Here's what reviewers said about the first edition of "The Essential Outdoor Gear Manual": "The trouble with outdoor equipment is that everyone has an opinion - one usually based on advertising hype, personal bias, or hearsay. Finally, here's a book that gives you all the information necessary to make objective buying decisions. This book, with its sound advice, will save you money and make you a better backcountry traveller." - Nancy Prichard, outdoor adventure journalist. "Think about something that we all need, yet we'd all hate to have to write a book about. After mouthwash, we'd probably settle on gear repair and maintenance. Thank goodness Annie Getchell came along with her artist's sensitivity for detail, a flair for language, and best of all, her wit. From repairing zippers to selecting 'green' adhesives, she nails it and keeps us smiling the entire distance." - John Viehman, Publisher of "Backpacker and Executive Producer and Series" and host of "Anyplace Wild". ""The Essential Outdoor Gear Manual" has set a new standard for books about gear." - "Backcountry". "All of us should be grateful to Annie Getchell for creating what is the best book I have ever seen on caring for and repairing your outdoor gear. If you want to know how to make your gear last longer, you need this book...This is the complete word on care and repair." - "Adventure West". "The big challenge with this sort of book is to make what is essentially an instruction manual into something that's pleasant to read, functional, and authoritative. Annie Getchell pulls it off." - Alan Kesselheim, writer and noted long-distance paddler.