EP 114 Learn By Doing With Aron Snyder of Kifaru
Aron Snyder is the President of Kifaru International, a household name and brand in the world of backcountry hunting. When I first heard of Aron, I was commuting to and from work an hour each way and spent a lot of that time learning as much as I could from his experiences via podcasting because at the time, I was beginning to get nice and cozy with the idea of backpack hunting. I needed as much information as possible and that’s what I got along with a lot of entertainment.
Aron has spent a lot of time in the field learning things that you can only learn IN THE FIELD. He’s succeeded, failed, and succeeded again and, as you’ll hear in this episode, it’s the getting the reps in that count. Nothing is a substitute for miles and time in the backcountry because that’s what ACTUALLY teaches you what you need to learn. Once that experience is gained, you’ll look back and see that those spreadsheets you made detailing every single nut and bolt you carried with you are actually not so useful after all. You’ll no longer care about how much an item weighs because you’ll already know that information and you’ll know HOW that item fits into your kit and WHY it’s there in the first place.
Backpacking will become second nature at some point and that’s when the doors begin to open for you.
This episode with Aron Snyder is littered with incredible insight from a guy who designs packs for a living, runs a backcountry hunting company, and has put a countless amount of hours in the field doing the hard work. When he speaks, listen closely and take he says and apply it to your own backcountry efforts.
From getting to know where Aron came from and how he came to work for Kifaru to what ACTUALLY matters out there, it’s all in this episode and you’ll no doubt come away with some great nuggets of wisdom.
By Land,
Emory R. Wanger
By Land Links
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Show Notes and Links
Introductions
Arons backstory and road to Kifaru
Kifaru’s product testing and revision process
Patrick’s background in the backpacking industry
On “chasing the lightweight rabbit”
How to change your approach for different backpacking styles
Designing for others, not yourself
Adapting for the situation you’re headed into
The approach to Kifaru design
Un-complicating the backpacking process
Learning how to backpack is a constantly evolving process
Learn from your failures
Shoot for the “happy medium” gear
Gear for the fun of it, and gear for the application
Different gear for different missions
More backcountry, fewer spreadsheets
How to followup with Aron and Kifaru