Why are camping and other outdoor activities are so strongly affected by myths?
Anonymous No.2088720 View ViewReport Quoted By:
I have this idea, and I posted it to the wool blanket thread, that the reason there are a lot of ridiculous myths permeating outdoor pastimes is because a lot of us learned the basics when we were children. In Boy Scouts, for example, I and other children would just listen to the adult troop leaders and take everything they said at face value. As I've gotten older, I've had to question a lot of my basic assumptions so when I go backpacking on my own, I don't accidentally get myself killed.
Some examples of myths and how they are wrong:
>Synthetic or wool can insulate when wet
The best use of this information is in choosing clothing that will not chill you at night, but it's ridiculous to expect a wet synthetic sleeping bag or wool blanket to keep you warm overnight--you will still freeze to death in a wet sleeping bag, no matter what it's made of.
>the way and the gear I grew up going camping with is the best and only way
It's relatively unusual for people in a hobby to not be open to new techniques or types of equipment. The amount of hostility to things like trekking poles and tarps can only be explained by unintentional indoctrination. It happens when someone idolizes an authority figure when they are a child, and they grow up without questioning any of their assumptions.
>"when I get to camp, I must cut down trees and 'process' firewood"
This is a weirdly persistent little niggler. I suspect it's because of the temptation to show off one's skills with a hatchet. I don't think I've ever been camping anywhere that didn't have any dead-and-down firewood sitting around to build a fire with. Plus, if you are "processing" wood, odds are that it's all going to be green and you're a dumbass for trying to burn it anyway.
