as my $250 pack. I don't expect it to last as long, or to be as good in all conditions, but heck, maybe that's all you need. And why spend $250 or more on a pack if you use it once every two years?

A $40, 65-litre Aldi backpack. No worries.

You will need a raincoat, but I find little difference between $70 raincoats and $300 raincoats. I get slightly damp (but not wet) in both. You will need something to cook on, and something to sleep in, but you may not need to get the most recent ultra-light, Himalayan standard sleeping bag if you are just going car camping a couple of times a year. In fact, if that's the case you may not even need a bag at all - often a doona and sheets will be more comfortable anyway.
Some of the staff in outdoor stores are incredibly knowledgeable and keen hikers/climbers/canyoners/campers themselves. Their advice can be invaluable. But just don't get sucked in to thinking that you need the latest and greatest thing in order to get out in the bush. You don't.
I'm about to hit the Overland Track mid-winter, during a predicted fierce cold snap, with snow down to 200m. I'll be interested to see how my conglomeration of assorted gear from various previous outdoor sports over the years (skiing, canyoning, hiking etc) stands up to the challenge. The only thing I bought new was $40 gaiters, as I've never previously had the need to buy them, although I did once borrow a friend's pair of gaiters for hiking through spinifex in the Kimberley.

Hope to see you out there sometime.
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