Enthusiast III
Heading into my mid-60s, age wise, and having only owned one IFS vehicle in my life, I get too relaxed on the road with them and tend to overreact. For whatever reason, well I am sure it is due to habit, I like SFA even on highways.
Everything is expensive
I made a mental calculation of everything in my boy's baseball bag the other day and almost started crying
I made a mental calculation of everything in my boy's baseball bag the other day and almost started crying
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
Should try hockey. That sport is expensive.
Guardian II
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- First Name
- Ethan
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- Newago
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30968
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- US Army
It would seem my favorite sport is spending money. I have thousands sunk into all sorts of stuff that I hardly do. Snowboards and gear for the wife and I to go maybe once a year at best. Professional level paintball guns in a duffel bag that hasn't even been opened in 10 years...
I could go on.
Guardian II
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- First Name
- Ethan
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- Newago
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30968
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- US Army
Now, to answer the topic at hand. The only thing that will kill overlanding is the destruction or otherwise closure of our trails. There are a lot of groups fighting against the off-road communities who don't want vehicles anywhere near the parks/forests etc. It's important to spread awareness and educate each other in good off-road ethics to help keep those trails open for good.
BlueRibbon Coalition | ShareTrails
OpenTrailsNJ – Solving the Problems Facing our Forests while Maintaining Access for Responsible Recreation
Help SAVE Moab Trails!|Northridge4x4
Respected Access - Tread Lightly
---------------------------
As for the costs of "Gucci Gear," cheaper options are out there. And they remain cheaper because the brands don't spend all their money on Youtubers promotions and advertising. Some great examples have already been said, but like myself personally - I sleep in a regular tent on the ground, I cook on a Coleman, I fill a $30 cooler with ice, and I enjoy my time in nature just fine.
BlueRibbon Coalition | ShareTrails
OpenTrailsNJ – Solving the Problems Facing our Forests while Maintaining Access for Responsible Recreation
Help SAVE Moab Trails!|Northridge4x4
Respected Access - Tread Lightly
---------------------------
As for the costs of "Gucci Gear," cheaper options are out there. And they remain cheaper because the brands don't spend all their money on Youtubers promotions and advertising. Some great examples have already been said, but like myself personally - I sleep in a regular tent on the ground, I cook on a Coleman, I fill a $30 cooler with ice, and I enjoy my time in nature just fine.
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Traveler III
My setup is a $4250 2006 Dodge Dakota, a $100 bed rack from Kijiji with some metal brackets bolted on that I had laying around, to which I bolted my $16 walmart shovel, $19 axe, $80 pair of chinesium traction boards (they work just fine), a jerry can holder I made out of the same metal brackets I modded the bedrack with, into which go a pair of costco jerry cans that were 29 bucks for the pair. My spare is mounted into the bed with a $14 Princess Auto spare tire holder. I installed my CB radio which cost me 20 bucks and came with an antenna, and my VHF radio that was 50 bucks and 5 bucks for the antenna. My cargo boxes were totes I had laying around. My RTT was my most expensive piece of kit, relatively speaking, however it was on massive sale for $1230 delivered to my door, taxes in. Before that, I used a $50 cot tent which I still own.Is it me or is the overlanding community slowly killing itself with all the very overpriced gear being pushed as must? It seems everyone is told you have to have a tricked out vehicle with another $50k of "upgrades" to get it out of the driveway. First you must spend $50k for a off road capable vehicle then you are expected to immediately tear off the suspension, tires ( to get larger tires that are so big no normal people can lift or change them when you get a flat) and driveline to "upgrade them" for all the weight you will add with bumpers, winches , tire carriers and mandatory gear made for M1 tanks for another $50K. Then you need a $1k tent to sit on top with $100 each gas cans or bags and water cans. Then its $300+ refrigerators and grills. and don't forget all the lights, batteries and electrical upgrades so the ISS astronauts can see you from space.
Or if you want a little space to stretch out and get a trailer, its $30k for one the size of a fridge box or $50-80K plus for ones with some room that's not much more than a popup! The newest fad is electric vehicles, why anyone who does OLing and goes far from towns would even suggest these is beyond me. Maybe Elon is planning charge stations on mountain peaks and in the middle of the deserts or attached to the side of a pine tree 40 miles from paved roads or will be beaming electricity down from Starlink. I could go on and on but everyone see's it everyday. And god forbid you don't have all the "top of the line" gear or you will be treated like a slow witted stepchild by the community.
