Inside Outdoor Spring 2017

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T oday we call might call
them social influencers
or expert bloggers, but
whatever the moniker
this group of participants have
always been important to specialty
brands and retailers. Before the
digital days of tweets and likes,
we called them “core enthusiasts,”
and now more than ever they are
the ones who drive trends and
opinions and even specialty prod-
uct development.
So it’s worth considering the
results of a survey by
on tent and shelter usage along the
Appalachian Trail. The online com-
munity for backpackers and hikers
compiled responses from more than
180 thru-hiker and long-distance
section hikers who braved the
AT in 2016. One would be hard-
pressed to find a more “core” group
of backpacking enthusiasts than
those who spend several months,
covering as much as 2,100 miles,
living predominately under a tent
or tarp. For the most part, the find-
ings uncovered
by are
somewhat expected,
but there are a few sur-
prises worth noting.
For starters, Big Agnes is
crushing it with AT thru- and
long-distance hikers. That’s probably
not a surprise to some, but even if
expected,
BA’s performance
in the category is nothing
short of impressive. A full one-
third of the shelters carried by AT
distance hikers in 2016 were made
by Big Agnes (in the same survey in
By Martin Vilaboy
Spotting ultralight
shelters on
the AT
The Big Agnes Fly Creek
UL2 was the top
shelter found on
the AT trail in
2016
Tents &
the Long
Tail
ducts in the
76%
49%
51%
51%
42%
52%
42%
34%
7%
...do you prefer
buying American?
81% of older generati ns
62% of female respondents
58% of older generations
Favorite Shelter System Brands on the AT in 2016
Source:
Kelty, 1.1%
Warbonnet, 1.1%
Big Agnes,
33.0%
Other,
8.4%
REI,
6.7%
MSR, 4.5%
ZPacks,
12.3%
Tarptent,
12.3%
Homemade, 1.1%
Cabela’s, 1.1%
NEMO, 1.7%
Marmot, 2.2%
Hyperlite Mountain
Gear, 2.2%
Hennessy, 3.4%
Lightheart Gear, 3.9%
Six Moon
Designs, 5.0%
Inside Outdoor | Spring 2017 24