I have had several people ask me about Overlanding vs Offroading. They are in my opinion ultimately separate activities, ultimately. I guess the confusion comes from the fact that Overlanding is primarily done on dirt roads and not on pavement, for the most part. Overlanders do travel on trails and we enjoy scenic drives far away from where most people travel. Offroading is taking your vehicle to the limits of its capability, and sometimes its breaking point. Now lets look at each one.
Overlanding-We have beat this one until it is dead, but lets look at it again, differently. Overlanding is beauty. The entire object of an Overlander is to reach a beautiful spot and on the way enjoy everything the travel brings to us. Overlanding is a relaxing break from the loud everyday craziness that is all around us. We strive to find a way to survive on our own and in the process we bring ourselves closer to God, nature, and our true self. We need our vehicle and our equipment to sustain us for multipule days, weeks, months, and for some even years. We are not reckless but instead controlled in what we do. We take care of the land and even leave it cleaner than when we arrived.
Offroading-Adrenaline is the word I would use first for Offroading. It is a mixture of gas, metal, rubber, and dirt. It is the sounds of a motor screaming, tires burning, metal breaking, and gears twisting. Offroading is creating your own path, one that takes a special vehicle. One built to rip and tear its way up and through things that seem impossible. We Offroad to challenge the vehicle and to take it to it's breaking point, to find the weak point and to make it better. Some Offroaders often trailer these vehicles because they know it will be tested to the limits.
We need to do both, to learn about ourselves and our vehicles. Overlanding is like a graceful long distance runner, where Offroading is like a powerful sprinter. As Overlanders we need to take our vehicles Offroading. We need this so we can learn how our vehicle will react to the environments we put them in and so we can make it out and make it home.
They each have their own place and time. Please do not confuse Offroading with Overlanding. Stay on the trail and always Tread Lightly when Overlanding. Please only Offroad at places that allow it, such as Offroad parks. We must work together to keep our sports available.
GO ALL OVER, or at least where allowed.
I find your post to be very one-sided and ignorant. Your definition of "off-roading" is far from what the vast majority of "off-roaders" enjoy doing or practice in real life. There is extremely little "motor screaming, tires burning, metal breaking, and gears twisting" that goes on. In fact, the judicious use of things like talent, knowledge, traction, patience and cooperation is what gets off-roaders through obstacles without breaking their vehicles and destroying the land. If you want to wrap everyone who drives "off-road" into that category of professional racers that build rock buggies and race up privately maintained obstacles, then we can group "overlanders" into the same group as the drunken red-necks who drive their pickups to the local campground on the weekend and party all night.
ReplyDeleteI'm an overlander... and I am an off-roader. I'm also a "camping enthusiast" who has been camping locally and traveling long distances to see things and camp there. I have used everything from a station wagon to a fully built and capable rock crawling Jeep to do it. I've slept under the stars and I've used a fifth-wheel with satellite TV. It's all the same.... it's called experiencing the great outdoors.
My recommendation: If you're going to write a blog, do a little more research, attempt to write it from a factual standpoint, not an fanciful one, and let the facts persuade the readers, not your biased opinion.
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DeleteKudos to everything you said Gary McDuffie. Same sentiments here about this blogger's definition of offroading.
DeleteThank you for your views. Each was intended as the extremes of both.
DeleteHm. I didn't get the same impression as you of that article as I was reading it. It's almost like we had read two completely different articles or watched two completely different movies.
DeleteI think he used great visual imagery and it was passionate and seemingly positive towards both. As a complete newcomer to both worlds, I found the visual imagery compelling.
The article I read seemed to describe the following:
Off-roading is more challenging, requires more mental 'game' and intensity, can be more localized to an area.
Overlanding is more endurance. More calm and serene. Laid back and less high intensity demand on yourself and your vehicle... but still with it's own unique set of challenges.
My own extrapolation of the article was that both adventures would have their interest for me and I'd like to enjoy both for their own merits and for my own moods.
I think we're in an era with the internet of hyper-sensitivity and overreaction. I think it would be great if we could all resist that temptation more.
I see Overlanding as taking an adventure over a distance from point A to Point B. To do this I will need to carry my own supplies and my vehicle must be up to the task both planned and unforeseen. If you mount a winch in your vehicle then you are already planning on running into things that not only test your vehicles capabilities but also exceed it. You cannot do this without some impact no matter how small.
ReplyDeleteBecause of this I don’t think Overlanding can exist without Off-Roading, though I do think there are very different definitions to the word Off-Roading.
Overlanding allows us to explore more of the great outdoors and do so in a way that has as little impact to the environment as possible. I think anyone who calls themselves an Overlander cares about our resources and preserving it for future generations to enjoy.
I would not classify someone who enjoys going off road without provisions for a multi-day trip as an Overlander instead I would say they are Off-Roading. But they can do so with the same minimum impact on the environment as someone who is Overlanding.
As with anything you will have those who do not think about the consequences of their actions and it is not limited to the motorsports industry. We must self-govern and educate others within our sports in order to make things better.
"Offroading is creating your own path, one that takes a special vehicle. One built to rip and tear its way up and through things that seem impossible. "
ReplyDeleteThis is a very irresponsible definition of "offroading."