Book Review: Take Less, Do More by Glen Van Peski

BY LOREN DRUMMOND

There’s a curious tension where capitalism meets the outdoor industry. People who spend a lot of time on trails, in canyons and on rivers naturally bend more toward environmentalism and advocacy for the natural world. But we also appreciate good, high-tech gear. We’re the types to both adore our equipment and agonize about the impact consumerism has on our environment. Which is perhaps why the founders of companies that produce and sell gear are so fascinating to the rest of us.

Glen Van Peski, founder of Gossamer Gear, has written a book that focuses squarely on this tension. In the spirit of Yvon Chouinard’s Let My People Go Surfing, Take Less, Do More is both a memoir and a lens into the personal philosophy that underpins his company.

Ultralight devotees will find plenty to enjoy about the origin story of the ultralight movement (plus an appendix of gear lists to geek out with). Van Peski skips around through time, stitching together adventure anecdotes with stories of some of his early innovations. Some of the failed experiments (like an unwieldy water belt tested along a desert section of the Pacific Crest Trail) make for the best sections of the book. His sheer willingness to try things out, fail, suffer and try again makes real gear innovation relatively in reach. 

What feels the most refreshing—and strangely counter-culture—is Take Less, Do More’s unapologetic earnestness. This is a book looking for meaning, and not only in outdoor experiences. What does it mean to live well, to take pleasure in wild places, to serve others, to be a good parent and partner, and to build community? Van Peski draws on stories of his adventures and mishaps, but also on family and faith. By the end, you feel like you’ve had a long chat with someone who has achieved both wealth and influence, and still thinks deeply and authentically about how to stay rooted in curiosity and community-mindedness. 

You’d be hard-pressed to come away from this book without the desire to bring more intentionality to life on trail and off. You’ll probably also lighten up your pack weight along the way.