OUTDOOR MAGAZINES
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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
Birdshooter's Take: I look forward to getting this
magazine every month (or nearly every month since Backpacker puts out 9 issues a
year.) If you are a serious Backpacker, you probably have bought it at one
time or another. The gear tests and reviews are excellent and I also
find the general comments and statistics about flora, fauna, first aid, weather
and backcountry cooking interesting. Backpacker's main value, however, is
the numerous destination ideas and reports in the magazine and that's why I
enjoy it most.
My Recommendation: Yeah, it
gets repetitive at times but there's something about being a serious backpacker
and keeping up with the latest news, gear, gadgets, trails, etc.
For those who lead active year-round lifestyles. In addition to feature articles
devoted to outdoor activity, it contains photography and literary pieces by
award-winning photographers and writers. Outside also
covers travel, sports, adventure, people, politics, the environment, art,
literature.
Birdshooter's Take: Outside has some of the
best writing I've read on outdoor adventures and destinations. Many of the
magazine contributors have gone on to great commercial success with books that
originally appeared in the magazine (ie. John Krakauer - Into The Wild, Into
Thin Air; Sebastian Junger - Perfect Storm). Outside is geared more to the
outdoor enthusiast rather than to the hiker or backpacker, but if you like
adventure reading it's a great magazine. My Recommendation:
It's definitely worth a
look. Get it for the great adventure stories (even if you never plan to
paddle the Amazon).
Since
1995, Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine has been the guide to outdoor sports,
adventure travel, and literary naturalism in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We're
dedicated to informing active readers of the unbridled potential of
human-powered sport in the Southeast. We employ top regional writers,
photographers, and artists to create what is widely regarded as the country's
best regional outdoor sports magazine. Loaded with some of the most scenic
and adrenaline-inducing outdoor resources east of the Mississippi, the Blue
Ridge Mountains annually host over 10 million outdoor recreationists. With so
many heading for these hills, it's not surprising that there's a flourishing
outdoor retail market to outfit them.
Birdshooter's Take:
Yeah it's REALLY pricey,
and it's obviously of limited use to someone outside of the Southeastern U.S.
Yet, I've found some hidden trail treasures in this magazine that all the other
magazines have missed for one reason or the other. This is my go-to
magazine for southeastern adventures.
My Recommendation: If you live in the South and do a lot of
hiking, the magazine is worth a look. You'll find destination ideas here
that you will not find anywhere else.
National
Geographic Traveler is a resource for active,
curious travelers. It uses storytelling
and
you-are-there photography. Features focus on domestic and
foreign destinations, personal travel reflections, food and restaurants, great
places to stay, photography, trends, adventure, ecotourism, road trips, cultural
events, and travelers and TravelWise-which appears with every major
feature-furnishes a lively and complete mini guidebook to help consumers plan
their trips.
Birdshooter's Take: This is another great
outdoor magazine that is similar to Outside in design but tends to have more
destination ideas and is priced a little cheaper.
My Recommendation: It's a great magazine with some solid
writing. Mix it with a dose of Outside and see which one you
like best.
Hooked on the outdoors is the outdoor enthusiast's ultimate backyard
travel and gear guide,
combining the best in gear reviews with close-to-home travel information. Hooked
features real-world stories regional highlights and event listings for
enthusiasts who fully enjoy their outdoor pursuits.
Birdshooter's Take: I'm not
exactly sure how "Hooked" differentiates itself from Outside or National Geographic Traveler,
but they always seem to have a hot babe on the cover of the magazine who is
usually a world class athlete to boot. You gotta love that and their magazine is
the most inexpensive of the group (but you only get six issues for the year.)
My Recommendation: This is Outside Magazine or National
Geographic Traveler with the sugar rush of a Mountain Dew.
