Sorry for the lengthy rant, but I feel obliged to stand up for an
individual who has done so much to enhance the outdoor experience for
so many people for so modest a financial reward.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion but the criticism of Chris Townsend
is over the top and (IMHO) appears to be from one who has not actually
tried out some of the advice in the book.
Anything Chris recommends is from personal experience, not from
reading the manufacturer's blurb or 2nd hand accounts. His equipment
reviews in TGO are comprehensive and must take ages to research
because so many different makes are directly compared, which other
magazines fail to do.
It is obvious that Chris is not biased, because he quite fairly points
out the shortcomings in items regardless of manufacturer. If he thinks
a £40 Millets jacket performs as well as a £200 ‘top' manufacturers
offering, he says so. ‘Interactive' zip-in jackets is an area where he
took a stand against all the marketing hype to show what a nonsense
they were. They are still being sold to those who don't read reviews
from people like Chris.
Chris could be a valuable marketing asset for any outdoor company, but
he chooses to maintain his independence to the benefit of us all.
There may be an apparent US bias, but that is not his fault. Chris has
unashamedly been promoting ultralight gear for many years. Others may
prefer traditional sturdier and heavier gear, it is a matter of
personal choice. Unfortunately ultralight is a concept that UK
manufacturers and retailers have so far failed to embrace, so he has
to evaluatee what is available, which is (usually) from across the
pond.
Ultralight in the UK is a niche market. Retailers target the bulk of
their sales at the hordes who like to be seen in Kendall High Street
wearing the latest gear in this year's colours. For every 10 of them
there may be one ultralight backpacker who gets away from the
honeypots to camp out in the wilds. There is no incentive for
manufacturers to abandon the bulk of their market, especially as
lightweight gear is more basic and cheaper to make – with reduced
retail mark-up.
In the States the ultralight market is much bigger and companies like
Golite have taken great strides in making high quality, functional and
light gear. Here Golite remains a very hard to obtain brand. Without
Chris' recommendations I would never have heard of them and I would
not be using their Infinity pack, an appropriate name as it is
infinitely more comfortable and lighter than anything I could have
obtained here. That is only one example, I could go on.
Perhaps it's a good thing that people like REC find the book useless,
because if we all followed Chris' example there would be hordes of us
out on the hills camping wild and that wilderness experience would all
but disappear from our tiny island.
From my own point of view if I am looking for a new piece of kit I
first try to find reviews before deciding. Chris' advice and
recommendations have been invaluable for me several times and long may
he continue.
Steve Jones