Rating: 
Summary: Useful but Irritating
Review: The whole time I read this book, I couldn't stop thinking about Mesquito Coast. Namely, that Ray Jardin and the main character from that book are quite similar and while I would hate to spend time with either of them, they have some very inventive and practical ideas. In other words, I recommend reading the book even if you won't necessarily enjoy it the whole time. As someone who perenially carries a house with him when hiking, there are a number of useful suggestions in this book and it offers a fresh approach to hiking. Overall, I recommend reading this book, though I suggest taking everything with more than a few grains of salt.
Rating: 
Summary: Jardine's Advice Helps 'Mature' Backpackers
Review: There is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from Jardine's book. I appreciate both his advice and his philosophy. I am 62; most of my friends gave up backpacking many years ago because they did not enjoy carrying 35-50 pound packs into the mountains. Thanks to the Jardine's "go-light" philosophy, I have reduced my packweight to about 25 pounds--this will probably give me an additional 10-15 years of backpacking opportunities.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond conventional wisdom
Review: This bible of long distance hiking goes beyond conventional wisdom by explaining the hows and whys of discarding unnecessary pack weight. It is organized in nuts and bolts fashion around hardware topics, but also discusses vital skills such as nutrition, health and stealth camping. I wish I had read it before my thru-CDT hike last summer. Ray's earlier PCT Guide was also enormously helpful for my thru-PCT hike '94, but Beyond Backpacking is wider and deeper. There is even a chapter on sewing your own gear such as a skull cap or a quilt, to be independent.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!!
Review: This book is the most phenomenal book on outdoor travel that I have ever seen. I was under the very mistaken impression that backpacking involved huge investments in money, and a great deal of suffering. I found out how wrong I was. After reading this book I did a backpacking trip with 8 pounds of gear (excluding food and water), and it was by far the most enjoyable backpacking trip I have ever done. It made the trip seem like a plesant stroll in the wilderness rather then hours of labor under a huge pack. It is often misunderstood that Jardine recomends these methods in order to go faster. I believe that he recomends these methods because they are more fun, easier, and less expensive. Speed it merely a pleasant by-product, because carrying an 8 pound pack isn't hard work! I read the "Pacific Crest Trail Hikers Handbook", which is essentially the first edition of this book. In "Beyond Backpacking", Jardine simply added some more information and removed the info specific to the Pacific Crest Trail itself. Either version is highly recomended. I spent hundreds of dollars on unecessary, heavy gear.This book would have saved me a lot of money, had I bought it sooner.
Rating:
Summary: Best Book on My Shelf About Backpacking
Review: This book will strike a positive chord with anyone who enjoys spending time in a wilderness setting. Being in the wilderness is all about stepping into nature's world and out of our own, more ordinary, "civilized" one. Here is a book that describes how to do this fully. A big focus of the book is packweight. Jardine focuses on what nature requires of us, as opposed to what some salesman in a suburban mall sporting goods store feels we require. There is a big difference between the two. I have been reading (and rereading) Jardines's books over the years and this one is his best. It incorporates and expands upon earlier versions. (It doesn't have his PCT trail itineraries though.) As a begining backpacker, I was most concerned about safety issues - how to judge a creek for fording, remove ticks, use an ice axe, etc. It's the best information source I found for all these types of things. With more experience and subsequent readings, the stuff I'd glossed over initially got more interesting and that is the beauty of this book - its great depth. I really get the sense thruout the book that this author is passionate about his subject and about nature and longs to involve the reader to the same level he himself is immersed. It's a great book.
Rating:
Summary: Solid, no B.S. advice
Review: This is an outstanding book. The author is dead on in his indictment of the "leisure industry" its ads, magazines, etc. that try to convince everyone that they need hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of heavy gear before daring to venture into the woods. But the book isn't just a rant. He provides simple advice about how to hike great distances under many different conditions while carrying a very light pack. Before I read this, I could not imagine doing a serious hike with less than 30-50 pounds of gear. No more. I plan to get my pack well under 20 pounds. I was very impressed by the author's honesty. He notes that a company (Go-lite) consulted with him to have him design several items of gear. He says that their stuff is okay but notes that most people would probably be better off sewing their own gear. The author's credentials are very impressive, including his through-hikes of the US's major trails, his first ascents of several peaks, and his invention of some key climbing gear.
Finally, a couple of reviews take issue with Jardine's lack of "Christian" cheerleading. First, I don't judge how-to books by whether the author goes to the same church I do. I look for solid advice I can use. And, in any event, I steer clear of anybody who claims to be a Christian, just before throwing rhetorical stones at others.
Rating:
Summary: This is the most comprehensive backpacking book
Review: This is the most complete book on backpacking. I would recommend it for both beginners and experienced backpackers. Before reading this book a few years ago, my wife and I were novices who thought that backpacking would be too difficult for us. This book has made backpacking much easier, safer, and more enjoyable for us. BB has a lot of information that is missing in the other backpacking books such as: stretching excercises, campsite selection ideas that will keep you warmer and safer and drier, knot tying, blister prevention, hiking enjoyment, sewing your own equipment. Ray Jardine pays a lot of attention to safety, as well.
This book shows that you don't need expensive equipment to begin summer backpacking. This book has led us towards a simplified hiking style, saved us thousands of dollars in equipment, helped us shed many pounds from our backpacks, and increased our safety in the wilderness. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Idealism gone afar
Review: Though I did find some useful practices in Mr.Jardines book, I find this man to have a personality like a religious cult leader. He presents his ideas and beliefs as though they are scripture and that we are the flock of sheep(mindless followers) he seeks control of. Remember: backpacking is a very simple activity, not a race to finish the fastest or most efficiently, we have enough of that in society. After all, anyone with common sense knows a lighter pack is easier on the back. I do agree with Jardine's point of people falling into the marketing traps of gear makers. So in that regard I feel the book is worth reading if your looking to shed a few pounds by making your own gear. Aside from that, Collin Fletcher's "Complete Walker III" is a nonzealous, practical and the most informative book to backpacking I've read.
Rating: 
Summary: Idealism cycling through
Review: Though many of Mr. Jardine's ideas are effective to an experienced backpacker, his in you face elitist mentality is a bit abrasive to conventional backpacking practice. No doubt, a lighter house on the back makes a more enjoyable experience, but when he presents it in an arrogant and scriptural like manner it gives me the feeling he covets to become some revolutionary leader. Though his approach and accomplishments are efficiency based, he by no means is the founder of lightweight backpacking as he slyly insinuates through the book. People with common sense from the begining of time have known "simple and light" makes easier travel. He clearly saw a controversial topic and capitalized with a zealot approach. Hitting the multi-million dollar backpacking industry nerve was just too easy, considering the sheep had followed it all too long. Nevertheless, it's worth reading, but use common sense when applying "Ray's Way".
Rating:
Summary: Every Hiker/Backpacker/Camper needs this book
Review: We are overwhelmed with advertising insisting the backcountry requires 70lbs of gear. Learn how to take 8.5 lbs instead. Some Backpackers want luxury in the wilderness, well try taking only 8.5lbs of equipment with you. That truly is luxury... No sore backs and wrecked feet. Even though I have never done a 2000 mile plus thru-hike I have used all of Ray's ideas on many treks from 20 miles to 200. This book makes the outdoors more of a pleasure and I would recommend it to anyone planning a trip of more than 2 days. It will save you tons of money and tons of weight.
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