Backpacker [1-year]: Amazon.com: Magazines

Amazon.com Review

Who Reads Backpacker?
Backpacker is written for readers who love outdoor adventure. Backpacker readers are serious about their passion for the outdoors, whether it be a simple day hike or an all out backpacking trek. Published 9 times a year, Backpacker provides expert information on the best trails in America, including GPS coordinates to get readers to the most remote and beautiful places nature has to offer.

In 2008, Backpacker teamed up with San Francisco based firm Cooler to calculate their carbon footprint. Realizing that they were putting 5 million pounds of CO2 into the air each year, Backpacker took measures to reduce their carbon footprint, and combined with investment in renewable energy, has efficiently become a carbon neutral publication.

What You Can Expect in Each Issue:
Readers can look forward to reading Basecamp, which stuffs exactly what readers need without an extra ounce of verbiage. The Basecamp section includes:

Tripfinder: Match three different destinations with three different timeframes to determine your best adventure trip.
5 Minute Meals: Taste-tested recipes to make backcountry cooking easier.
Life List: A concise, inspiring description of everything you need to pull off a once in a lifetime trip.
Start Smart: Where new hikers come to learn essential camping skills.
The Next Level: More experienced readers can learn advanced, multi-sport skills.
Features: Ranging from Backpacker's stories of adventures on America's trails to gear reviews. The annual Gear Guide with over 250 reviews is always popular with readers. Other recent features have been a Life List of 47 must-do trips and 15 amazing flora a fauna spectacles.

Past Issues:

Magazine Layout:
The editors strive to pack as much information as possible into each issue. The layout offers beautiful landscape photography related to articles. Readers will also find the illustrated diagrams helpful and intuitive to follow.

Comparisons to Other Magazines:
Backpacker is for the ultimate adventurers. Other magazines in its class tend to focus more on camping and casual outdoor activity, while Backpacker covers everything from the simple day hike to the most extreme mountain treks.

Advertising:
Readers can expect to find the advertising specific to the outdoor and recreation industry. Most ads relate to either backpacking gear or foods, with the occasional automobile or travel ad geared towards the adventurous consumer.

Awards:
In 2006, Backpacker won a prestigious National Magazine Award. Backpacker's Basecamp department was honored as the best magazine section within the industry. In 2007, Backpacker was named a National Magazine Award Finalist in the Single-Topic Issue category, which honored the ambition, comprehensiveness and imagination of the recent "Survival" issue.

Amazon.com Review
If you prefer a vacation where you unzip a tent flap to reveal a glorious sunrise rather than waking to a stuffy hotel room, Backpacker is the publication for you. Stuffed as full as a 50-pound rucksack, Backpacker regularly includes helpful tips on everything from lightening your load to finding the tastiest dehydrated foods. Along with practical advice, equipment reviews, and beautiful color photos, Backpacker offers monthly tips on where to hike, with longer features on newly opened or highlighted areas, plus several shorter hike recommendations, complete with directions, trail maps, and information on altitude, difficulty, special sights, crowd levels, and contact numbers. --Ben Reese

Product Description

Magazine of wilderness travel offering practical "you can do it--here's how" advice to enjoy every trip. Filled with the best places, gear and information for all kinds of hiking and camping trips with fold-out maps and stunning color photography. Backpacker publishes 9 issues a year in the months of March, April, May, June, Aug, Sept, Oct, November and Dec/Jan as a combined issue.

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Customer Reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars

(114)

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“ It mixes practical trail information about hikes with feature stories, articles about gear, and always has great pictures. ” Arthur Digbee | 30 reviewers made a similar statement

“ This is a good magazine for those who enjoy the outdoors. ” jimbwalking | 14 reviewers made a similar statement

“ It's almost nothing but ads; what little content there is, is hard to follow because they cram too many little things on each page. ” K. A. Handyside | 4 reviewers made a similar statement

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

226 of 232 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good For Hikers March 30, 2008

By trailmaster2

Subscription Term Name:1 year

I'm new to Backpacker [1-year], but so far find it to be a great magazine. Here's a little of what to expect:

-info about lots of places to go hiking around the world
-hiking and camping equipment reviews
-hiking skills and tips (i.e. recipes, survival skills...)

Some people may get irritated with the ads, but for me, they keep me on top of the latest useful hiking products.

With great pictures and human interest articles to boot, its one of the best hiking magazines I know of. Also recommend The 5-Minute Plantar Fasciitis Solution if this annoying foot condition interferes with your hiking. Happy trails!