OK, I'm not bitching per se and some of this is a little satire (maybe) but we all see it daily. As an example,Tent camping isn't for me so I have looked at a few of the overland campers, my god you would think God came down and made these with his hands at the prices. I ran the numbers and found I can do pretty much as many trips a year as I want on any trail I want to go on. At the end of the day return to a hotel, have a shower and good meal and a good night sleep, gas up and repeat for the rest of my life for less than the camper prices to start with. Or I could just buy a "VERY" nice fully optioned class C RV and a car carrier trailer to haul my OL rig to the trailhead and still be way ahead on cost. I talk to a folks every year who say they have no interest in OLing due to the perceived cost to do it, that's a real shame. I took 2 friends to the Rky Mt OL Expo last August, after seeing the gear and the prices. they said not intereted in going again, couldnt afford it. Hell, t-shirts sold there were $35-45 each...
You see it on pretty much every OL vlogger channel now. Even Micheal , (who I think is GREAT) along with OB does it. His latest vid is for a water catchment box ( with a very small surface area in my opinion) with a few accessories for $319. I could do the same thing and get way more water with a $17 7gal Aqua-tainer from walmart and a plastic tarp rigged with para cord connected to it. I saw recently on a few other OL You Tubers,The lateset and greatest aluminum off road recovery shovels are $130 for 1 piece or $200 for a 2 piece version. I have a short Ace spade for 30 years works good still, it cost $25. The newest European name of course axe was $145, I have another Ace one for 25 years cost was $30, still going strong, god knows how many cords of wood I have cut with it. The point is if you call it a Overlanding tool it now costs 5 times more than any regular tool or item. When you add all this up, it turns regular folks off. If you are independently weathly then good for you, have fun. But for the normal working folks who want fun and relaxation on their off time, they cant afford this hobby at this rate.
The point is we need to keep the mall crawling gear queen requirements to a realistic level or this pursuit will die out. I believe we need to push very hard on more ways to enjoy the outdoors at a realistic cost for folks and find more ways to do things and have gear that's cheaper to entice more folks to join and to support/protect the community long term. Gear should be dual purpose not just for OLing like my spade and axe. I believe the gear makers need to stop trying to bleed us dry just because they can, because when we are dry, they go away also.
So is it me or not? Opinions? Be nice
Add in a bunch of cheap tools either bought on sale or used, and a few odds and ends of camping gear I either already had or got free, and I'm overlanding pretty well on the cheap. Sure, there's people who say you need to take out mortgage to buy all the stuff you "need" for overlanding, but you should ignore them and just get out there and adventure :)
Is the Overlanding community killing itself
to me, it appears like the genuine overlanding stuff is fine...its the manufactured overlanding that will soon whither away after getting wrung dry by corporate greed...
people like @CR-Venturer, who just posted, show that genuine folk are in it because they honestly enjoy it and dont need expensive gear or hype to make it enjoyable. getting out and bonding with nature IS the goal. a lot of people, especially after the covid mess, were SOLD the idea of overlanding. corporations saw that people were getting out and being remote and saw dollar signs. subaru started advertising cars out in the desert boondocking and having fun and then other manufacturers jumped in and then everything was about getting out and being free...well, as long as you had the "proper" gear of course!
i wonder how many people bought into the hype and bought all the stuff and then actually tried camping out in the desert where there arent any bathrooms or showers. the commercials didnt show the negative side, so im sure it was quite the shock for a lot of people. one commercial showed three people in a tiny car out in the desert and had the seats laid back and laying down wrapped in a blanket laughing as they were looking up at the stars thru the moonroof in the car. three stinky people piled in a car with no bathroom or shower or anything....bet they werent laughing for long...
to me, it appears like the genuine overlanding stuff is fine...its the manufactured overlanding that will soon whither away after getting wrung dry by corporate greed...
