5 ms·

I'd like to say the cost of a lot of outdoor recreation is really, really, high. People wanna say just "go outside, it's free." But... it's really not unless yo

I'd like to say the cost of a lot of outdoor recreation is really, really, high. People wanna say just "go outside, it's free." But... it's really not unless you live in a very rural area where you have your own land to wander or extremely close to a publicly owned land. A lot of outdoor activities require investment to participate in. It's easy to laugh at the bicyclists wearing spandex until you try to ride a hundred miles and chafe your balls into a pair of blisters. Let alone a bicycle comfortable/safe enough to ride long distances without injuring you. Even just walking can be really damaging without proper shoes, or with bad ones because they're all you have. For a lot of people, simply trying out an activity might cost a hundred or two hundred dollars once everything is done, and that's waaaaaay too high for most people. I think if there were public gear closets like the one referenced in the article or a bigger push towards communal access/usage of gear, the number would go up somewhat.

Polylactic_acid 7y ago
I don't doubt that this is what people are thinking and why they are not doing it but that doesn't make it the reality. In the bicycle case, yes, you want proper clothing for a 100 km massive ride that takes you most of the day but that is such a high bar. For about $300 you can get a decent bike that will last you forever with some maintenance. With just your ordinary clothes you will have no issues riding around the mostly empty suburb streets for 10km. A cheap bike isn't an instant death trap, just get a non department store basic road bike. It won't be feature packed, it won't be ultra light but it will be fairly reliable and perfectly safe. With the added benefit that any replacement parts will be super cheap because its all entry level bits.
0xff00ffee 7y ago
> cost of a lot of outdoor recreation is really, really, high. Well that's not true at all. There's an army surplus store that sells tents, sleeping bags, and backpacks that'll set you back about $50 for all three. It'll way 20lbs before you even add your food, but its cheap. See, the Columbia/REI/NorthFace stores sell an IMAGE. Yes, their products are the lightest on the planet, but you don't NEED that premium gear to have fun outside (unless you're climbing). Outdoor sports are cheap. These companies just convinced us that we really need a $500 tent, $300 sleeping back, and $500 shell to truly enjoy the outdoors.
baddox 7y ago
Backpacking can certainly be extremely expensive, not just because of equipment prices and outdoor usage fees, but because in popular areas it's quite difficult to get permits, which requires a lot of time spent planning as well as a lot of flexibility in vacation time and transportation options.
ryan_j_naughton 7y ago
Hiking is very cheap for virtually all of Los Angeles, the second largest city in America. This is because: - 88% of households have a car, enabling them to get to a hike [1] - the average vehicles per household is 1.6 [1], thus the average across 2 households is 3 cars. Considering most people to hiking with friends, this greatly increases the chance a vehicle is available regularly. - there are many hikes available in state parks in the Santa Monica mountains within 15 miles of the majority of the population - parking is very cheap. I agree that rock climbing or kite surfing are way more expensive, but there is little substitute for a good hike.
Fricken 7y ago
I was at least introduced to a couple dozen of the activities on that list through the scouting movement growing up. It was pretty cheap for my parents, the expenses for our trips and acrivities were raised largely through community fundraising. Of course, I have thousands of dollars of outdoor gear now, but it has been accumulated slowly but steadily over decades.

Polylactic_acid 7y ago

I don't doubt that this is what people are thinking and why they are not doing it but that doesn't make it the reality. In the bicycle case, yes, you want proper clothing for a 100 km massive ride that takes you most of the day but that is such a high bar. For about $300 you can get a decent bike that will last you forever with some maintenance. With just your ordinary clothes you will have no issues riding around the mostly empty suburb streets for 10km. A cheap bike isn't an instant death trap, just get a non department store basic road bike. It won't be feature packed, it won't be ultra light but it will be fairly reliable and perfectly safe. With the added benefit that any replacement parts will be super cheap because its all entry level bits.

0xff00ffee 7y ago

> cost of a lot of outdoor recreation is really, really, high. Well that's not true at all. There's an army surplus store that sells tents, sleeping bags, and backpacks that'll set you back about $50 for all three. It'll way 20lbs before you even add your food, but its cheap. See, the Columbia/REI/NorthFace stores sell an IMAGE. Yes, their products are the lightest on the planet, but you don't NEED that premium gear to have fun outside (unless you're climbing). Outdoor sports are cheap. These companies just convinced us that we really need a $500 tent, $300 sleeping back, and $500 shell to truly enjoy the outdoors.

baddox 7y ago

Backpacking can certainly be extremely expensive, not just because of equipment prices and outdoor usage fees, but because in popular areas it's quite difficult to get permits, which requires a lot of time spent planning as well as a lot of flexibility in vacation time and transportation options.

ryan_j_naughton 7y ago

Hiking is very cheap for virtually all of Los Angeles, the second largest city in America. This is because: - 88% of households have a car, enabling them to get to a hike [1] - the average vehicles per household is 1.6 [1], thus the average across 2 households is 3 cars. Considering most people to hiking with friends, this greatly increases the chance a vehicle is available regularly. - there are many hikes available in state parks in the Santa Monica mountains within 15 miles of the majority of the population - parking is very cheap. I agree that rock climbing or kite surfing are way more expensive, but there is little substitute for a good hike.

Fricken 7y ago

I was at least introduced to a couple dozen of the activities on that list through the scouting movement growing up. It was pretty cheap for my parents, the expenses for our trips and acrivities were raised largely through community fundraising. Of course, I have thousands of dollars of outdoor gear now, but it has been accumulated slowly but steadily over decades.