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90 of 93 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars This magazine has lost a bit in the past couple years.... February 1, 2006

By secoulte

This magazine used to be a great resource for hard core bakcpackers with articles about transcendent survival stories and epic backpacking opportunities all over the world. In the past couple years they have changed their format drastically and have focused on "regional" editions and over the top gadget and gear coverage for total gear-wonks.

Don't get me started on the useless monthly section entitled "Social Climber" where people write into to ask what's socially acceptable on the trail with regard to fashion and things of that nature. You are backpacking for crying out loud...who cares?

It seems to have lost some of its humanity and original vision. I have subscribed to this mag for about 10 years and I used to be able to read it cover to cover, now I am lucky if there is one or article worth reading.

10 Comments |

78 of 83 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Downhill May 26, 2008

By van-cab

Like other reviewers have said, the content has gone downhill from informative articles on gear and places to go, to garbage that has nothing to do with backpacking. They sell out to gear companies, endorse shady gear companies ie: Big Sky, and the writing style almost requires you to have a.d.d. to read it ( tons of very short blurbs and "tips" thrown all over ).

To top it off, they have been sending me threatening letters to pay for issues they sent me after my subsription ended and I didn't renew it.

3 Comments |

42 of 46 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Devious renewal policy September 2, 2008

By Randy

This publication has gone to an assumed automatic renewal - with no choice by the subscriber. Since I didn't agree to this arrangement I didn't bother to respond. The next thing I knew, I was receiving a collection notice.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Obnoxious and harrasing subscription renewal phone calls December 30, 2009

By Michael Patrick

Over the past several weeks I have received up to three calls per day from Backpacker urging me to renew my subscription "now!". The frequency and tone of these calls have crossed the line into obnoxious harrassment. A number of the calls have occured minutes after I hung up on the previous call. I am letting my subscription end and am not renewing due to this rude and intrusive treatment from Backpacker. This is coming from someone who has been subscribing to the magazine for well over ten years!

Note that there is no Masthead on the magazine to tell the reader the structure of the organization, nor is there any contact point via e-mail except on the website and that is to Customer Service. I am sure all inquiries to Customer Service are given prompt attention when they are critical of Customer Service.

If this is Backpackers new method of securing subscription renewals, I am better off without it!

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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Watch out for the annual renewal at $40 / year! December 23, 2010

By JGF

SYNAPSE - is a company that collects $40 each year to renew this subscription for Back Packer Magazine. There is no annual notification and since I was not the receiver of the magazine, I was unaware of it being continued, until I found the charge on my credit card statement.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A 10 star publication August 24, 2002

By Beth DeRoos HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

This is the most complete publication for any walker, hiker, backpacker that we have found and the August 2002 interview with Colin Fletcher reminded me of why we subscribe and look for each new issue with such intense anticipation.

The Departments are: Backtalk where readers provide their feedback, Signposts which deals with politics and social news stories of interest to the readers, Body Language which deals with mind body spirit aspects of the sport.
Wild Things which is subtitled The Nature of It All. Moveable Feast which deals with food and has some great recipes that are not only healthy but taste awesome. In the August issue they have a great Almond Bar recipe.

Week End Wilderness is the section where they list great week end outings in various parts of the country. Outfitting is all about clothing choices that make walking, hiking etc enjoyable and safe.

Get Out More 2002 is a section where readers share places they have hiked and what made it special. Know How is about what it says.......Skill techniques and tips. Like leaving the tent behind and saving the extra weight and sleeping under the stars in a better warm sleeping bag set-up. Backcountry is about tales from the trails.

The Special Section carries feature articles on backpacking and things like kayaking, snow trips, fishing and backpacking etc. As well as issues like new equipment and hidden away places for hiking that most people ignore.

It is simply the best magazine on the subject and one any serious hiker, walker, backpacker all seasons enthusiast will have in their home.

37 of 42 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars I'm telling nasty businesses to take hike October 8, 2008

By beware

The free "Best Trails in America" that is offered on this page is inspiring and useful. I was almost tempted further until I read about the auto-renewal policy and sending former subscribers to a collection agency. I suppose their auto-renewal is also subject to automatic rate increases too? Maybe they want my credit card so they can do it all on their own with the notification that never arrived (I can just hear, "oops our systems malfunctioned" or "something must've happened with your mail-or email". Maybe they'll even email the "courtesy" auto-renewal notice with the new price from a server that results in it getting caught in the spam filter? Maybe they don't even send a "courtesy" auto-renewal notice--I just decided against a virus protection software package today because they auto-renew every year at the going rate without any notice unless I cancel.

I decided to tell them to: Take a hike and not with my money! I try not to support nasty businesses, and I imagine more and more people will feel the same as the weigh every expenditure.