people like @CR-Venturer, who just posted, show that genuine folk are in it because they honestly enjoy it and dont need expensive gear or hype to make it enjoyable. getting out and bonding with nature IS the goal. a lot of people, especially after the covid mess, were SOLD the idea of overlanding. corporations saw that people were getting out and being remote and saw dollar signs. subaru started advertising cars out in the desert boondocking and having fun and then other manufacturers jumped in and then everything was about getting out and being free...well, as long as you had the "proper" gear of course!
i wonder how many people bought into the hype and bought all the stuff and then actually tried camping out in the desert where there arent any bathrooms or showers. the commercials didnt show the negative side, so im sure it was quite the shock for a lot of people. one commercial showed three people in a tiny car out in the desert and had the seats laid back and laying down wrapped in a blanket laughing as they were looking up at the stars thru the moonroof in the car. three stinky people piled in a car with no bathroom or shower or anything....bet they werent laughing for long...
Member III
Wow, nine whole pages.
Repeating what I've said a few times this year, the people who bought into the "Fad" are the ones bailing out because it either wasn't what they thought or what they like.
So, is it killing itself, no. It is losing the people who bought into the "overlanding fad" and camping/outdoors/off road isn't for them.
Totally agree with everything you wrote, especially here.
Repeating what I've said a few times this year, the people who bought into the "Fad" are the ones bailing out because it either wasn't what they thought or what they like.
So, is it killing itself, no. It is losing the people who bought into the "overlanding fad" and camping/outdoors/off road isn't for them.
Influencer I
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- Zimmer
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30139
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You know they came here and got the little medallion and booked. LOL
I hiked a trail today and saw more forest beauty than 85% of the membership and I do this every day of the year. I'm very blessed.
I'm not hanging off the cliffs and rocks like the weekend warriors but I'm having a blast.
I always enjoy @grubworm post too.
Zim
exactly! its a blessing...a spiritual gift that can only be quantified on an individual and personal level...
i find that anytime a person approaches something with an attitude of thankfulness and humility, they will generally get good results. people that travel out into nature with an air of reverence and gratefulness, usually go home feeling refreshed and renewed.
what i love about nature and remote camping is that the only thing you will experience is what you take with you...
ha! yeah, i hear ya!
i meant more along the lines of mental attitude. the wife and i always travel with the attitude of "joining" nature and we always have a great time. i know some folk who travel and camp with the attitude of "conquering" nature. their main goal is to go out into nature and "overcome" every inconvenience and if they can go out into a remote area and maintain the comforts they have at home, its considered a win. i even have family members that take their young kids camping and the entire time is spent fretting over the kids and if they are as comfortable as they are at home. they bring bikes, blow up swimming pool, video games, etc. and they ALWAYS come back home tired and aggrevated and the kids didnt enjoy it either, so now they buy more stuff and try again months later only to get the same results over and over...
so yeah...for us, we take a good attitude with us and we always come back feeling great. we treat experiencing nature as a blessing, not as an inconvenience to be dealt with...
Trail Blazer III
- 4,847
- First Name
- Dave
- Last Name
- Ballard
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20527
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- Fire/EMS/SAR
We used to travel with attitude .... Then the teenagers all grew up and moved away... Now we travel with peace and quiet .. well except when Eeyore the Jeep is in one of his moods.. lolha! yeah, i hear ya!
i meant more along the lines of mental attitude. the wife and i always travel with the attitude of "joining" nature and we always have a great time. i know some folk who travel and camp with the attitude of "conquering" nature. their main goal is to go out into nature and "overcome" every inconvenience and if they can go out into a remote area and maintain the comforts they have at home, its considered a win. i even have family members that take their young kids camping and the entire time is spent fretting over the kids and if they are as comfortable as they are at home. they bring bikes, blow up swimming pool, video games, etc. and they ALWAYS come back home tired and aggrevated and the kids didnt enjoy it either, so now they buy more stuff and try again months later only to get the same results over and over...
so yeah...for us, we take a good attitude with us and we always come back feeling great. we treat experiencing nature as a blessing, not as an inconvenience to be dealt with...
@grubworm You can experience this same kind of refreshment to a smaller degree any time you find a good cliff, or a river, or a beach, or anywhere that man's hands could not have made, and pause for even the briefest of moments to appreciate the magnificent world in which we live.
