Big People
Do any of you bigger people think that there is a need for a separate forum or subforum that deals with the some of the practical needs of big people ?
I would definitely subscribe!
“Well, I'm walkin' down the line.
I'm walkin' down the line!
An' I'm walkin' down the line,
my feet'll be a-flyin',
to tell about my troubled mind.”
- Bob Dylan
I am not a particularly big person but I have hiked with some,and their difficulties particularly finding gear, leads me to believe this would be a good idea.
I think it may be a good idea as well. Both tall and larger body people have some unique gear and clothing issues that would be nice to discuss and share what we find and with a separate forum the rest of the readership does not need to wade though our misery in the regular clothing/gear forums.
I'd like to see a sticky in such a forum where we could share fit of various brands.....ie, I wear a size whatever and brandX makes a jacket with long arm and body length, I have a 50" waist and brandC makes extended waist sizes, such and such makes a tent that fits a 6' 10" body, etc...... Sort of a gear fit review section for those needing extended sizes for clothing and equipment.
I suspect that those requiring larger sizes may also have some physical issues the rest may not deal with either as extra weight puts a lot of load on joints and feet, heat seems a bigger issue for those who are heavier, some tall people are extremely thin and winter cold is a much bigger threat for them. It would be nice to read posts from those who understand these issues rather than sometimes less than freindly comments for those of perfect weight and proportion.
I am tall and have larger wider feet so buying clothing and shoes is always a problem, as is a lightweight yet large enough tent and bag.
I'd like to see it. It's quite annoying when scrawny hikers try to tell us what's causing our chafing and other afflictions.
Just curious what's the definition of Big People? Can we put some numbers on it -- is it only a thing of height or both height & weight? If one is say, 6' 5" and 220 lbs and another is 6' 5" @ 300 lbs are they both big people?
I'm not sure yet and we'll all have to work it out and the new forum would of course be open to both sexesOriginally Posted by john gault
What if we establish a bare minimum of 6' tall ,200 lbs .size 12 shoe ....and go from there
Dang...that's a big woman.
The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
You never know which one is talking.
MSR 2P TentDang...that's a big woman.
No, you might as well just make it a tall forum instead of a big forum. How about that minimum height and/or a weight greater than the maximums in this chart?
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airfo...fmaxweight.htm
Of course there's really no way to enforce that threads are only made by people that fit that definition, so defining it is a waste of time and effort. Either we do it or don't. The category will depend mostly on common sense like many other categories.
I'd say both are big people. At 6' 5", whatever the weight, sleeve and body length are going to be an issue, sleeping bags and tents are going to be more limited in availability, etc.... Even a 46" chest is at the limit of what some clothing manufacturers provide.
Even shoes become an issue. While many manufacturers make size 14 and above try and find a dealer with them. Even more so wide sizes. I went searching for a pair of Merrell Trail Gloves. REI has 13 and 14 to check length but does not stock the wide sizes in any length. Merrell stops making wides at 13. Vivobarefoot makes some great trail runners but EMS and many online stores stop sizes at Euro 46 even though Vivo makes them to 47. It would be nice to have a place to share this info.
Not sure how new catagories are decided here and it may be hard to gauge just how much interest there really is. How about we simply start posting our results as threads when we face a question based on our size, find a new piece of gear, or start a gear search for an extended size. Put "Tall" or "Big" in the title and we can all quickly find it to comment and the powers that be can then decide if there is enough of a following to give us a catagory or not. Either way we get the info we want instead of very rarely stumbling across it.
I don't think we can set specific guidelines. If you are 5' 5" and 300 pounds you will have specific needs the average guy won't have, just the same if you are 6' 10" and weigh 175 pounds. A guy with a size 15 foot or a girl with an 11 foot, no matter his height/weigh is going to have footwear hunting issues. Clothing makers just don't cater to either.
BTW, when I went to return a fresh out of the box pair of Keen Voyagers to REI on Thursday I had to endure the petite girl behind the register and her "Wooooooow, what a BIG pair of shoes. I could fit my whole head inside of those!". A little embarrasing to say the least and they were only a 14, one size up from my true 13. She probably wore a 6. At least she didn't ask me how tall I was, or whether I ever hit my head on the door jam...my other favorite comments.
Maybe it could be called "the hard to fit" forum. I'm sure dwarves (is that the right word?) also have fit issues. And the point about the 5 foot 300 pounder. Even a 5 foot, 200 pound person would be rather rotund and have special fitting needs.
Hi...
You bet they're BIG people...!!
I'm one of them. 6' 2", 14/15 shoe, and very "fluffy"...!!
I am all for it... unfortunately it took a few years to get a dedicated GPS Navigation forum. Before the posts were all over the place. Although I think I am 5 11 standing I still take a long mummy bag because the feet in the toe box pulls the hood over my face and its uncomfortable in the cold.
Last edited by Wise Old Owl; 04-21-2012 at 17:24. Reason: misssed spelleeed
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
Hi...
I think dwarves/dwarfs would prefer to be called "little people".
I think it is a fine idea.So many times I read others qualify with"I'm a big guy 6'-4" 285"So a big and tall forum,why not?Signed;The little guy 5'-7" 155 lbs soaking wet.
I think the politically correct term is 'giants'
They just stomp your house when you call them big people
Probably just a unnecessary as the women's forum. There's still going to be scrawny people poking in with their 2 cents.
When you ask a question on any of the other sub forums you can always specify any special considerations.
How many monkey butlers will there be?
One at first. But he'll train others.
Love to join in a good discussion, but ahh... *sniff*.. *sniff*, I'm height challenged.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
