Fletcher & Rawlins, The Complete Walker IV

Owner Review

Report Date: September 2, 2004

Reviewer Information

• Name: Edward Ripley-Duggan
  
• Age: 51
  
• Gender: Male
  
• Height: 6' 1" (1.85 m)
  
• Weight: 215 pounds (98 kg)
  
• erd@wilsey.net
• Catskills, New York State
  
  

Reviewer Background: See end of report

Product information

• Fletcher, Colin & Rawlins, Chip
  
• The Complete Walker IV
  
• Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2002
  
• www.randomhouse.com/knopf
• ISBN: 0-375-40352-3 (hardcover)/0-375-70323-3 (paperback)
  
• 9 in/23.5 cm tall, 6 in/15.5 cm wide, 1.5 in/3.5 cm thick (measurements for softcover edition)
  
• Weight: 2 lbs 6 oz/1.08 kg
  
• 859 pages text, inclusive of title and preface, plus 1 terminal leaf with the author biographies and a description of the typography of the work (a long-standing Knopf tradition)
  
• Illustrations by Vanna Prince & Hannah Hinchman
  
  

The first edition of Colin Fletcher's venerable guide for the backpacker appeared in 1968, and had a mere 353 pages. Fletcher's inimitable style endeared him to many, and there's little doubt in my mind that the appearance of the first edition of his book helped spark the renewed interest in backpacking that began in the late sixties and early seventies. New editions were published 1974 and 1984, each an enlargement of its predecessor. At over 800 pages, dense with information, the work in its present form is probably best consulted as one would an encyclopedia, although I will admit to having found it sufficiently compelling that I have read it cover to cover.

This latest edition of 2002 is the largest yet, and brings in a new voice in counterpoint to Fletcher's, that of Chip Rawlins. Rawlins, while younger, is a vastly experienced backpacker, a poet and something of a trail philosopher (as is Fletcher). Rather than blend both voices in a single seamless text, the book is presented as a dialogue between the two men. It's a very successful approach, rather like listening in on a conversation between two masters of their craft, both strongly opinionated, richly larded with comic asides. Dry this book is not!

Rawlins, in the preface (itself in dialogue form between the authors), notes that he was of the generation that was inspired by the first edition of this book. He is at least partly responsible for the inclusion of some technologically geared discussion: for example, the extensive discussion of batteries, solar power etc. Still, Fletcher has always been almost relentlessly open to experiment, and one could hardly accuse him of being mired in the past, despite being nearly eighty when this book was written. Rather, Rawlins' extraordinary level of experience on very difficult terrain (he notes that he was the recipient of a National Forest Service medal for survival skills in primitive conditions) makes him very much his co-author's peer, an ideal collaborator.

Any work of this kind must be judged by the quality of the information provided. There are discussions in the book of just about every conceivable piece of hiking and backpacking hardware, and these are well nigh exhaustive. The authors critique specific products, and while some of this material is already out of date, so swiftly does the gear industry move, the principles by which they made their choices are well articulated and can be extrapolated to new products. This book is full of insights that are not easily achieved, except through long experience and trial and error.

The book is divided into sections. "Ground Plan" discusses the basics of gear and the basics of hiking, and does so thoroughly. It is not (by and large) a "how to" work. There are plenty of those in print, but general principles are expounded in this work that cover such little-discussed matters as "culture shock". When entering wilderness and when returning to civilization there's a period of confusion, and this is the only place I've ever seen this phenomenon seriously and sympathetically addressed.

From "Ground Plan" we move to "Foundations," appropriately enough boots, sandals, snowshoes etc. Then come "Walls," packs of all shapes and sizes. Following this domestic metaphor, in succession we have "Kitchen," "Bedroom," "Clothes Closet," "Furniture and Appliances," and "Housekeeping and other Matters". This all sounds jocose, but it's a logical and thorough approach. Airdrops? Turn to pages 705-710 for some very good and informed advice. Pitching a tent in a force ten gale? See page 419. All this, plus discussions from the ground up on how the tools we use are (or should be) made. Do sleeping bag baffles perplex? A detailed discussion will be found between pages 463-469.

The book is comprehensively indexed, enabling swift access to this wealth of information. It is also as close to definitive as any such work can be. The few omissions are minor. I found (for example) no discussions of ultralight wind-shirts as such (and little on the so-called "soft-shell" garments now appearing on the market), but these are very new developments, most having been marketed since the publication of the book. Perhaps this is something that will be covered in the next edition, assuming these products demonstrate their usefulness over the long haul. There is otherwise little evidence of the text having dated in the past two years, and in its fundamentals (as opposed to discussions of specific pieces of gear) this will remain a standard work for a long, long time.

In general, the fourth edition is a major improvement over the third, not that that was deficient. A few subjects are better treated in that earlier edition. Vapor barriers in particular come to mind, which (though discussed adequately in this fourth edition) were exhaustively treated in the third. That section of the third edition remains one of the most comprehensive general treatises on this subject. Lacking in specific in this fourth edition is Fletcher's very detailed discussion of VBL theory, and the range of vapor barrier gear discussed is far less wide (though in part this is a reflection of the marketplace, where far fewer vapor barrier products are currently available).

Of course, no single book can discuss all the nuances of backpacking equipment, nor will there ever be complete agreement between dedicated and experienced users. This is one good reason for the two-author format--Fletcher and Rawlins often agree to disagree. I occasionally disagree with them, though with a sense of temerity (and not frequently over substantive issues, rather over the merits of specific pieces of gear).

For any backpacker, there is a profound wealth of information here. The joy of the book is that it is written with such a light hand that it's never an onerous slog. How often does one start hooting with laughter while reading a detailed discussion of tents? The NOLS guide to backpacking, for example, is excellent, but it certainly never had me in stitches!

To my mind, this book belongs on the shelves of any backpacker who truly wants to understand both the gear they use as well as their avocation. For all that Rawlins and Fletcher can be funny, they frequently touch on deeper matters, including the reasons why we look to wilderness for refreshment of spirit. This book is wise, informative and entertaining and I cannot recommend it too highly.

Reviewer Background: I enjoy walking in all its manifold forms, from a simple stroll in the woods to multi-day backpack excursions. Though by no means an extreme ultralight enthusiast, from spring to fall my preference is to carry a packweight of 12 lb (5.5 kg), more or less. In recent years, I've rapidly moved to a philosophy of "lighter is better," within the constraints of budget and common sense.