Or just look out the window while you're driving to work - put the windows down in the rain, open the sun roof when it's cold, listen to the birds and the bugs any time you're not at home. Or go outside and sit on your front porch and just look and listen for a while.
You don't have to go far or work hard to experience the best in life. You just have to keep your eyes and ears open and pay attention to the world around ya!
Or just look out the window while you're driving to work - put the windows down in the rain, open the sun roof when it's cold, listen to the birds and the bugs any time you're not at home. Or go outside and sit on your front porch and just look and listen for a while.
You don't have to go far or work hard to experience the best in life. You just have to keep your eyes and ears open and pay attention to the world around ya!
Interesting thread. This is something I’ve contemplated hard in the last year to year and a half since I’ve made the transition from “camping” to “Overlanding”. I do agree with a lot of the points made and it’s crazy how everyone thinks they need $4k suspension and the badass top of the line RTT.
But, I feel it’s great that all these manufacturers are offering high quality components specifically geared towards the overlanders. They have taken ques from the more traditional campers or the backpacking community and started offering we the people gear that is specifically designed for our application. And yea with this market research and design the cost can be outrageous sometimes. As more companies continue to bring similar gear to the market I feel prices will drop or at least stop going up because 10 different places will be making the same product.
It’s important to be an educated consumer and weigh the pros and cons of each piece of gear. Get out there and test out what you have. After each trip sit down and look at what worked and what didn’t and then plan what specialty gear or upgrades you are going to do to fix that issue. You don’t need it all now. Let it be a slow upgrade. You’ll notice the difference in each individual piece of gear this way also.
But, I feel it’s great that all these manufacturers are offering high quality components specifically geared towards the overlanders. They have taken ques from the more traditional campers or the backpacking community and started offering we the people gear that is specifically designed for our application. And yea with this market research and design the cost can be outrageous sometimes. As more companies continue to bring similar gear to the market I feel prices will drop or at least stop going up because 10 different places will be making the same product.
It’s important to be an educated consumer and weigh the pros and cons of each piece of gear. Get out there and test out what you have. After each trip sit down and look at what worked and what didn’t and then plan what specialty gear or upgrades you are going to do to fix that issue. You don’t need it all now. Let it be a slow upgrade. You’ll notice the difference in each individual piece of gear this way also.
very true! this is the view of our backyard from our bedroom, so we really dont have to go far at all...
@Tacodrew22 I feel targeted. I paid more for my suspension setup than I did for the truck.
(Kidding; while this is true, my truck isn't used for travel, only for off-roading.)
@grubworm My view from the house can't touch that, but I quite enjoy the plant life in my region as well.
I think we here all agree that it's not the community that's causing the damage, it's the trend-riders and the ones trying to make money from it who are doing the most damage.
(Kidding; while this is true, my truck isn't used for travel, only for off-roading.)
@grubworm My view from the house can't touch that, but I quite enjoy the plant life in my region as well.
I think we here all agree that it's not the community that's causing the damage, it's the trend-riders and the ones trying to make money from it who are doing the most damage.
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That's frickin' awesome Grubworm!!!
back to topic...
You get what you pay for as with any product. The collective resource that's out there has given us some massive improvements to help us conquer the outdoors. And besides, there will always be that nich market for those that can afford the quality of materials and "possibly" a unique approach to design. Heck I'm all for it...I just keep getting more comfortable doing what I love to do ;-)
[/QUOTE]
That's frickin' awesome Grubworm!!!
back to topic...
You get what you pay for as with any product. The collective resource that's out there has given us some massive improvements to help us conquer the outdoors. And besides, there will always be that nich market for those that can afford the quality of materials and "possibly" a unique approach to design. Heck I'm all for it...I just keep getting more comfortable doing what I love to do ;-)
I usually go out on my own or with my kids.
I got tire of feeling like my truck was getting looked at by those who had all the name brand gear.
I can't afford all the cool "toys," just what's already in my garage.
So I go on my own and explore, camp and make memories with my boys and daughter with what I have.
Most of what I have are re-purposed items found in my garage.
I got tire of feeling like my truck was getting looked at by those who had all the name brand gear.
I can't afford all the cool "toys," just what's already in my garage.
So I go on my own and explore, camp and make memories with my boys and daughter with what I have.
Most of what I have are re-purposed items found in my garage.
