The modern hiker has been known to slice the handle off his toothbrush to shave ounces from his load. The gear industry has naturally responded with a slew of innovative, lightweight gear products: tents that weigh less than a newborn, sleeping bags that could stuff into your car glove box, newfangled ultra-light fabrics that would turn NASA engineers green with envy.
But ever wonder what life would be like on the other side? No, not the days when an Army-surplus backpack and pair of heavy boots were the epitome of trailside chic. What if weight and space (and budget) were not an issue?
To get us started on the odyssey of All Things Large, we offer a brief review of some of the gear that will make any outdoor trip all the more grandiose (and, yes, heavier). This dreamer's gear manifesto will be followed in the coming months by a review of big-country gear for 2004, a look at some of the paraphernalia that grizzled explorers pack on expedition, things that playboys pack as playthings, and the stuff that gear reviewers would love to get their hands on.
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Edmund Hillary, a self-described "average bloke," made one of the 20th-century's landmark feats seem properly human and straightforward.
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