Is it too early in a year to start thinking about what gear we want to upgrade or replace

or if we're new at this, just purchasing? Let's find out.

Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Papa Bear Hikes. And today I want to talk about

gear. Something I don't do a lot of. As you know, I'm not really big on gear reviews.

I tend to feel people should be making their own choices.

Gear decisions on gear is a very personal thing.

And as you also know, I don't pedal stuff.

I don't push certain types of gear on people. So when I talk about

what I use and what I recommend, it's because for no other reason that I had a good experience.

Some of people say, well, you know, you've got sponsors and et cetera. That's true. But I also want to

let you know this. I would not accept sponsorships or gear

from any company that I didn't feel they were producing a quality product and provided top customer

service. So let's get into this question. Is it too early in a year to start thinking about what gear you need

for this upcoming hiking season? When I say upcoming hiking season, I'm of course excluding all of you

who enjoy winter backpacking. But what about the rest of us? Those of us, when should we be looking

and shopping for backpacking gear? I would say the time is now. Start

looking now for a few reasons. One is there's a lot of good deals out there. Many companies are

having sales or selling last year's merchandise or they're rolling out new merchandise

that they're offering discounts on just to

speed up getting it out on the market and creating buzz. Another reason is you don't want to find out

the day before or the week before your trip that the backpack you purchased doesn't quite fit the way you'd like it or your gear doesn't fit in it.

You find it difficult to pack.

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