【好書推介】「貼地」的野外活動工具書

由作者艾倫．奧班農（Allen O’Bannon）及插畫家麥可．克萊蘭（Mike Clelland）合著的《超威！野外技能補完手冊：從輕量化裝備、行進技巧、戶外炊煮、營地工藝到辨識危險》（下稱《超威！》）以幽默手法表達戶外活動的準備、技能及注意事項等重要資訊。

有別於一般戶外裝備相關書藉，《超威！》全書約有三分之一的篇幅講解戶外裝備，但並不鼓吹消費。反而主張減少不必要的裝備，或使用家中隨手可得的物品替代，例如提出避免於背包內使用收納袋以減輕重量及增加收納空間、於背包內鋪上垃圾膠袋取代防水背包套，以及分析水袋的必要性等。《超威！》同時亦有簡述於各種路況及天氣下遠足的策略，雖然書中內容與香港環境稍有不同，但其圖文並茂的生動描述，十分吸引。

《超威！》的英文原著於2001年出版，至今已經接近20年，但閱讀時並沒有感到過時，反而書中「步道禮儀」或「山野無痕」的概念近年於香港更受關注。希望再過20年後，我們再重看這本經典，讀者們都會覺得這些都是眾所周知的常識。

A Hilarious and Informative Reference Book about Outdoor Activity

Allen & Mike's Really Cool Backpackin' Book: Traveling & Camping Skills for a Wilderness Environment by Allen O’ Bannon and the illustrator Mike Clelland provides practical tips on the art of backpacking, such as preparing for the trip, travel techniques and other important information about outdoor activities.  

What makes this book different to other outdoor equipment guidebooks, is that instead of promoting consumerism, the book encourages readers to be creative with what we can find at home. For example, it suggests avoiding overusing storage sacks to reduce weight and increase room for storage, placing a plastic rubbish bag inside the backpack to replace the need for a rain cover, and analyzing the necessity for a hydration bladder during hiking. The book also offers different hiking strategies to cope with different conditions and weather. There are many suggestions that can be applied in Hong Kong. 

The first edition was published in 2001; however, the information in the book is still relevant. Concepts such as “Trail Etiquette” or “Leave No Trace” are even more popular in Hong Kong recently. Hopefully, these concepts will become norms when we reread this classic in another 20 years’ time.